Old McDonald's Farm Party

Invitations

Creating theme invitations can be fun! (But buying invitations is fine too!) Choose paper with a farm animal theme or border - those cowhide patterned papers are great (you can get them at a stationary or office-supply store).

Encourage guests to come in costume as a farmer or a farm animal.

Decorations

Create a barn atmosphere with construction paper cornstalks, pumpkins, apples, and even a scarecrow. You may be able to find pre-made items at a party supply store. If you are having the party in a garage or rec-room, go all out and get a few bales of hay to scatter around the floor. Straw baskets will add to the atmosphere and provide a good place to store presents, goody bags, prizes for the games, napkins, etc.

Food

How much and what kind of food you serve will depend on the time and length of your party. If the party starts at 11:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m., you will need to provide a substantial lunch, but if your party runs from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. you can get by with just cake and ice cream.

But you can't go wrong with all or part of the "Preschoolers' Buffet"

Pigs-in-a-Blanket
Carrot and celery sticks with ranch dip
Cheese cubes
Popcorn or popcorn balls
Crackers (various kinds)
Apple slices (or make caramel apples if you are
feeling ambitious)

To fit your farming theme, you can explain to the children how each food item comes from something on a farm (i.e. Cheese comes from milk, which is made by cows.) Ask them what other things also come from cows (or wheat, or corn, or whatever food you are using).

The Cake

Haystack Cake: Very easy! Bake any flavor cake in a bundt pan. Frost with yellow frosting and decorate with pretzel sticks to make a haystack.

Cowhide Cake: Frost any flavor sheet cake in white. Use black decorating gel to create a Jersey cow hide.

Activities

Musical pumpkins: Take construction paper pumpkins, covered in clear Contact Paper for extra durability, and tape them to the floor. Play music. When the music stops, kids must have at least one foot on a pumpkin. Take one pumpkin away after each round. At the end of the game, all the kids will be squished around one pumpkin. It's noncompetitive and silly - what preschooler could ask for more.

Apple Toss: Kids toss apples (or red beanbags) into a bushel basket. If you can't find a bushel basket, cover a small (clean) trashcan with yellow construction paper and cut a fringe around the top. There are several variations to this game. Younger children will just enjoy the throwing. For older kids, challenge them to throw from certain distances, or to make a certain number of "baskets".

Corn Shuck: Preschoolers love to shuck corn. Just toss several fresh ears into a few wash basins and let them go at it. Don't put more than three children at each basin, to avoid crowding. It helps if your family likes corn-on-the-cob!

Haystack Hunt: Make several dozen small (about palm size) haystacks from yellow construction paper. During the gift-opening or cake-eating portion of the party, have your party helper hide the haystacks around the room. Give the children one or two minutes to find as many haystacks as they can. (*Note: Do this only if you have a well-childproofed room available)

Sing-A-Long: Of course you must sing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm"! Make it silly by including lots of animals that wouldn't be on a farm (snake, monkey, elephant, alligator). Preschoolers love silliness. If the children are dressed as particular animals, you can ask them to jump up when their animal is named.

By Barbara Thomas
Courtesy of www.thefamilycorner.com

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