Today is officially Harper’s first birthday and we celebrated over the weekend with a Fall Festival themed party. We had family and our closest friends at the event and I’m sharing a recap of her first birthday party. Scroll to see photos and videos from the day and hopefully it gives you inspiration for a kid’s Fall birthday party. All sources are linked at the end.
Since COVID is still pretty prevalent, we hosted the party outside in our backyard and took every precaution we could to keep our guests safe. From the moment they walked in, safety was the priority. We had a “check-in” table at the door for guests to sanitize their hands, grab a mask if they forgot theirs then pickup a wristband based on their level of comfort. Here’s how we broke down each color:
Green = I’m comfortable with you standing close without a mask
Yellow = I’m comfortable with you standing close but, with a mask
Red = Stay 6 feet apart, with and without a mask
Between the wristbands and the outdoor-only setup, everyone felt secure.
In order to keep the party flowing outside, I put footstep stickers on the foyer floor that escorted everyone to our porch. Once they stepped outside, the party was in full swing. We designated areas for specific activities, which guests could easily see using the festival map I made using Canva. I know, I’m an over-the-top mom and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Harper won’t remember any of this but COVID robbed me of so many joys as a first time mom that I had every intention of being extra with her first birthday party. Let me explain how each space was set up.
Related: Reflecting on the First Year as a First Time Mom
Food & Drinks
Since the porch is enclosed, I made that the food and eating area. We ordered pizza and a bunch of fall desserts to keep things simple, easy to clean up and on theme. My mom asked if we were serving a multiple course meal and I said, “no, I’m serving what you’d expect to find at a fall festival.” You won’t find canapes at your local pumpkin patch, ha! But you will find apple cider doughnuts, pizza, caramel apples and kettle corn and that’s exactly what we had.
We also served juice boxes for the kids, water for everyone and spiked apple cider for the adults. Since we had a mix of friends with kids and friends without kids, we tried to make it easily enjoyable for everyone.
Activities and Games
On our deck, I set up a pumpkin decorating station. I found these pumpkins at the dollar store and used them to set up a pumpkin patch so it really felt like a festival. Once they picked their pumpkin, they could pop onto the deck where a sea of pumpkin stickers were waiting for them. I picked stickers over paint because I didn’t want a big mess on our deck but I also didn’t want kids to ruin their clothes with paint. The stickers were a hit. The decorated pumpkins were each kid’s party favor which was also simple and easy for us to set up.
I think the part I was most excited about was the games! Again, we kept all age groups in mind and had the following games:
- Giant Jenga
- Yard-Size Beer Pong
- Inflatable Bowling
- Cornhole
Check out the video below of my friend’s son having a ball with the inflatable bowling. What I loved about these was not just the size but how easy they were to store thanks to them being inflatable.
Finally, we set up D’s riding mower in the yard surrounded by hay and pumpkins. We did this as the backdrop for kids to take their own party photos. It was like the oversized lawn chair you find at fall festivals that everyone jumps on to take pics–same idea.
Let me tell y’all, we had SO much fun and the weather cooperated thank God. I had no plan B for locations so we probably would’ve change the date if it rained. We closed out the party giving guests jars of fall butters like pumpkin and apple butters. I also had the adults and childless guests in mind when I picked those out, which I bought from Butler’s Orchard.
To my fellow party planning parents, I hope you got some inspiration for a kid’s Fall birthday party. If you don’t have any kids, hopefully you got some ideas for a Fall kickback.
Sources
Chalkboard Signs | Amazon
Cornhole | Dick’s Sporting Goods
Cupcakes | Georgetown Cupcake
Decorative Pumpkins | Dollar Tree, similar here
Donuts + Caramel Apples + Mums | Butler’s Orchard
Farm Fresh Pumpkins t-shirt | Etsy (Girlies Galore)
Giant Jenga | Amazon
Harper is One Cake Sign | Etsy
Harper’s Outfit | Etsy (Girlies Galore)
Inflatable Bowling | Target
Pumpkin Patch Pumpkins | Dollar Tree, similar here
Pumpkin Stickers | Amazon
Yard Pong | Amazon
Yard Sign | Card My Yard
