Fun Carnival Booth Ideas

Ticket Booth Idea 

Make it easy for everyone to get tickets by creating a ticket booth near the carnival entrance. To make your own, cover your table with a plastic tablecloth roll and then add a Red & White Striped Table Skirt. Next, add a Big Top Tabletop Tent to the tabletop.

Affix a Personalized Circus Sign to the top of the tabletop tent. We chose to have the sign personalized with ticket prices, but you can personalize your sign however you wish.  

Now you’ll want to add some fun accents. Inflate some balloons and use ribbon to tie a bunch to a Gold Metallic Balloon Weight.  Place the weight inside a Small Popcorn Cup and then cover the weight with metallic shred. Do this for each end of the table. Next, attach Classic Accents® Winning Tickets Bulletin Board Cutouts to the front of the table and up the sides of the tabletop tent.  

Let’s not forget about the tickets! Stock up on Double Roll Tickets in green and orange as well as Pink and Blue Star Single Roll Tickets and Carnival Roll Tickets so you’ll have plenty for everyone. 

Entryway Arch Idea 

Welcome your carnival guests with a grand entryway arch! Besides serving as a central entry point, this festive arch also gets visitors into the carnival spirit. To make your own arch, start by assembling the Popcorn Balloon Arch Frame Kit. Add a Carnival Plastic Banner to the top of the arch, and trail Multicolor Plastic Pennant Banners from the top of the arch to the ticket booth or to the ground.

Add Carnival Icon Yard Signs along the path to the arch,  and place a Big Top Direction Sign Stand-Up near the entrance.  

Booster Club School Spirit Fundraising Booth Idea 

Another great fundraising booth idea is a Booster Club School Spirit booth. To get set up, cover a table with a Red Plastic Tablecloth and then add Blue Pleated Table Skirts and Cloth Carnival Bunting. We used a canopy tent, but you could also add a Big Top Tabletop Tent to the table to provide extra decorating space. Hang a Personalized Circus Sign above your table (or attach it to the front of your table) and then add a Custom Photo Basketball Big Head Cutout to one side and a Custom Photo Football Big Head Cutout to the other side. 

Now it’s time to add some school spirit products to the table. Paw Print Plastic Water Bottles, Personalized Baseball Team Spirit Hand Fans, Custom Photo Cowbells, Custom Photo Pinhole Glasses, Personalized Headbands, Personalized Blue Drawstring Bags, stadium horns, bead necklaces, personalized baseball caps, and crazy hair headbands are all popular picks! Try adding visual interest by placing some items in galvanized pails  or on top of wooden crates. You can label various items or add prices by using chalkboards  or chalkboard table frames. To finish off this booth, add a Custom Photo Cardboard Stand-up to one side and a Personalized Carnival Yard Sign to the other.  

Concession Stand Booth Idea 

Every carnival needs some yummy food! We set up our concession stand with a central booth for placing orders and taking money, and a booth on each side for picking up orders.

For the central booth, use a Carnival Vendor Booth Stand-up with a table placed inside it. Next, attach chalkboards to the front of the booth, where you can list prices. Use Fiesta Neon Food Baskets to display candy (like our Hershey’s® Full-Size Chocolate Variety Pack) and use clothespins to clip bags of chips, cotton candy and popcorn to the sides of the booth.  

To make the pick-up booths, cover tables with plastic tablecloths and then add pleated table skirts and cloth carnival bunting. Add a Big Top Tabletop Tent and a Personalized Circus Sign to each table. There are all kinds of things you can add to these tables.

A Carnival Treat Stand with Cones is perfect for serving popcorn.  A Donut Tree Serving Stand is just right for holding pretzels…or donuts! You can use galvanized buckets to hold bags of food, and wooden crates to provide a little height. You’ll also want to have some Fiesta Neon Food Baskets handy.  

Salt Water Taffy Fundraising Booth Idea 

Carnivals are all about fun and games, but sometimes you need to do a little fundraising, too. Everyone loves something sweet, so a salt water taffy booth is a fun way to accomplish your goal. 

To set up your own taffy booth, cover a table with a plastic tablecloth roll and then add a Red & White Striped Table Skirt just like the other booths. If you’re setting up your table beneath a canopy, attach a Personalized Circus Sign to the top and feel free to string lights around your area. If your booth will be in the open, simply attach the personalized sign to the front of your table. Next, place Bushel Basket Sets on top of the table. These handy baskets and stands will hold all the different taffy flavors. Add a Brown Wooden Crate with Chalkboard Label (or a few) to serve as display stands – just turn them on their sides or flip them upside down!  

