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  • Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

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    Home » Party Planning

    Circus Popcorn Cupcakes and Circus Party Ideas

    Published: Jun 28, 2014 · Modified: Jul 29, 2022 by Vicky · This post contains affiliate links.

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    For my twins 5th birthday, we threw a circus birthday party. All the guests had a blast with carnival games, circus food and even a clown! I spent weeks scouring the Internet looking for ideas to make the party great and I even made some adorable Circus Popcorn Cupcakes, which I will be sharing today.

    Circus Popcorn Cupcakes - Guests will think they are boxes of popcorn!

    One of the big hits at our party were these Circus Popcorn Cupcakes. To make them, you will need:

    • Cupcakes
    • Frosting
    • Mini marshmallows
    • Yellow food coloring
    • New, small paintbrush
    • Popcorn cupcake wrappers (I found a free printable for some adorable ones on In Place of Her Crown)

    Start off with your favorite cupcake recipe. It can even be from a box, no shame there! Frost the cupcakes with vanilla or cream cheese frosting.

    Twist the mini marshmallows so that they look more like a piece of popcorn. This is so easy, a child can do it!

    child twisting a marshmallow

    Place the marshmallow "popcorn" on the cupcake so that it looks like a tub of popcorn. You will want to cover all the frosting with the "popcorn."

    popcorn cupcakes with marshmallows
    popcorn cupcake recipe

    Mix a few drops of yellow food coloring with some water. This will be the "butter" for your popcorn.

    food coloring in a bowl with brush

    Using a new, small paintbrush, paint the marshmallows with the yellow food coloring/water mixture. You will want to leave some white spots on the mini marshmallows so it looks more like real popcorn.

    decorating popcorn cupcakes

    Slip the cupcakes in a popcorn cupcake wrapper and put them on display. These cupcakes were the hit of our circus themed party! So many people thought they were really little boxes of popcorn!

    popcorn birthday cupcakes

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    • Popcorn Cupcakes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. bob

      February 28, 2020 at 6:46 am

      3 million

    2. Melissa Miller

      November 03, 2019 at 12:38 pm

      How far in advance did you make these? I'm worried that the marshmallows will dry out and become little pebbles lol. How did you store them before serving them?

    3. Denise

      January 28, 2019 at 3:25 pm

      Please tell me where or how to get the popcorn cupcake wrappers. I would so love these for my first grand babies Dumbo Circus themed baby shower.

    4. Vicky

      November 10, 2016 at 10:22 am

      I believe it was Oriental Trading.

    5. Nicole

      November 09, 2016 at 12:23 pm

      Can I ask where you got the cupcake stand from

    6. KaitFortissimo

      July 11, 2015 at 2:30 am

      THANK YOU FOR POSTING
      this template seriously saved my A$$

    7. Cindi

      June 11, 2015 at 5:18 pm

      How many mini marshmallows do you use per cupcake??? 🙂

    8. Vicky @ Mess For Less

      June 11, 2015 at 6:41 pm

      Cindi, between 30-35.

    9. Vicky @ Mess For Less

      July 02, 2014 at 11:31 pm

      Me too Kat! Thanks for popping in!

    10. Vicky @ Mess For Less

      July 02, 2014 at 11:31 pm

      Thanks so much Mari!

    11. Vicky @ Mess For Less

      July 02, 2014 at 11:30 pm

      I loved having the help! Thanks for stopping by!

    12. Kat Reader

      June 30, 2014 at 4:55 pm

      How adorable! We love fun food ideas to do with the kiddos. Thanks for sharing!!

    13. Mari Corona

      June 29, 2014 at 2:44 pm

      The cutest thing!!!

    14. themondaybox.com

      June 28, 2014 at 10:04 pm

      Those cupcakes are absolutely adorable! They really look just like popcorn! Its especially wonderful that your twins could help decorate the party cupcakes themselves!

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    Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

    Valentine's Day Activities and Recipes

    • Valentine’s Dessert Cheese Ball
    • Valentine's Brownie Cake Pops
    • Valentine's Chocolate Covered Pretzels
    • Valentine Ideas for Kids - Glitter Hearts

    Winter Activities

    • Q-Tip Painted Snowman Craft
    • Winter Shaving Cream Paint
    • Pinecone Snowman Craft
    • Melted Snowman Craft

    Popular Recipes

    • Crack Chicken Casserole
    • Overnight Egg Casserole
    • Toasted Italian Sandwich - Food Fun Friday
    • Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Bake

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