This new Real Party feature actually comes from the winner of our Summer Entertaining Contest – Kara Allen! This is a farm/barnyard themed party she created for her son’s first birthday – and the adorable farm animal cakes caught my eye right away! Read on for all the details, as told by Kara herself…

“I had a farm barnyard birthday party for my son’s first birthday last year. It was A LOT of fun! I had a blast planning it….I just love details!

I had two different invitations for the party. The first one was made in Photoshop and the barn one was purchased at Pottery Barn Kids….the barn opened to a cow that had all the party info written on it. You could definitely make your own that would be just as cute!

Oh, & I also stuck straw in the envelopes with the invites to add a special ‘farm’ touch.

My friend Julie had the idea to put drinks inside a wheelbarrow filled with ice…so cute! I also bought the plastic barn doors from Oriental Trading. They were a great addition to the decor, and were very simple to hang. (see 2nd image from the top)

One of the kids’ tables consisted of cute cow placemats, cow plates, farm animal soap shapes {that I put on each plate for the kids to keep}, farm cups, and farm animal place cards. (see 2nd image from the top)

The birthday banner was also purchased at pottery barn kids {their 2008 farm collection}. I got the plastic wagon wheels at a local party store and tied them all around the back yard. We borrowed bales of hay from a friend and had them along our 2 side fences…we put blankets and table cloths over some of the bales so our guests could sit on them.

I bought cute overalls for the birthday boy and his brother to match the whole ‘farm’ theme.

GAMES & ACTIVITIES:

Everyone got behind a farm friends photo opp {also PBK} as they arrived. I took their picture with our Polaroid camera. Everyone loved having the little keepsake to take home.

I ordered farm themed rubber duckies {Oriental Trading Company} and put them in a red tub filled with water. I wrote a letter P on a few of them {P for prize} and let the kids pick out a duck. If they got the magic ‘P’ they got a farm stamps, or a farm stencil. The kids also played a farm bean bag toss game.

We also rented a pony, which was a huge hit! All the kids LOVED riding her. It was really easy for us…the place we rented her through did all the work {brought her, took the kids around for rides, etc}.

The party favors were cute farm boxes with farm things inside, notebooks, and farm cards. I found everything at Michaels.

FOOD!

We had some really good grub. I labeled a lot of it to go along with the whole farm theme. The only thing I regret is that I forgot to take pictures of it all before it was eaten!

Pigs in a blanket were labeled as “little piggies“, pretzels were “hay“, I set out vegetables in organized rows for a “garden“, buffalo wings were labeled as “chicken wings“, and chex mix for “chicken feed“. The cute farm cups and dishes are also from Pottery Barn {most of them, I did find some plates at a craft store}.

I bought a bunch of cow tails to put in some of the cups. I also ordered {EBay} candy bar thank-you wrappers that said thanks for coming to Gavin’s 1st birthday party etc. I wrapped them around some Hershey bars.

The cakes… I had a ton of fun making these animal cakes.

I found a sheep cake online at familyfun.com & fell in love with it. I changed some things & added my own personal touch. I couldn’t stop there though…I decided to try and use the same shape and make a cow and pig as well!

For the sheep I used chocolate and vanilla frosting, marshmallows, coco puffs, junior mints {for the eyes}, a malt ball {nose}, and string licorice for the mouth.

For the pig I used pink frosting, pink malt balls, pink snowballs, pink necco’s, junior mints, & m&m’s. Oh, and she did have a tail {string licorice tied in a not} but some little one got to it before the pic was taken.

For the cow (pictured at top) I used chocolate flavored skittles {they come in cream & browns}, red gummy fruit slices {for the ears}, malt balls, and string licorice. The cute table runner you can see in the background is also PBK. I found black and white cow sprinkles that I threw all over for confetti!

I ordered farm party hats online that I passed out. All the kids looked so cute it ’em!

Thanks so much for the creative inspiration, Kara!