Now you get to fill the baskets with a variety of taffy! Pink, blue, green, orange, purple, white, yellow, or assorted – they’re all delicious!  Be sure to add a Silvertone Candy Scoop to each basket. You can also fill up some cellophane gift bags with a single taffy flavor, or a variety to make it easy for people who just want to grab and go. Remember to grab some twist ties to keep the bags closed! Display the bags in Chipwood Baskets or use wooden clothespins to hang them from your table or canopy. If people want to choose their own taffy flavor or mixture, provide Small Brown Kraft Paper Gift Bags with Chalkboard Thank You Stickers attached.   

You’ll also want to label your taffy and provide messages for your carnival guests. Chalkboard Table Frames are just right for labeling the taffy baskets, and Unfinished Wood Chalkboards are ideal for writing messages.  Prop them against the wooden crates or use a Wooden Tabletop Easel. An easel is also handy for displaying the Salt Water Taffy sign! 

If you’d like to decorate the area around your booth, a Personalized Carnival Yard Sign is a good choice, along with brightly colored balloons. To give balloons some carnival flair – and keep them in place – simply use string or ribbon to tie them to Gold Metallic Balloon Weights and then put the balloons weights into Small Popcorn Cups. Ta-da! Your salt water taffy booth is ready to go! 

Pick a Pop Game Booth Idea 

Everyone loves this game because you never leave empty handed! To set up this booth, start with your basic canopy set-up. To decorate the canopy, affix a Personalized Circus Sign to the top and then add paper fans and string lights, if desired.   

Place a table beneath the canopy and cover it with a plastic tablecloth roll and a Red & White Striped Table Skirt. Now place a couple of Tent-Shaped Lollipop Stands on the table. Fill them with a variety of suckers – Carnival Lollipops, Rainbow Swirl Lollipops, Assorted Fruit Flavors Twisty Pops, and Large Cherry Flavored Swirl Lollipops. Be sure to have plenty on hand since you’ll need to replenish them often! Also remember to place a red dot on the back of random lollipops. When a marked pop is chosen, that person gets to pick a prize. 

To set up the prizes, string rope or cording between the canopy posts, so that the prizes are displayed behind the table. Use clothespins to hang a variety of plush animals. Some kid-favorites include Long Arm Stuffed Sock Monkeys, Stuffed Alligators, Colorful Stuffed Cats, and Hairball Plush Characters.  

Finally, add some fun balloon bunches to each end of the table. To make them, inflate latex balloons and add attach them to varying lengths of curling ribbon. Grab a few of the balloons and tie the ends of the curling ribbon to a Gold Metallic Balloon Weight and then place the weight in a Red Striped Popcorn Box. Such fun decorations!  

Duckpond Game Booth Idea 

Looking for a game that’s easy and fun for all ages? A duckpond game is where it’s at – and you can even make your own booth, complete with prizes! First, set up your canopy. Attach a Personalized Circus Sign to the top, and then add some paper fan decorations here and there. For extra pizzazz, you can string some lights from the canopy frame and decorate liberally with balloons. 

Beneath the canopy, set up a round table or barrel and attach a Red & White Striped Table Skirt around the edge. Blow up the Inflatable Duck Pond Pool and fill it with water. Now add the Duck Matching Game and Bright Weighted Floating Ducks to the water. So cute!  

Don’t forget the prizes! To display the prize picks, string rope or cording between the back canopy supports. Next, use clothespins to hang a variety of Hairball Plush Characters, Colorful Stuffed Cats, Stuffed Alligators, and Long Arm Stuffed Sock Monkeys & Friends. Kids will love ‘em all! 

Carnival Games Booth Idea 

Step right up for some carnival game action! Filled with fun and prizes, this booth will be a popular spot for your carnival guests. To create this booth, pop up a canopy tent and then affix a Personalized Circus Sign to the top. String some lights if you desire, and then accent the canopy with a few hanging paper fans. Also, if guests will need carnival tickets at this booth, make sure you have plenty available! 

Next, set up a table and cover it with a plastic tablecloth and a Pleated Table Skirt, and drape Cloth Carnival Bunting over the top. Now you can start adding the games. Perfect picks for this booth include Carnival Games Starter Kit, Carnival Can Bean Bag Toss Game, Bean Bag Toss Game, Carnival Bottle Ring Toss Game, Carnival Cat Bean Bag Toss Game, Clown Mouth Bean Bag Toss Game, and Mini Clown Bowling Set.  

Now all that’s left to do (besides have fun) is create a prize display! To show off the prizes, string rope or cording from the back canopy supports and then use clothespins to attach some fun stuffed animal prizes. Some popular plush picks are Long Arm Stuffed Sock Monkey & Friends, Stuffed Alligators, Hairball Plush Characters, and Colorful Stuffed Cats.  

Be sure to check out all of our carnival supplies, candy, games, decor and more here.