Theme and Decor:
I set up a photo booth for the kids. Remember going to Six Flags or the fair and they have those Old Time photo places set up where you can change into western wear and pose with a gun or a coon-skin hat? I had that in mind, but on a kid level.
The pallet was free and I got it off of a facebook yard sale group. We already owned all of the props, with the exception of the cow headband-which Stella would NOT wear for a picture at her party. Of course.
We hung the banner that I made last year up on the clothes line since it didn't really match the barnyard theme but I still wanted to incorporate it.
I set up a photo booth for the kids. Remember going to Six Flags or the fair and they have those Old Time photo places set up where you can change into western wear and pose with a gun or a coon-skin hat? I had that in mind, but on a kid level.
The pallet was free and I got it off of a facebook yard sale group. We already owned all of the props, with the exception of the cow headband-which Stella would NOT wear for a picture at her party. Of course.
The yellow signs were just spray painted cardboard cut from a pistachio box from Costco. I made this jewelry holder from recycled material: thick, sturdy cardboard, spray paint, hot glue & gun & the caps from the applesauce/fruit pouches.
The rocking horse was a gift from Aunt Debi. The cows were borrowed from a family friend. The lamb was mine as a child and the red cooler is my moms. The curtains came from Goodwill-$9 for the pair. They are so adorable. I'm not sure what brand they are as they have no tag on them but they look Pottery Barn Kids or something similar. I was very happy to find that the panels are the exact fit (length & height) for the two windows on the west side of the screen porch so I was able to re-purpose them after her party. I purchased a hay bale a few days before the party because my mom was supposed to bring up a child sized saddle for the kids to ride on. We were going to rest it on the bale of hay. But she wasn't able to bring it, so I just threw a quilt (Goodwill) over it and propped it in front of the curtains.
Barndoor cut-out and bandanas-Hobby Lobby
I felt good about being able to salvage just about all of the decorations I bought- except for the barn doors. I had to tape them to the gate with packing tape & they ripped when I pulled them off the fence.
I wanted to make sure the seating area was in full shade since the party was at 4 pm. funny thing is not a single person sat at the tables. So glad we didn't rent tables and chairs and that Donald could borrow them from work.
Cow print tablecloth at red table was borrowed from a friend. The red gingham picnic tablecloth was from Goodwill. The plastic cow print tablecloths were purchased as a 6 pack off of Amazon. Paper lanterns from Target-$1.50 each
I had my mother in law bring up an adjustable height folding table. I lowered it down to kid level and covered it in a tablecloth below with the intention of the kids standing to eat at it. Afterwards, I'd clear the plates and the kids could paint their own farm scene from a Melissa and Doug barnyard paint with water book. Stella received it for Christmas and had at least a dozen sheets left. I bought a pack of paintbrushes from Ollie's for $3. This never happened though. The table below with the farm Magna Doodle (Goodwill, I think?) got covered in presents instead.
Food:
I was so thrilled with how this turned out. I wanted everything to look fresh and have that farmer's market feel to it. The food was farm and country fair inspired.
I paid $6 for the wooden crates from Michaels with a 40% off coupon. I bought them separately of course since it's one coupon per day. The 3 tier galvanized metal snack tray came from Sam's Club-$25. The green cardboard fruit and veggie trays were free from Harry's Farmers Market. I originally purchased two sets of 10 from Michael's but visited Harry's a few days later and just asked if I could buy a dozen or so. The guy just gave me 10 for free. They are bigger & more colorful than the ones I originally purchased and free. I think I may keep them actually. The banner was pre-made from Hobby Lobby. The haybales were from a yard sale-$.50 each. I had intentions of taking the plastic off but the straw stuff was flying around everywhere. Seriously. We had a fan set up outside since it was a summer afternoon in June and I figured if I took it off we'd have straw in all of the food. No Bueno.
We had fresh berries and peaches, an array of fresh veggies with ranch dressing, of course. Deviled eggs, corn dogs, pig tails (curly fries), haybales (rice krispy treats), pickles and pickled okra and fresh popped popcorn. I couldn't believe how much of the fruit was consumed. It was such a huge hit. Really it all was devoured. I guess the veggies were the least popular thing but even they were mostly eaten. They were the only thing which remained except for the cupcakes and rice krispy treats. I bought regular corn dogs and mini ones for the kids. I had a regular one, but everyone reported the mini's were really good-way better than the ones on a stick.
