Planning a party or any sort of event there is always a fear it wont come together. I was very well organised, but staring at the two boxes full of supplies I was fearful it wouldn’t come together or look the way I had imagined it.
The day before the party I decided to set everything up ready to go. I didn’t want to be rushing the morning of the party and wanted to enjoy the day with my little boy. So I spent the day before setting the food table with the cutlery, plates, bowls etc. I set up a presents table and we placed the hay bails for the kids to sit on.
The morning of the party was so easy, we woke up and unwrapped presents, Cooper had a special birthday breakfast and we did the final final preparations and we were all ready with plenty of time to spare!
I promised myself before Cooper’s first birthday that I would always make his birthday cake no matter what. I decided that I wanted to be the Mum who made a cake out of love, even if it was lopsided or tasted terrible, I wanted to make sure every birthday cake was made by me. But of course I am a high achiever and can’t stand to do anything basic. Cooper’s first birthday cake was a Wilton cake in the shape of a dog that I decorated myself and I really think it looked awesome. So his second birthday I decided to make a farm cake and I wanted to make fondant animals for the top of the cake so I started learning how to use fondant about 4 months before his party. I made an elephant for the lovely Oliver, Jade’s (Super Organiser Mum) little boy’s christening. Click Here to see my beautiful (even if I do say so myself) elephant!
It surprisingly came very easy to me, I seemed to have a “knack” for it. I am no where near a professional but I think my first cake was a huge success! Now I have a lot to live up to next year and the following years …. I think I am my own worst enemy!
The party went so smoothly, we decided on a BBQ lunch with chicken kebabs, sausages and steak, we had a few salads and a fruit platter along with the usual party snack foods. Having a BBQ is so easy, Marc started cooking about 10 minutes before everyone arrived so the wait was short before lunch was served.
Cooper had a blast! He was so spoiled and loved playing with all of his friends, it really was an awesome day.
So here are the photos of the final result!
The finer details!
Kids Table
The kids table was made by laying down hay bails on their widest side to create a table and standing the hay bails up on either side the create a bench seat.
On the table I placed one of Cooper’s John Deere tractors as the centre piece, what’s more farm than a John Deere tractor?
I made the tablecloth out of 1.5 metres of basic cotton gingham fabric from spotlight. It was really inexpensive at only $10 each cloth. I left the edges raw to give it a more rustic feel.
The plates and cutlery were bought from Emerald + Ella, a beautiful store with amazing party supplies. I actually managed to salvage all of the cutlery, washed them and have packed them away to use again. The plates were disposed of but most probably could have been used again if they were lightly washed.
The gift boxes were egg cartons. I filled them with toys, lollies and a kinder surprise. The label and tag were designed by the talented Polkadot Prints I secured them with cherry and white twine from Emerald + Ella and a small peg from Kikki.K. They were so adorable! Note: I must stress the importance of finding out if your guests have allergies when doing something like this. As some egg allergies can be set off simply buy a carton that has come into contact with egg.
The water bottles were from the supermarket and I found a farm water bottle printable on Etsy to cover them.
The hats were also a printable from Etsy and were so adorable! I employed hubby as my assistant and he put most of them together and did a fabulous job!
Cupcake toppers were round printable tags from Polkadot Prints, I cut them using a Fiskars extra large punch and stuck them together with a toothpick between them.
The sunflowers were a tribute to my Pa (my Dad’s, Dad). He was a farmer all his life, I think about 5th generation on the same property. One of his regular crops was sunflowers and I have vivid memories of our visits to the farm and seeing sunflowers as far as the eye could see. My Pa hates them but they make me think of him and all of my wonderful times with him. So when I saw them in Coles the day before I knew it was a sign 
The best advice I can give anyone planning a party is to be well prepared! Buy things over a few months and make sure any printables or craft things you need to complete for the party are done well in advance. It is so easy to under estimate the time required for all of these things. Also make a list of what you need and tick it off as you go, it can be easy to double up especially when you are shopping over a few months. Many times I would have a “did I buy that or only think about buying it?” thought.
Most of all have fun!
Jen xx
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