This charming COUNTY FAIR VINTAGE PATRIOTIC PICNIC PARTY was submitted by Heather Dalton of Chickabug and styled by Madeline Lewis .
With its old-fashioned charm and red, white and blue color scheme, this party would be perfect for celebrating any patriotic event, from Memorial Day to July 4th! Some of my favorite ideas in this county fair patriotic picnic party are:
The boxes wrapped in gingham wrapping paper and used to display party elements
The mini fruit pies
The vintage wooden Coca-Cola crates stacked in front of the table and holding the old-fashioned soda pop bottles
The carnival tickets used to adorn the pennants of the banner spelling out “county fair”
and MORE!
The darling vintage inspired printable collection used in this party is available via Chickabug.
About designing the printables, Heather from Chickabug said- “When Everyday Party Magazine approached me about designing a printables collection for use in their upcoming issue, I jumped at the chance! The vision was to create a vintage style picnic, with red gingham checks, blue ticking, and a patriotic feel. Old fashioned soda bottles, paper straws, and wooden utensils were a big inspiration for the theme! After I designed the set, Everyday Party Magazine asked party stylists to use the kit in a photo shoot (with a prize awarded to the favorite shoot). I was so impressed by what the stylists came up with, especially this county fair-inspired picnic and ‘pie bake-off’ that was styled by Stephanie of Madeline Lewis. Her ideas are SO charming, and I love how she incorporated the printables into her party!”
This amazing CIRCUS THEMED FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Astir and Alessandra of Pra Vocë Festas Especiais.
I have a soft spot for circus parties and this one is fantastic and is filled with so many great ideas! some of the highlights to look for are:
The favor cones adorned with paper mustaches and filled with peanuts
The colorful popcorn ball lollipops
The strongman barbells made with paper straws and marshmallows
and MORE!
Astir and Alessandra said this about the party- “How about making JG’s debut birthday party in the world of cheerful and colorful Circus Clowns, magicians, jugglers and all the joy of the circus? These were all part of this first birthday, along with delicacies that are reminiscent of this charming universe – cotton candy, popcorn, candy apples, peanuts, and more!”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Polka Dot Balloons Striped Paper Straws Ribbon Clear Cellophane Bags Candles
This incredible COUNTY FAIR DONALD DUCK PARTY was submitted by Patty Smith of Sweet Treat Stands.
I’ll tell ya, this is one ADORABLE party with SO many darling party ideas that could be utilized in so many celebrations! Some of my favorite party elements are:
The Donald Duck party invitation
The Donald Duck party table backdrop
The ferris wheel cupcake stand
The award ribbons
The vintage county fair touches
The ruffle tablecloth
The popcorn cupcakes
The Donald Duck cupcakes
And MORE!
Most photos are by Wendhy Jeffers photography
Vendors:
Concept and Styling: Sweet Treat Stands
Handcrafted décor and props: Sweet Treat Stands
Photography: Wendhy Jeffers Photography
Nut-free Bakery (cake and cupcakes): Fairy Tale Cakes
Custom Cookies (letter “C” and “3” prize ribbons): Sweet Goosie Girl
Custom Cookies (name, popcorn box, kernels, farm animal “cookie” cupcake toppers): Batches
Fresh Cotton Candy: Sweetopia Cotton Candy
Mini Pie Pops (apple with sugar crust and raspberry with powder sugar crust): Sweet Piefection
Custom Birthday Poster/Chalkboard Poster: Moulage Collection
Custom Pageant Sashes: Jenna Schaal
Custom County Fair Raffle Tickets: Risa Rocks It
Retro Paper Straws, Retro Popcorn Bags, Wooden Forks: DK DeleKtables
Burlap Tablecloth and Burlap Sacks: Miss Hettie
Vintage Clothes (striped dresses): Vintage Frocks Of Fancy
Tim Thomas (singer/songwriter/guitarist/bassist, Full band and Classical string quartet available upon request: Email trthomas1@interact.ccsd.net
Party Venue: Legends Ranch
Custom Invitations and Accessories: The Blue Egg Events
Custom Lil’ Boy Shirts: The Baer Essentials
Custom piñata: You Buy It You Break It
Vintage 1950′s/60′s Child’s Donald Duck and Daisy Duck Handkerchief: Bex Vintage
Vintage Child’s Donald Duck Illustrated Handkerchief: Planet Alissa
Old Vintage 1970′s Wall Hanging with Donald and Huey, Dewy, and Lewey: Lisa’s Old Stuff
Vintage 1978 Donald Duck and the One Bear Book and Vintage 1979 Donald Duck and the Super-Sticky Secret Book: Country Expressions
Disney Steampunk Handmade Donald and Daisy Duck Romantic Silhouette Charm Bracelet: Gears Jewelry
Bouncer: Fun House Jumpers
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Ferris Wheel Cupcake Holder Ribbon Burlap Tickets Circus Party Supplies Paper Straws Popcorn Bags Wooden Forks Ribbon Balloons Twine Mason Jars Bunting Banner Rainbow Swirl Lollipops Cupcake Liners
“I’m so excited to share this party with you! Months before our lil’ guy’s 3rd birthday I had an idea of wanting to go with some sort of a carnival theme. Since our son loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I had started going in that direction of maybe a Mickey and Friends Carnival theme. I really wanted to try to do something different though. I also had some other ideas that were non-character themed as well. I kept running ideas past him to see which seemed more fun and exciting to him. Donald Duck kept coming up. Bottom line is that he’s a little boy (my baby bear) and it’s HIS birthday party and we want it to be a theme that HE loves and that HE’s excited about. Now that he’s getting older he can choose his party theme. I don’t mind going with a character themed party because I can always put my own creative spin on it.
