My son is turning 5 next month.  As I plan his birthday party, I cannot help but think about the party I had for my oldest daughter when she turned 5.  I must admit it was one of my favorite parties.

H’s birthday is in July.  That means we can take the chance of having an outdoor birthday party.  The year she turned 5, it also meant the first time I did not invite the whole class to her birthday party- since the next year they would be split up in kindergarten.  Having a smaller party, with only 20 children, meant that we could hold her party at a local farm.  Muscoot Farm is nearby.  You can reserve a spot at the farm for your party from 10-12 on Saturday mornings.  A party spot was one price for an indoor space and another price for an outdoor space.  The catch was that it was 15 PEOPLE (adults and kids) per space.  Since I was having 20 children I reserved both an indoor and outdoor space.  That way I also had use of a refrigerator and freezer.  I also added a 20-30 minute tractor ride for an additional cost.  It was well worth it.

The party timeline was as follows:

9 am we pick up the food (which I will get to later)

9:30 we arrive at the farm and set up

10 am guests arrive and can decorate a party hat at the picnic table or dance on the stage to H’s Birthday Mix

10:30 am guests go on hayride, I set up food

11 am guests eat

11:30 guests go on a scavenger hunt of the farm

11:45 cake and pinata

12 noon the party ends and the guests collect their party favors

Since the only piece of the party blocked out was the hayride, I had to create the timeline to organize what would be going on.  It really worked well.  I had purchased hats that the children could decorate instead of regular party hats, and they really enjoyed it.  It was the perfect warm-up activity as we waited for everyone to arrive.  The hayride allowed us to clear the table of crafts and set up for food.  The exploration of the farm, once again allowed us to clear and set up for dessert.  The cake and pinata were a great closing activity.  The party ran extremely smooth.

Since the party was in the morning, and at the time my kids hated pizza, I decided to serve breakfast.  I thought a fun idea would be to serve huge party bagels (big bagels that are sliced into sandwich wedges and serve about 20) and mini bagels.  For the kids I got a party bagel with cream cheese and for the adults I got a party bage with lox, onion, lettuce, tomato, and cream cheese.  In addition, I got mini bagels with jelly and butter on the side for kids who wanted something plainer.  All of the food, except a few mini-bagels , was devoured.  I must say, it was the best ordering I have ever done.  For dessert there was birthday cake- half the cake was chocolate with cookie and cream filling, half was vanilla with vanilla buttercream filling.  A My Little Pony theme was on the cake (I know, very obvious.)  I also served fruit.  The beverage choice was water, juice, and coffee (for the adults.)    I tried to keep it simple, yet interesting.

That was the first year my daughter was into real music.  So, we made a mix of her favorite songs which we played at the party, then each guest got a copy to keep.  They also got a mini-clipboard with their name and a box of crayons as a party favor.  I know my kids used it when we went out to restaurants.  I was going for simple and useful with the favors.

As I look back on this party I remember how much fun my daughter had.  I can picture her dancing with her friends.  I had so much fun planning this party and she really appreciated it.