18019

Barnyard Party -2yr- Farm Attire is Good

May 2008

Melissa in Riverside, Ca U.S.A

Honorable Mention

Like many two year olds my daughter Ava is very interested in animals. This is why we decided to throw a farm/barn themed birthday party when she turned 2.

I found die cuts of red barns at a scrap book store; they had perforated doors that could open. I put a picture of my daughter holding a sheep stuffed animal inside the door so when the guest opened the barn doors they would see her smiling face. I printed the following invite details on white sticker paper, stuck it to the back of the invite & cut off the access paper. I encouraged the children to come dressed in farm attire(denim, overalls, pig tails, straw hats etc.).I incorporated this into a game later on.

The Invite read:  Oink!  Baa!  Moooo!  Ava's turning Two Farmer Ava and her family invite Ewe to her Barnyard Birthday Bash. Come dresses for a day on the farm and party with us til the cows come home!  Mooove over to: (the address of the party local) we had ours at a local park wHen: (time and day of party) R.S.V.P: Neighs only please to (Mom or Dad's name) at (###) ###-####, by ##/##/#### 

Decorations: We were on a smaller budget so I kept the decorations very simple. I ordered 25 cow print balloons from Oriental trading Co. ($9.95), & a personalized farm themed sign that read happy birthday Ava (9.95) also from Oriental Trading Co. These two purchases really created great focal points and added to the theme.

For the tables I bought red checkered table cloths from the dollar store .I also bought farm animal shaped gift bags from the same store filled them with coordinating tissue paper and then placed a three balloon cluster & balloon weight inside the bag. These made really cute centerpieces (Tip: make sure to tape the tissue paper in if its windy & your outdoors).I also bought two bales of hay & placed them at the front of the patio/gazebo cover at the park .I placed my daughter's pig, sheep & cow stuffed animals on them. 

Activities:  Water table: Because my daughters B-Day is in June I placed a water table (could use a shallow kids pool) with water in the shade for the kids to splash in. Inside the pool were farm themed rubber duckies & farm animal shaped water squirters I got from Oriental Trading Co. I really wanted to get a petting zoo but our budget didn't allow it.

Coloring Activity: I had farm animal coloring sheets & colored pencils (hot weather & crayons don't mix), out for kids to color as they arrived. The shy kids seemed to really enjoy this. As the children finished coloring I used cloths pins to hang up their drawings on twine I had strung up. As the party progressed this garland added to the décor & the kids loved seeing their art displayed.

Games: Egg toss :( classic game much like water balloon toss. It's messy but fun) Pin the tail on the piggy: My husband drew a pig on poster board (dollar store) I gave each child pink curling ribbon tails & they took turns trying to tape the tail on the correct spot blindfolded of course.

Haystack animal search: Instead of a pinata I took apart a bale of hay and hid plastic animals and candy inside .When I said go the kids sorted through the hay to find as many treats as possible until I said stop.

Coloring & costume raffle: At the end of the party I took down all the children's drawings from the garland, shuffled them, & randomly picked one child's drawing as the prize winner. I also wrote down the name of every child who dressed up in farm attire & randomly pulled a winner for a prize. 

Food: We had classic farm food; Fried chicken, potato salad, lemonade, watermelon, and bbqed corn. My mom made a really cute pig face shaped cake (family fun.com). 

Favors: For favors I bought farm themed coloring books at the dollar store and wrapped them in cow print gift wrap. Once Ava opened up her presents we gave each child their present & they got a chance to unwrap something too. I found this to be a lot cheaper than making goody bags which can add up.

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