After dreaming up these beauties with the fabulous ladies of Paper Delights in Wallingford, it was game over, we were having a farm, come rain or shine. Hence the birth of the Sliger Baby Barn.
*please click on images for a full size view
Note for my fellow party girls: Paper Delights makes custom invites for an alarmingly inexpensive price! Doesn't that fact alone make you want to throw a bash?!!
After drooling over the invites for awhile it was time to make the guest list, which brought on a whole new session of hemming and hawing (farm reference #2). Since we tend to subscribe to the motto of "the more, the merrier" I had a hard time limiting the guest list to mostly Jackson's friends, or future friends, but in the end was so happy I did because seeing all those littles run around was priceless!
I begged, borrowed, and stole (ok bought) in order for all details of this party to come together, but thanks to the generosity of friends, farmers, and yes, my checkbook, we raised the barn (farm reference #3), so get ready because here comes the details!
Since I knew it would be wet, grey, and cold (which it was), I decided that traditional, stick-to-your-ribs farm fare was a must, so on the menu: harvest (roasted beet) salad, corncob cornbread, mini-cowboy mac n' cheese, farmhand franks, and chow down turkey chili. Yum! In addition I offered up treats of popcorn (made the old fashioned way with a cast iron pan & oil), pumpkin & cream cheese whoopie pies, and carmel apples . . . which sadly I forgot to display on the buffet. The event planner in me just cringed at the memory of that one!
To keep everyone warm I offered crock pots of spiced apple cider and mulled wine. For those feeling toasty, I stocked a wheelbarrow with ice and various bottled and canned treats.
Hint: Blue Sky Soda makes the cutest soda cans perfect for any event with a vintage feel! Also, jam jars make excellent glasses for an outdoor event . . . as well as vases and silverware holders. Never underestimate the power of a good jar!
Also is jars, though this time baby food jars, were our favors, "Jackson's Raspberry Jam".
Wanting to tie in this super cute fabric, found at Nancy's Sewing Basket in Queen Anne, in as many places as possible, I used the leftover scraps to piece together a quilted (or glue gunned if you prefer!) backdrop for our photo booth.
Our guests visited the photo booth at least once during the party, leaving me with adorable pictures to use for thank yous later on. Inexpensive and just another keepsake for your guests. Like the jars, never underestimate the power (or the fun!) of a good photo booth!
I was determined to have animals at this bash, since what's a farm without animals, but since the guest of honor was only one I thought best to limit the live animals to bunnies and chicks. The kids . . . in heaven! When not keeping the company of their new furry friends, they had the option of playing in our Baby Barn or visiting the Kiddie Corral, giving the parents a free moment to grab and drink and whoopie pie #2!
Here are some of my other favorite details of the day.
I had sooo much fun putting this party together and while the mom in me was beyond happy, as was the birthday boy, the event planner in me notices little things here and there that could have been improved upon (rain + baby = a whirlwind setup). Which makes me think, could kiddy parties be my new party planning obsession?? Hmmmm . . . . something to think about!
For now I'm hanging up my party planning galoshes and just enjoying the memory of this . . .
. . .until next year that is! Hee hee!
Thanks to all our friends, new & old, who helped to make Jackson's big day unforgettable!
xo,
Keri
PS: made it through the entire post with only 3 farm references! Whew!
No comments:
Post a Comment