The Oregon Women's Report - Women's News from Oregon

November 2, 2009

by Sandy
Reluctant Entertainer
Oregon

My friend Barb decided to host an “Animal Party” on her farm, for their 8 year old, friend, Lexi’s birthday.
It was the perfect time of year for Lexi and her friends to enjoy the animals, and play farm-related games!

GAME FUN
~Stick the tail on the cow. A big cow was simply drawn on tagboard and tails cut out for the kids to use.  The kids colored their own tail, then were blindfolded and turned 3 times before they stuck (with tape) their tail on the cow.

~Find the candy in the straw. A small pool filled with clean straw had “penny” candy in it for the kids to dig through and find.

~Guess the number of pumpkin candies. A mason jar full of pumpkin candies was set in front of the kids and they wrote how many they thought the jar contained.  The winner took the jar (and candies!) home.

~Eat like an animal. Disposable bowls of Jello were given to each child and they had to try to eat it with no hands!

FARM TOUR
Party-goers also got to go to the barn to see the animals, and go for a ride on the hay wagon around the 20 acre hayfield, where they were able to see beehives and the neighbor’s cows (who tried to follow the wagon along the fence!)  The kids also experienced the bumpiness of the tractor/wagon ride!

TASTY TREATS
The food existed of:  Jello!  Treat bags the kids wrote their names on (John Deere gummies, Teddy Grahams, Yogos, mini Cow Tails (caramel), a straw of drink mix, and candy the kids added to it from the games).  Also, cake and ice cream and drinks the birthday girl’s mom brought.

COST
The total cost for Barb was really mostly for the candy!  Next time she said she’d consider using something like pumpkin seeds in the Guess the Number (of candy pumpkins) game, and maybe putting something like sunflower seeds and stickers in the treat bags, along with the treats they added from games.  Good idea!

A GOOD ENDING

Each child got to choose their own pumpkin from the garden as a party favor, providing a great ending to birthday fun!

And Lexi was one happy birthday girl!

I think you’d be surprised how farmers want to share their farms!  Especially with little kids.

So why not just “ask” and see if you can borrow a farm and have some birthday fun?

My friend Barb always inspires me, as she often opens her home and farm to young kids.

Hosting children is a great way of practicing hospitality and giving back to families who may live in the city!

Do you ever host others’ parties on your farm or at your home?

### There are more exciting pictures to see in this story, see the original article here and become a fan of the Reluctant Entertainer family.

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