Celeste Boyer

The minute we all met Ann Marie one year ago, we immediately thought she looked like a tiny, gorgeous Snow White with her fair skin and head full of dark hair!  As she has grown into the happy, content, and opinionated little princess she is over this year, her mommy knew that she wanted to throw a Snow White themed birthday party to celebrate this very special year with her beautiful girl!
This family has a large extended family and lots of friends that wanted to see the birthday girl!  Ann Marie’s mom did a great job of prioritizing the pretty stuff, and making sure everyone had a lot of yummy food to eat!  The cake was designed and created by Made. By Lia – our very favorite St. Louis cake maker!  She is so much fun to work with – her cakes taste amazing, and they are always SO PRETTY!  Paper flowers are always a huge hit and make for lots of drama for a dessert table backdrop – these were created by Declare the Hope Project, a local crafter who donates *all* proceeds from her work to her family’s relief efforts in Haiti!
For me, one of the sweetest highlights of the party was a very special visit from Snow White herself!  She sang (so beautifully, I nearly cried) and danced with the children, and read them a story all about herself and her 7 little friends :)  It was absolutely precious!
A very sweet day for a VERY loved little girl!  Happy Birthday, Ann Marie!
 
 

Type in “barn party” on Pinterest, and you’re sure to find about a million ideas beyond your wildest imagination of cuteness!  To be honest, it’s almost overwhelming!!!  I had the idea to throw a farm-themed party for my little 2 year old because of his love for animals and their noises.  I thought, I’ll hire a petting zoo!  And ponies!  I was so excited.  UNTIL, the week before his party, the weather forecast showed an epic FIVE DAY long rain/thunderstorm with no break.  Huge bummer!  I hopped on trusty Pinterest again to find some not-too-messy farm-themed crafts and activities for the kiddos, and was so happy that they really seemed to go over well at the party.  We enjoyed them so much that I didn’t even miss the animal extravaganza I had planned!  ha!!!
We kept the main events of the party in the garage, and I did my best to decorate it like a barn.  I got some bales of hay from a local farm, and borrowed the neighbors’ saw horses and other vintage barn items.
One of the two garage activities involved filling a trough with unpopped popcorn and little toy farm animals and cars, a milk carton “silo”, cups, rakes, and a funnel.  The kids were OBSESSED with this sensory play activity!  I was so pleasantly surprised!  http://frugalfun4boys.com/2014/09/28/farm-sensory-play-activity-preschoolers/
We also had a station in the garage where the kids gave dirty animals a bath!  I filled one bucket with dirt and toy animals, and another bucket with water and dish soap and handed them some sponges, scrub brushes and wash cloths and they went to town!  This activity was also a big hit!  http://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/washing-farm-animal-sensory-bin/
Inside, we did a “sticky sheep” craft which entailed my tracing a sheep with sharpie marker on contact paper, and then taping the paper, sticky side out, so that the kids could stick white pom poms onto the sheep.  I found this idea here: http://www.two-daloo.com/sticky-sheep/
Also inside, we had a craft station for decorating barns.  I cut out barn shapes out of white construction paper, then glued those onto black construction paper, set out crayons, popsicle sticks and glue, and that’s it!  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3729612173978211/
After the kids had done these activities for a while, and had a chance to eat, we all gathered in a circle and used these free flash cards to play a fun barnyard game. http://modernpreschool.com/gross-motor-farm-game/
All these activities really made the party, especially for this age group (2-4 years old).
I kept the food simple: hot dogs, chex mix (“chicken feed”), oreos (“tractor wheels”), celery and carrots (“farm veggies”), rice krispies treats (“hay stacks”).  We had water and milk boxes (with cows on the front, duh.  lol) to drink. So easy!
 

I have loved planning parties for my children ever since I became a mother three years ago!  For some reason, when I was trying to come up with my daughter’s third birthday party I was completely lacking inspiration, until very randomly, my husband suggested that we try a “picnic party…. with strawberries?”  After a thorough search of Pinterest, I was so excited to pursue his idea!
One of the greatest resources I have discovered this year is a Facebook group for local crafters (called Crafted in St. Louis) where I have sourced many craft projects which, left to me, would surely have turned into expensive “Pinterest Fails!”   The talented and reasonably priced members of this group have made all of my slightly extravagant craft ideas both attainable and affordable!  I highly recommend searching for a similar group in your area!
Most of the decor we used, other than what was created by the crafters, were pieces from our house.  I loved having such a special party in our own back yard because it really made a sweet memory we can cherish from our own home.  Something we did a little differently for this party was to have guests bring canned goods to “fill up Charlotte’s picnic basket” for a local food drive instead of gifts!
 

An all-American boy’s vintage nursery that will grow with him, and will help teach him all about the special men in his family.