Lisa's Spot: Father/Daughter Dance - Vintage Circus Theme Part 2

Hello,

Please see Part 1 to get more details.

Our Father/Daughter Dance (FDD) includes an invitation presented to the daughter(s) during class, dinner (taco guy), a photo package, dancing, a craft, drink station and a candy table/dessert station.

The invitation... this really motivates the girls to come to the dance. We are lucky to have a great turn out every year and the invitation kicks off the excitement. The girls receive their invitation a few days before the dance. This year we went with a light up balloon and the tag which outlined dance details. We purchased them in the Toy District in Downtown Los Angeles. They were a lot of work to put together but fairly inexpensive and did include batteries. We used my pump to inflate the balloons and the balloons did not seem to deflate much over time.

The girls loved these flashing light up balloons. We purchased the tag graphic online, added our wording and sent them to the print shop to print and cut them.

The beverage station:This is the kitchen area of the hall with industrial sinks and massive stoves... not at all attractive and was killing our vintage circus vibe. To cover up all that we used photo back drop stands and draped red and black fabric over them to hide all the industrial equipment. The gold swag and balloons helped to dress up the area too. We served lemonade, coffee, water and soda. We used the mini water bottles. (During clean-up the first year, it drove us nuts about the amount of barely used water bottles we had to throw away. Lesson learned!)

We have a team that works on the candy table/dessert station and they churn out a great spread. Lots of things are donated but these moms also purchase desserts and take care of all the decorations for this area. I didn't get good pictures of the whole area that night.

A lot of the girls get into the dance theme and come dressed accordingly. We've got one girl who has made her own themed outfit several years in row! We love it. Here's a lil' popcorn girl!

Every year we do a themed craft. This year's craft were photo frames which the girls decorated with circus themed accessories like stickers and washi tape.We use 2 rectangular tables and only have 1 or 2 moms monitoring the craft table that night because our goal is to have the dads participate with their daughters to get some real bonding. We give instructions to the dads and then encourage them to help their daughters complete the craft. Our school is from pre-K to 8th grade. I'll admit that the younger girls really enjoy the craft table but even my 6th grade daughter made a frame this year. Over the years we've done 2 different crafts as the age range makes it difficult to make everyone happy. We've learned that a craft like decorating a frame can be easy or complex depending on the crafter. We try and stick to this concept.

I found that balloons are an easy way to help spruce up areas. I purchase that Strong Man and Circus Tent balloons while I was in Rome this summer. Yes, SIX months before the dance and I regret not buying more!

Our backdrop was fairly simple this year. Red and gold sparkly curtains, balloons from the dollar store, my standing Wreath holder w/our Ring of Fire, Circus logo print and an upside down tin beverage holder. The beverage holder was covered with butcher paper and the gold start was cut from my Cricut. The Circus logo was spray adhered to a piece of cardboard. The Ring of Fire was made from the snap-together hula hoops and yellow, red, maroon, and orange colored felt cut into flame shapes and glued to the hula hoop.

The last 2 years the FDD committee has been wearing themed t-shirts to the dance. Many, many thanks to these wonderful women who make the night very special for our dads and daughters!