Tuesday, January 20, 2009

farm barnyard birthday party

this is a farm barnyard birthday party i did for my son's first birthday last year. it was A LOT of fun! i had a blast planning it. you know me, i just love details! here's the two invites i used {below}. all the details are erased or blurred...this other one was purchased at pottery barn kids. the barn opened to a cow that had all the party info written on it. you could definitely make your own that would be just as cute!
oh, & i also stuck straw in the envelopes with the invites to add a special 'farm' touch...the birthday banner was also purchased at pottery barn kids {their 2008 farm collection}. i got the plastic wagon wheels at a local party store and tied them all around the back yard. we borrowed bales of hay from a friend and had them along our 2 side fences...we put blankets and table cloths over some of the bales so our guests could sit on them...i bought cute little plaid overalls for the birthday boy & his brother to match the 'farm' theme...
here's one of the kid tables. it consisted of cute cow placemats, cow plates, farm animal soap shapes {that i put on each plate for the kids to keep}, farm cups, and farm animal place cards :)...
i had everyone get behind this farm friends photo op {also pbk} as they arrived. i took their picture with our polaroid camera. everyone loved having the little keepsake to take home...this idea was my friend julies...she put drinks inside a wheelbarrow filled with ice. so cute...we rented a pony, which was a huge hit! all the kids LOVED riding her. it was really easy for us..the place we rented her through did all the work {brought her, took the kids around for rides, etc}...i bought the plastic barn doors from oriental trading. they were a great addition to the decor, and were very simple to hang...i ordered farm themed rubber duckies and put them in a red tub filled with water. i wrote a letter P on a few of them {p for prize} and let the kids pick out a duck. if they got the magic 'p' they got a prize {farm stamps, farm notebooks, farm boxes, or farm stencils}...food, food, food! we had some really good grub. i labeled a lot of it to go along with the whole farm theme. the only thing i regret is that i forgot to take pictures of it all before it was eaten!
pigs in a blanket were labeled as 'little piggies'... pretzel sticks were 'hay'...i set out vegetables in organized rows for the birthday boy's garden... buffalo wings for 'chicken wings' and chex mix for 'chicken feed'...and of course, you gotta' have watermelon...the farm bean toss game...the cakes... i had a ton of fun making these animal cakes. i found a sheep cake online & fell in love with it. i changed some things & added my own personal touch. i couldn't stop there though..i decided to try and use the same shape and make a cow and pig as well!
for the sheep i used chocolate and vanilla frosting..marshmallows, coco puffs, junior mints {for the eyes}, a malt ball {nose}, and string licorice for the mouth...for the cow i used chocolate flavored skittles {they come in cream & browns}, red gummy fruit slices {for the ears}, malt balls, and string licorice.
the cute table runner you can see in the background is also pbk. i found black and white cow sprinkles that i threw all over for confetti!...i used pink frosting, pink malt balls, pink snowballs, pink necco's, junior mints, & m&m's for the pig. oh, and she did have a tail {string licorice tied in a not} but some little one got to it before this pic was taken :)...i ordered farm party hats online that i passed out. all the kids looked so cute it 'em! :)...the cute farm cups and dishes are from pbk {most of them, i did find some plates at a craft store}.i bought a bunch of cow tails to put in some of the cups :). i also ordered candy bar thank-you wrappers that said, thanks for coming to gavin's 1st birthday party etc. i wrapped them around some hershey bars...here's another one of julie's pics... here's some of the party favors/prizes i was talking about earlier...and last but not least, cow print balloon's and LOVED ONE'S tied it all together :)...oh, and here's the thank you cards i sent out a few weeks later...

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Incredible!! Love all the details..I am planning a barnyard party for my daughter in India and was wondering if you could tell me where you got the partyhats, placecards and the favors. If they were ordered online- I could do it from here...thanks..

Anna (Minted Photography) said...

where did you order the hershey wrappers from? cute ideas!!!!

Anonymous said...

SOOOO CUTE!!! Where did you find the cow placemats? M

Anonymous said...

Want to use some of these ideas... where did you find the party favors/prizes (note pads, boxes etc.)?? Also, the Thank you cards, cow tails, candy wrappers??

Thanks!!!
Stefanie@calvertmortgageco.com

kara's party ideas said...

i found all the favors/prizes at michaels! the candy wrappers were bought on ebay, and the cow tails were bought at our local chevron :).

kara's party ideas said...

oh, and the placemats were found at pottery barn.

Anonymous said...

Love your ideas! Congratulations.
Which software did you use for the thank you card?

Unknown said...

I hope you don't mind if I steel some ideas for my little one's first Birthday party! I had been planning a farm/cowgirl theme. Love the food ideas (hay, cow tails, garden, etc.)!

Laura and Carson Arnold said...

What were some of the other food ideas u had that u didn't get pictures of??
laura_arnold023@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Hi, How did you buy things at PBK? In store? I have looked online and I cannot make order on that. They just have ideas. Thanks so much for sharing! It was adorable!

Kara's Party Ideas said...

i bought the pbk items over two years ago. sorry :(. i wish they still had them! try ebay though!

Wishes and Whimsy said...

I love the idea of the cow tails in the container! So cute! And great job on the cakes!

Jenna @salonownertohousewife said...

I'm so happy I found your site. I love the cakes and decorations. You have given me so many great ideas for my sons first birthday. Thank you.

Heidi J. said...

I am so excited I found your blog! My son loves pigs and I am going to make him the pig cake. he is so excited!

Little Precious Gems said...

Hi Kara

Where can I find Farm Friends Colour Op Banner? Love this idea of yours and would like to adopt it for my son's one year old party.

kara's party ideas said...

i bought it at pottery barn kids a few years ago! they don't have them anymore...but check ebay and amazon!
thanks!

lisa o said...

Hi Kara - LOVE your party details! Everything was adorable. I am having my son's 2nd birthday at a farm, and I thought I was into the details until I saw your party! :) Can I ask where you got the thank you note? Did you create it on your own or through a website? I love that it has pictures from the party. Thank you and great job!

Katie Best Clark said...

GREAT party! Thanks for the ideas! Where did you get the soaps? Love the idea for party favors!

Libbie said...

I KNOW I will be throwing a farm party with 2 boys who spend every Saturday at the farm :) So Thanks for the inspiration! Love all the details!!!

LocalFunForKids said...

Wow...That is amazing! you are inspiring me to turn it up a notch for our next b-day party!

Anonymous said...

Where did you get the second set of plates - the ones with the 4 squares on them of a cow, duck, farm, etc?

Kara's Party Ideas said...

Those plates were purchased at Michael's :]

Thanks!

 
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