At the start of the year the boys tell me what they would like their birthday themes to be, since their birthdays are both in the summer this gives me plenty of time to plan 😉 Emmett decided his birthday should be about tractors and after a John Deere competition at this year’s Boone Hall Strawberry Festival where Weston tried to win him a tractor, we knew we would soon have to deliver this end prize, even if we footed the bill.
I was a little bit worried that this theme was too bold for my taste but in the end, I embraced the yellow, green and gingham that tied it all together. I designed this invitation which I decided to print and hand cut into two pieces and tie them together with yellow twine. You can find the invitation and favor tag printables in my etsy shop.
Our party was from 2-4:30pm so dessert was the main event. I knew I wanted themed cookies and a cake for Emmett to blow out his candle but most kids at 3 never finish dessert so for them the tire cake pops came in handy. I knew I wanted fake grass serving details and I found these artificial squares and the grass table runners through Shein. I purchased frames from Hobby Lobby on clearance and made these cookie trays trimming the grass squares to fit. Bakies of I’on did not disappoint to bring my cookie and cake inspiration to life!
The tractor tire cake pops were a huge hit and also extremely delicious. Both kids and the adults enjoyed this treat by Baked by a T. Bonus: they were even Nut free!
The rest of the food was finger food and kid friendly. You can tell I really enjoyed labeling each item on this grazing table in the farm theme.
I found the chalkboard signs in the Target dollar spot for $3 for 10 and used my Cricut to make vinyl stickers for the names.
Individual sized portions make it easy for guests to grab grub and walk around and I also love small ice cream sized cups for our kid parties, less food ends up on the floor. The tin pails and some platters I thrifted from Goodwill and the scoops you can find here, which will be used for beach play go forward. The fence basket is from Hobby Lobby which I will save as a planter or decor for next Easter.
Most of the food ideas came from Pinterest – my favorite was the corn on the cob from the Smart School House. The full menu – Apple Orchard: apples & apple pouches, Chicken Feed: Chex mix, Fence Posts: Veggie sticks, Chicken: Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets, Corn on the Cob: popcorn, Haystacks: homemade Rice Krispie treats, Tractor Tires: Entenmann’s donuts, Cowtails: Cowtales candies, Strawberry & Watermelon gummies and grocery mini cupcakes. The kids had apple juice in their tire cups and we had a beverage table of Wateringhole: icewater and Fuel: homemade Lemonade. The lemonade was delicious and made with 3 ingredients, lemons, water and monk fruit sweetener.
You can find these adorable tractor food picks along with other great party finds in my tractor shop collection on Audenticity.
I used my cricut to cut tire placemats and hot glued mini hay stacks from Hobby Lobby to each fork. The tractor plates and floor mats are from Amazon and the gingham napkins Magnolia from Target. I invested in the floor mats two years ago for Weston’s 4th birthday. We keep them in our home gym and reuse them throughout the year.
It is important to me to think about reuse for our party decor. I found the adorable yellow kids metal watering cans from Hobby Lobby and ordered a floral delivery from Sweet Jessamine Flower Truck to give me a farm fresh vibe. The kids can use these to help water the plants or if that doesn’t happen, I can repurpose them for floral arrangements I gift next spring.
Although watering my plants may not appeal to the boys, they do love helping my husband with yard work for their allowance. These kid wheelbarrows were a great find from our local Tractor Supply Store. I purchased two, one for each of the boys, and left out “taters” aka potatoes for the kids to wheel around.
Other activities included sand tables, truck & tractor parking and a bouncy house from Happily Ever After Jumps.
Emmett’s John Deere t-shirt is from Amazon. And the A little dirt will never hurt one is from Etsy which you can find linked in my Audencity tractor collection here.
This was my first time putting together a balloon number which I got from Amazon. My uncle Frank helped me figure it out and it took the two of us and a hot glue gun to put it together. Although a little tricky, I loved the way it looked in the end.
In lieu of buying a tractor banner that would be tossed in the trash post party, I found this awesome Long Live Boyhood banner from Worn Wild that was made and supports artists in Kenya. It will hang in Emmett’s bedroom if my husband doesn’t steal it for the gym first he says 😉
He is the brawns behind this clothing rack for our favors. A pair of overalls for each guest.
A little bit of planning for sizes was needed but everyone loved the take away and personalized tags made it easy for guests to grab them before heading home.
Lastly, I love signage in unexpected places like the restroom and themed directional signage too. I have learned when hosting, the more you can self direct and serve your guests the better. This Farmers John sign did the trick, I don’t think a single person asked where the bathroom was 😉
What is your favorite detail? Let me know in the comments!
Also check out past party fun here, ideas for other themes on my pinterest and products to go with the themes in my collections.
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