Miss 3's Farm Themed Birthday Party (Barnyard Bash)

When Miss 3 turned 2 she was obsessed with animals, specifically sheep and ducks.  She use to carry around that little toy sheep that comes with the Fischer Price red barn.  She use to put it in the baby stroller and stroll it around the house.  She use to take it everywhere with her.  It was difficult to think of a theme for her second birthday because she didn't talk a whole lot and she wasn't into any T.V. shows or movies like her older sister.  But she loved that little Baa Baa...

So I went with that and decided to throw her a 'farm themed' birthday party.

I considered having at a farm...but Miss 3's birthday is in May and the weather can be so unpredictable...that would just give me anxiety.  Plus, I wasn't so sure about the farm smell while eating...or the mud...if you haven't guessed, I am also just a bit of a neat freak.  Ok, Ok, I'm obsessed with cleaning too.

Then I tried to find an mobile petting zoo with 'farm-ish' type animals instead of lizards and creepy crawling things.  No luck there.

So I decided on the local Community Seniors Centre...ok it sounds bad...but it was nice.  Let me just clarify...it wasn't a Nursing home, it was a Senior's Community Centre...not sure if that makes it any better?!  It was clean, bright and there was lots of space for the kids to participate in all of the activities.  Plus it was very reasonable to rent.  All I had to do was take this empty room designed for senior's social functions and turn it into a farm...no problem...I love a challenge!

The Food ~

Kid Friendly 'Milk Jugs'; create your own with chalk marker and chalk board label.

Pigs in a Blanket; hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls

Tractor Wheels; sandwich roll platter. Fruit Platter labelled 'Miss 3's Garden'.

Chicken Fingers, Carrot and Cucumber Sticks in a berry basket.

The cake; Farm Animal Cake Pops and a Red Barn 'blow-out' cake.







Checked Table Cloths and Munchies; Gummie Berries, Annie's Cheese Bunny Crackers and Ritz Cheese and Cracker Sandwiches (wheels).  I also used large apple baskets for chips and popcorn.

 

Loot Bags ~

 

I set up a 'Pick-Your-Own' loot bag table for our guests' loot bags.  I provided paper shopping bags, farm stickers, rubber ducks, pigs and cows with googly eyes that popped out when you squeeze them, red and white lollipops, and farm themed board books, picture books and colouring books.  The kids had a blast picking an item from each basket that they wanted to take home with them.

 

 



 



 

 

 

Decorations ~

 

Unfortunately I forgot to snap a close-up of these super cute pompom animals that I made.  But these are the designs I followed.  I bought the pom poms at my local party store and cut out the face pieces using construction paper.  They turned out great!

 

 

 

Activities ~

 

Cotton Ball Sheep (paper plate, cotton balls, cut out face, googly eyes), paint a wooden horse (Michael's pre-cut wood ornaments and paint), a toy table full of all of the farm toys, puzzles books etc. that I could find in my house. 

 

We also hired some musical entertainment.  He came with his guitar and performed the very best version of Old MacDonald I have ever heard...lol!  No seriously, he was great.  The kids loved using the instruments and dancing around.  But the best part of the party was when our entertainer asked if there were any requests.  We went through all the usual songs...ABCD, Twinkle Twinkle, Row Row Row Your Boat.  My nephew who was 5 at the time, was practically bursting with his hand up.  Finally he got chosen.   'Do you know I'm Sexy and I Know It'?  Well we all just about died of laughter.  I had tears rolling down my face.  The entertainer's response was 'Well...Umm...you start, and I'll see if I can follow!'.  It was the highlight of the party!

 

 

 

All of the kids came decked out in their best cowboy/cowgirl gear...plaid, denim, overalls, hats, boots, pigtails and holsters!!!  It was a darn toot'n good time.



 

First Birthday Food Ideas

I was asked to share some ideas on 1st Birthday Party Food.  First birthdays are hard.  Most times, the one year old is celebrating with family who is all older than them, making it difficult to make up an appropriate menu to suit all ages. 

