Farm Party -4yr- Bobbing for Apples

Down On the Farm Birthday Party  Two weeks before my son’s fourth birthday, he loudly declared that he want a farm party.  Lucky for us, that was a great plan.  We have relatives who have a very nice farm!  The location was set in a big barn. 

Next the invitations, they were easily made with a cute verse on the computer, using a thin brown paper (looked like a paper bag) with barn and animal clipart.   Invitation read:  I would be charmed if you would join at Metcalf Mountain Farm.   July 20th at two o’clock.  I bet we can skip a few rocks.  Maybe we’ll feed the ducks and with some luck,  we’ll eat birthday cake, that my Mom didn’t bake. We can call the cows, maybe see a plow.  Go for a hay ride with great pride!   By then it’ll be about four & we’ll close the barn door.  Oh, we’ll have so much fun, partying in the  sun!   

Wear your farmer duds, maybe there’ll be some mud! (Everyone got a great kick out of these invitations, and everyone can appropriately dressed!)  The cake was simple and easy.  A sheet cake iced in green, with one corner blue for a lake.  Then plastic farm animals from the dollar store, which included a large barn and fence, went on top.  It was really cute! 

Tin pie plates for serving food, which include hotdogs, baked beans and chips.  A watermelon, carved into a basket then scooped out with an ice cream scooper to make watermelon balls. I then added other fresh fruit for a nice refreshing desert. 

Treat bags were made out of mens work gloves (which were bought at the dollar store, 2 pairs for a dollar).  Each glove was filled with treats, tied closed with a seagrass string, then present in a metal wash tub.  Red, checked table clothes, red forks and spoons, and red cups and red napkins completed the table set up.  A metal wash tub (really a metal planter) filled with blue kool-aid and little rubber ducks, made our refreshing pond punch, punch was dipped out with a gourd. 

The table was also decorated with tiny replica wheel barrow(to hold the plastic ware) and a replica red wagon(to hold the red napkins). 

Entertainment was easy:  Old cans were set on the fence and we used an old toy ice cream cone, that when a button was pressed the ice cream flew off the cone, to knock the cans down.  (This game was set like target shooting, only without a gun!)

The children bobbed for apples, again in an old metal tub.  We then went on a real hay ride, around the farm.  The children were allowed to get off the hay ride and feed the pigs (we had apple slices ready and waiting for them)  What great fun! 

We ended our hay ride back at the barn, had cake and ice cream, opened gifts, then ended our big day by calling the cows.  This was the best part of the entire party.  My Uncle, the real farmer, stood on a great big rock in the pasture. 

He called the cows down off the mountain, about fifteen cows came charging down the side of a mountain, they went under a bridge (that we were standing on) and came out the other side to the rock.  There they were rewarded with salt treats.  The children got to go in the pasture and pet the cows, some even sat on the cows for pictures. 

The party ended at 4:00, just as planned and everyone went home very excited and tired!  Not everyone, is lucky enough to have a real farm to enjoy, but for us and our four year old son, it was the best birthday ever!