Farm Theme -1yr- Red Checkered Tablecloths

For my sons first birthday party, I decided to go with a Farm Theme.  And being that we live on a farm, it was going to be fun.  And being that there was close to 100 people invited, we knew it had to be fun!  For the invitations, I handmade them.  I used red cardstock for the back, with a layer of red and white plaid, and then finally a piece of vellum with the party information and a farm scene.  I connected the three pieces of paper with grommets that looked like screws.  These were not open-up invitations, just front only. 

The invitation said, Oink, moo, baa, cluck!  Come have some food and fun because Gavin is turning one!  The envelopes were stamped with a red checked box as well.  All of the stuff used for the invitations can be found at a scrap-booking store. 

For decorations, I hunted around at Cost Plus World Market and found some wood farm animal decorations, that I sat around.  We had helium balloons that were red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.  And those were markers for our road, driveway, etc.  Those colors were kind of our colors. 

We had hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, and steaks from the grill.  Lemonade, tea, coffee, water to drink, as well as some fruit drinks for the kids.  Then I had bought individual bags of chips that I bought at Sams. 

And then a variety of side dishes; fresh fruits and veggies, grilled veggies, potato salad, pasta salad, dips from Tastefully Simple, etc.  For the napkins, silverware, chips, etc. I bought bushel baskets from Hobby Lobby to put them in.  And for drinks and toothpicks, I bought some stainless steel baskets.  I think it really added to the farm theme.  I used bandannas that I had bought from Oriental Trading Company (www.orientaltrading.com) for napkins. 

For the plates, silverware and cups, I used all plastic for easy cleanup.  Red plates and cups for color.  To cover the tables I bought red checkered plastic cover from Hobby Lobby.  Gavin had two cakes, one chocolate, one white, one John Deere and one Case International.  (Two different kind of cakes to please both Grandpa and Dad!) 

We also had Gavins little cake that had a little JD candle on it.  I found that at Mangelsen, I think they were made by Wilton.  I made cupcakes too that were decorated like pigs, cows, sheep and chickens.  I found those designs on www.familyfun.go.com. 

And of course we had homemade ice cream!  All the kids that were invited received red treat bags with candy, farm beanie babies, stickers, bendable farm animals, etc.  All of that was bought from Oriental Trading Company.  I also had cowboy hats for everyone to wear.  Since the party was in May, it was perfect to be outside. 

I had my dad get me some hay bales to place around for seats, along with the picnics tables and the tables inside.  Overall it was a great time.  And I think every one had a good time, especially Gavin!  There is tons of stuff to find on the internet, just look around.