Description
Vintage Inspired County Fair Themed Birthday
Design Inspiration
Old Fashioned County Fair Fun
Decorating Style
Vintage Rustic
Project Details
Every detail of the party was either DIY or found vintage items.
Burlap Stick Horse Favors were all handmade by me. I used styrofoam balls for the head and covered the balls in burlap. I hand sewed the burlap and stuffed the heads. I used wooden dowels for the sticks. I cut out felt pieces for the eyes and yarn for the hair. I used old ribbon for the reins. Each child was given a personalized horse. Each one had a tag with the new owners name hand stamped to the back and the name of the horses I chose. I used classic names for each horse. Each child also got a cowboy kit: Hat, Badge, Handcuffs, and Bandanas. I ordered all of those items from Oriental Trading Company. I also ordered wanted poster paper picture holders and had photos taken of each child at the saddle station. I sent their wanted signs in our thank you notes to our guests after the party.
The Saddle Photo Booth: I used hay bales and a vintage saddle I found. I used lanterns I had at home to stage the area.
Farm tables were set-up in our backyard with found vintage mismatched chairs, handmade benches (from my husband), and hay bales for the children. The farm tables were all built by my husband and stained by me. We decorated them with wooden crates we made out of scrap wood and filled with potted flowers we purchased at the store. We also set up coordinating pub tables for wandering guests that my husband also built. We used vintage mason jars filled with flowers from our yard.
Our drink station was set on a coordinating shelving unit my husband built to match the tables. We used drink dispensers we bought from Sam's Club and filled with pink/yellow lemonade and flavored water. We had mason jars for drinking glasses which we hung chalkboard tags from to keep track of our cups. The name tags were purchased at Joann fabrics for next to nothing and I painted them with chalkboard paint I had. We had vintage style red/white paper straws with Kraft paper pinwheels I made and attached to the front. I used old buttons for the center of the pinwheel and hot glued to the straw.
Throughout the party I used miscellaneous vintage crates, baskets, and other items that I had already.
We ordered cupcakes from Sams Club and I made pinwheel toppers. I used scrap booking paper and toothpicks. We also had three cakes... One cow, one pig, and one sheep. We ordered the cake from the local grocer iced white only and then decorated the simple animal designs ourselves. I set up the dessert bar on an old door used as a tabletop with whiskey barrel bases.
We used an antique wash basin we restored as a self draining cooler for beverages. We grilled hot dogs and served homemade Mac and Cheese and coleslaw. We also used a vintage popcorn machine that ran the entire day. We bought vintage inspired popcorn boxes from Hobby Lobby and used paper plates, cups and napkins from Oriental Trading Company.
I made paper red, white, and blue buntings for decoration. I also made signs out of scrap wood and painted phrases for specific areas.
We hired a small petting zoo to bring goats, chickens, ducks, and a pony for rides. We rented a bounce house to keep the other kids occupied while waiting for their turn to ride.
We served adult beverages at our outdoor pallet bar built by my husband.
Favorite Items
My favorite item is definitely the handmade stick horses. Maybe because I put so much time into creating them. But also because my son still plays with his and so do the other children. It's not a cheap favor that will be broken or thrown away but will continue to be loved for a long time.
Advice
If you start the DIY part early it's a breeze. My biggest piece of advice is to hire a photographer and to be sure and let the guests know they have access to the photos . This way guests are not worried about taking photos and spend more time enjoying their time.