Madagascar 3 Circus Circle’s Most Wanted Party

Wow! The past few weeks have been ALL about the new Madagascar 3 film, thanks to Crowdtap and DreamWorks! First, I had the opportunity to attend the June 2 advance screening of the film, in RealD 3D. I loved the original film and the sequel, "Escape 2 Africa", but "Europe's Most Wanted" was the best yet! We left the screening saying that we couldn't wait to see it again with our nieces, since we'd taken them to see the first two films and they'd been looking forward to the latest release.

As if the screening wasn't enough, I was given the opportunity to host a Madagascar 3 Circus Circle’s Most Wanted Party! I started exploring ideas with my sister and the girls, and we had a fantastic circus-themed party!

Crowdtap members who were chosen to host had been sent a "digital kit" with party ideas and activities, which we checked out together. Because the kids are a little older, they wanted something geared more toward their age group...and they wanted something that could include outdoor activities. They already have a trampoline, which fit in perfectly with the Madagascar 3 circus theme! With no pool, and the summer heat, we started thinking of ways to keep cool while having fun outside. A family friend has a business renting out large inflatables, and was able to give us a great deal on a "body slide" for the day. Fortunately, we had perfect weather and the kids had a great time!

Circus-themed foods included hot dogs, cotton candy, soft pretzels, popcorn, ice cream sundaes, and cupcakes. I suggested making "Afro Circus"-style rainbow cupakes, but the kids had seen an idea using mini-marshmallows and yellow food coloring to create the look of buttered popcorn, so we went with that and the kids had fun making them.

Some of the girls, including my younger niece, wore polka dot bathing suits, paying homage to Marty's "polka dot, polka dot" in the Afro Circus song (there is also a ringtone, which I have and LOVE!). My older niece wore a bathing suit that was somewhat of a combination of rainbow and zebra -- another perfect style to go with Marty (the zebra character) and his rainbow afro wig!


We also gave out assorted, brightly-colored Hawaiian leis, which were inexpensive and much more practical (in the heat and with the outdoor activities) than buying rainbow afro wigs. Besides, there is the "Wig Out" app, which we used later in the day to add rainbow afro wigs on some of the pictures of the kids.

After all the food, trampoline, and body slide fun, we moved indoors and the girls took turns (on 4 laptops) playing the Banana Blaster, Melman's Memory Game, and Penguin Pillow Fight online games. I have to be honest...the adults played a few rounds, too! Both games are a lot of fun and the Penguin Pillow Fight game ended up prompting "real" pillow fights, while watching the "Escape 2 Africa" DVD during the sleepover.

To cap the party weekend, after their friends left in the morning, we took our nieces to see Madagascar 3 "Europe's Most Wanted"... which they loved! We still have the "Afro Circus" song stuck in our heads... and you, too, will no doubt soon be singing along: "afro circus! afro circus! afro! polka dot, polka dot, polka dot, afro!"

Thank you, DreamWorks and Crowdtap, for the wonderful opportunities to enjoy and share the Madagascar 3 experience!