If your one year old is lucky enough to have lots of one year old friends...I love the idea of using ice cube trays to make up little snack plates!  Let's be honest.  It's hard for little ones to eat well at parties with all of the excitement and new things to do.  These snack plates will allow them to graze on many different things.  Personalizing them with their name would be a great idea so that they don't get mixed up with another guests.  I would personally omit the crackers, cookies and pretzels below (for one year olds) and substitute with raisins or cranberries, Cherrios, ham cubes (or other protein), hard boiled egg chunks, partially cooked baby carrots, cut up baby cereal bars, or a mini pita.

If you find that there are too many compartments in an ice cube tray, look for a 6 cube tray or a baby food making tray (shown below).  If appropriate, it could be part of their take home gift/loot bag. 
 

 

The baby food pouch did not exist when Miss 5 and Miss 3 were little.  But man, I really don't know how I managed without them!  I use them all the time with Miss 1.  It is so helpful that they can feed themselves and stay occupied while you prep their meal or when you are on the run.  Plus, they are getting a serving of fruits/veggies rather than Cherrios...which is what I use to give as a snack to tie my kids over.  I love, love, love the food pouch!

 

For parties, these reusable pouches below are a great add on to your menu.  Whip up a batch of the Birthday Boy or Girl's favourite puree and fill up your guests pouches!  They can take them home as their loot bag and refill them with their child's favourite puree.  Attaching a tag with your own puree recipe is a nice personal touch and an easy way for parents to remake if their child really liked it. 

 

Alternatively, I love how the store-bought one is shown with the snack tray above.  Another option is creating a label (similar to a water bottle label/wrap) to apply to the pouches to fit your theme.  You could get really creative with this, either by purchasing pouches in the colours of your party or 'playing' on the flavour; like banana puree for a monkey theme...and call it Monkey Mash!



 



 

The most well received party food that I have ever served to kids has been grilled cheese sandwiches!  I prepped the sandwiches ahead of time and kept them warm in the oven until lunch.  I cut them into heart shapes...my kids don't like crust anyway...and it was a Valentine's Day party.  An alternative to grilled cheese would be to fill sandwiches with cream cheese and jam or peanut butter and jelly (if there are no concerns of nut allergies).

 

 

If you are having a lunch time party, try serving a brunch.  Most one year olds love eggs, pancakes, waffles, fruit...soft items that they can pick up and feed themselves.  Consider setting up a pancake or waffle bar.  Provide all of the toppings and let the guests top their pancakes themselves.  Mini muffins, mini croissants, pigs in a blanket are all yummy additions for little ones too.  Hard boiled eggs or an breakfast casserole is an easy way to incorporate eggs into your menu.  Plus, everything can be made ahead of time and warmed up while guests are arriving.

 



 

   Please share your menu ideas from your little one's first birthday!

 

 

 

Miss 5's Fairy Tea Party

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE planning kids parties.  I had no idea that this secret obsession was hiding within me, until I had kids!  I love EVERYTHING about it.  The lists...the researching of new ideas...the food planning...the loot bag ideas, especially the loot bags...EVERYTHING.  The more detail, the more meticulous the task, the more I love it.  Ok, so we have established that I have issues...this might be by far my biggest problem.  My kid's parties consume my every waking thought for the months of May, June and July.  Who am I kidding...I've already been thinking about their next party themes!

I had a blast putting together a Fairy Tea Party for Miss. 5 this year.  This was the first year we had a 'drop-off' party with a few of her school friends.  I was a little nervous, but it all went well.

Activities:
We have a small home so I decided to set up 'stations' throughout the house.  This helped the kids to come in, get settled into an activity (and feel comfortable) and most importantly spread out throughout the house.

Decorate Fairy Wings - I bought one pair of fairy wings for each child to decorate (Target).  Then I got a whole bunch of sparkly stickers for the kids to decorate them with (Dollar Store).  Most of them wore them for the whole party.  Too Cute.

Make Edible Fairy Wands - I made Rice Krispie Squares, but cut them out with a star shaped cookie cutter.  I bought extra large lollipop sticks (Michael's) and stuck one in each one to make a fairy wand.  The kids had a blast decorating them with icing and treats.