This picture is the best. My parents had it "commissioned". They bought it at Goodwill but it was just the cows, fence and the sky. They consulted a super talented family friend and had her paint the barn in the background. At the top of the silo it says "Lolly Pop's" which is what Stella calls my parents. There are cows at my parents house and she is seriously obsessed with them so they thought it appropriate.
I was able to get in contact with the baker we used for our wedding. I had her make the exact pink lemonade and blackberry wine cupcakes which we had at our wedding for Stella's party. They were amazing. She hand delivered them the morning of the party. Two dozen regular and two dozen mini.
The leftover cupcakes and haybales went to the fire department as a thank you for showing Stella around the firehouse floor the Friday night before her party.
Games & Guests:
Here's the "duck/frog pond".
I'd set up a cornhole toss for the kids with bean bags and cow print painted flower pots. You can kind of see them in the backyard above. The flower pots were borrowed from the same family friend who painted the cow picture and loaned us the cows. The bean bags were borrowed from my teacher friend, Tiffany below.
Tiffany and Baby Huddy
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Crissy and Harper
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Of course Stella got naked at her party. Everyone was shocked! NOT! I was able to get her two-piece on her and she kept it on for the rest of the party. Surprisingly.
She wasn't really into the slip 'n' slide which shocked me, but everyone else was. She had just as much fun splashing in her pool.
Stella had a ton of guests for her party. She was a lucky girl.
Birthday Time:
Stella wasn't so sure about everyone singing to her. We'd been practicing and talking about it, but she looked so unsure of everything. She sat back like this with her chin tucked in the entire time we sang. I actually thought she might start screaming at us.
She didn't want to blow out the candles either. She's not a fan of smoke or steam. It scares her because we've drilled into her head that it equals "hot". So both me and Daddy helped her blow them out.
All of her friends saw how happy she was when the candle went out and they wanted to help. So I re-lit the candle for Landon to blow out. And Izzy. And Lily. And possibly one more time but I don't remember. It was funny. I'm glad they enjoyed it.
And then Stella shared her cupcake with us. Just like last year. A little less messy this year which was nice.
This turned out to be a complete and udder (sorry, not sorry) surprise for everyone, including me. I had no idea my parents were going to do this for Stella until about 45 minutes before her party. Lolly and Pop borrowed these costumes from some of their friends and it was quite the hit at the party. The kids loved it. Stella wasn't so sure, but they grew on her.
Stella cooperated and gave a tiny high-five but barely.
Then the pig and the cow had a race to the fence.
I don't even remember who won. Then my dad decided to have them race as though they were in slow motion. I got that part on video on my phone. Pretty funny stuff.
Photo Booth Fun:
Cousins Bella and Stella
Weston
Stella and Harper. I love that Harper is wearing the moo cow headband. It's adorable.
Cool Hand Luke over here
Stella with her MMO friend Reed and her sister Mary Harper
(Reed and MH and their Mommy all had on these colorful Mexican dresses they'd gotten in Texas over Memorial Weekend. They looked so cute!)
Sweet Noah, Stella's other friend from MMO
Harper wins "Most Enthusiastic!"
Uncle Mikey, Stella and Aunt Jessica
Lily and Sophie
Stella, Izzy, Sophie and Lily
Juliana, Izzy, Sophie and Stella
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Lily
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The Anderson's: Veronica, Chris and Weston
Stella with her LollyPop.
How lucky is this girl?!
The Tickle Monster attacks!!
Everyone always thinks these two are related. They do look so much alike-such beauties!
Family Photo Session
Trying to get that thumb outta her mouth so she'll take a proper picture.
Blowing kisses
Our other daughter wanted to jump in on the photos.
Love Stella's kissy lips here.
This is one of my favorite photos ever. Not exactly sure why. Guess we are all just laughing and look happy.
And then Stella totally smacked me in the face. Do you see that look on her face?
Hilarious? Devious? I think I should be worried.
But then she kissed me and made it all better.
Izzy decides to give her thumb and taste and see if she likes it.
I'm still embarrassed my child smacked me.
This was such a fun, fun afternoon. Not a single fuss or meltdown occurred from anyone from 4-8. The weather was beautiful and everything looked so great which made me feel good and less stressed out. We had wonderful help from Jessica, my parents and my mother in law. Total success!
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