Freeze Dance - We played a game of Freeze Dance with some added fairy rules.  If the 'Snow Fairy' touched you with her wand you had to freeze until 'Tinkerbell' came around a sprinkled you with (pretend) pixie dust.  Then you could start dancing again.  Each child had a turn to be one of the fairies.

Pin the Wand on Tinkerbell - I used one of our dress up wands and a poster of Tinkerbell to make our own pin-the-tail...I mean wand on Tinkerbell.

Face Painter - I hired a face painter to paint beautiful designs on the children's faces if they wanted.

 

Tea Party - For lunch we had an outdoor tea party.  I set up some large tables and used a variety of cake stands to display the food.  The fairies drank iced tea in little plastic tea cups, since it was the middle of summer!

 

Food:

Naan Pizzas - President's Choice Mini Naan circles as the crust, sauce, cheese and pepperoni.

Fairy Bread - Sandwich bread with butter (or peanut butter like My Mom use to do) and sprinkles. I cut them into fingers.

Fairy Fruit Wands - Grapes and a star cut melon on a skewer.

Sandwich Sushi Rolls - Sandwich bread with cream cheese and a long slice of cucumber and carrot.  Roll and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.  Store in fridge for a few hours and slice into 'sushi rolls'.

We also had Chicken Nuggets, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Baby Carrots.

Cake - the cake was Tinkerbell's House (a teapot) and her Fairy Friends (a set I picked up at the Disney Store).

 

         

Loot Bag - Along with their Fairy Wings and Rice Krispie Wands, I made up little fairy jars.  I used a mason jar decorated with a fabric flower and paper tag (Michael's).  Inside was a fairy (standing up by sticking it to the bottom with a glue dot), a kid friendly nail polish, a lollipop, a Tinkerbell marker with rolling stamp (Party City).  I got the idea for the jar from the movie 'Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue' (Miss 5's favourite), when Tinkerbell gets trapped by a human in a jar.

P.S. *My thoughts on Loot Bags*....
Can you keep a secret???  I usually throw out my kids' loot bags when we get back from parties.  What a waste.  I am not a fan of loot bags with a bunch of little cheap things in them.  Especially if it is one of those pre-made-generic loot bags.  I really can't stand all of those little things floating around the house that never get played with.  But shhh...don't tell the girls...or the Mom's that gave them to us!  One of the best loot bags we ever got was a couple of books.  The books matched the theme of the party and we still read them all of the time.  A very useful gift.  Plus, it kept the girls quiet in the car on the way home from the party, looking at their new books, bonus!  I love the one significant item loot bags, vs. the bag-o-cheap-mismatched-break-the-next-day-choking-hazard-don't-have-a-place-for-all-of-the-pieces loot bags.

More kids party ideas to come!

Kitchen Organization

 

Since the kids are back to school, I have decided to tackle my kitchen cupboards.  I love to cook, most days.  But I get a little rage when I open the spice cupboard to an avalanche of baking items plummeting to my head.  I don't bake often but seem to have collected a wide variety of baking chocolate!  Who knew all of that was hiding in the crevasses of  the cupboards?!  I had so many partial bags of things that I didn't even know about.  I definitely needed new way to get my 'pantry cupboard' in order.

 

 

So I took a trip to my local Solutions for a little inspiration.  I purchased a step-like spice rack to organize large spices and all of the ones that were in different shaped containers.  I used some little plant pots that I already had to label and organize candles, icing tubes and sprinkles which I don't use very often.  The top shelf of this cupboard used to house all my baking stuff (flour, sugar etc.).  Instead of crossing my fingers each time I open the cupboard in hopes nothing falls, I bought some shoe racks from Ikea to store all of my pantry items in glass jars.  I do not have a built in pantry in my kitchen, so this was a perfect solution.  They are ultra narrow and tilt to open taking up very little space.  Here are some photos of my now-not-so-troublesome cupboards. 

 

 



 



 
The top drawers are 'Mama's' and the bottom drawers house...YOU GUESSED IT...toys, colouring books, homework books, etc.

So now...I am obsessed...obsessed with these shoe racks!!!  I can think of a million ways to use them in all areas of the house.  They take up such little space and could hold pretty much anything with a little imagination.

How are you going to use yours?