“Who’s got the sweetest disposition? One guess, guess who…No one but Donald Duck!” That’s one of Donald Duck’s theme songs that debuted in 1947. This is a well-known song in our household since we love watching old classic Donald Duck cartoons (late 1930′s – 1950′s). Our lil’ guy refers to Mickey Mouse cartoons as Donald Duck cartoons, he loves Donald Duck the best and it’s Donald Duck this and Donald Duck that. He even won a photo contest this past October dressed as guess who…Donald Duck! :)
So one day while watching one of the old Donald Duck cartoons I was really inspired. At the beginning of the cartoon, while playing the credits, there was a white wooden fence with a Donald Duck face drawn in white paint. I knew that I wanted an old wooden fence as the backdrop to the dessert table. I didn’t have any other ideas at that point except that I knew I wanted an old fence backdrop. That’s what sparked the start of a Vintage Donald Duck County Fair birthday party! We checked with our son to make sure what theme he wanted and the vote went to Donald Duck!
One of the challenges was finding just the right venue. I researched and researched and finally found the perfect place for our party, Legends Ranch. It’s a private ranch that is used for weddings, birthdays and other events. This location transports you from the city and desert to a different place with green grass, big trees, beautiful backdrops and lots of vintage props. Beautiful!
Planning took months especially with the holidays and two lil’ ones at home. But it was so much fun! Most of the details were all handmade by me. A labor of love, is that what they call it? Yep, definitely a labor of love!
County fairs have so many features from rides, food, games to farm animals, baked goods, arts and crafts, etc. I was set on trying to include all or most of these features at our party and transport our guests to an old-fashioned charming county fair with cotton candy, hot dogs, cream sodas, classic games, quilts and of course Donald Duck. I had to keep all of these factors in mind when planning.
The Blue Egg Events did a gorgeous job of designing the custom invitation and accessories. The invitations really had the wow factor. I was super impressed!
I especially wanted the dessert table to resemble a mini county fair. I started out with a really old wooden fence backdrop. Hanging on the backdrop was a beautifully designed county fair birthday sign. The centerpiece was one of my custom cupcake stands that’s simple and rustic looking. It displayed gorgeous fondant themed cupcakes and a super cute Donald Duck themed cake from the very talented Juliette of Fairy Tale Cakes. The cake had the cutest lil’ fondant Donald Duck hats, bowtie and carnival marquee letter “C” as the topper. To the right of the cupcake stand was the ferris wheel, a miniature popcorn booth and swirly lollipops. To the left of the stand was a vintage looking pickup truck with homemade mini fruit pies and barn with farm animal sugar “cookie” cupcake toppers. The table was rounded out by rice krispy treats on a stick, a variety of cupcakes and custom designed sugar cookies up front. The tablecloth tied in beautifully with its matching colored ruffles. I love ruffles and was determined to make the tablecloth along with a really cute bunting tablecloth that was displayed on one of the food tables.
Another big display that I loved was the custom wooden popcorn/cotton candy booth. It was a great size for the kids. Not only was it a perfect prop but it folds for compact storage! The homemade cotton candy was beautifully displayed at the booth alongside yummy kettle corn popcorn, bottled cream sodas, retro paper straws and gorgeous custom designed county fair tickets, wow! Have you had strawberry lemonade flavored cotton candy? It is sooo good! Here’s a little trivia: Did you know that one of Donald Duck’s favorite drinks is strawberry soda? Yep, we had strawberry soda :)
I really like dressing up to match party themes. The Baer Essentials custom designed our lil’ guy’s birthday shirt to resemble Donald Duck’s suit. The suspenders on the shirt added to the vintage flair of the party along with the paper boy hat he wore. She also designed the cutest shirt for our baby boy with a bowtie and vest to coordinate. I wore a 1950’s striped full pleated dress from Vintage Frocks of Fancy. It was lots of fun!
I loved the custom birthday chalkboard poster by Moulage Collection! It’s a great item to hang on the wall and cherish for years. We love it!
Now I can’t stress enough how grateful and impressed I have been with all of the vendors I worked with in preparing for the party. Every single vendor provided not only great products/services, delicious one too, but outstanding customer service. Plus an extra huge thank you to all the very generous vendors. There were so many details that played a part in the party’s charm. Seriously, I could not have had all the details complete without you.
Thanks Wendhy for your beautiful photos! You captured the details wonderfully. It was a pleasure working with you again.
We had two great county fair helpers too! They were a great help. They passed out party favors such as the custom handcrafted prize ribbons for the boys and custom designed pageant sashes for the girls. They helped with the games, cotton candy/popcorn booth, etc. Plus they were excited to wear the bowties I made them. That was cool! Thanks!
My favorite part of the party was singing “Happy Birthday” and our lil’ guy blowing out his candles (cool #3 sparkler alongside the candles)! My 2nd favorite part of the party was our friend Tim the singer/songwriter/guitarist’s performance. He’s awesome and so much fun! He sang a customized birthday song (super cool), two of Donald Duck’s themed songs, “Hokey Pokey”, a rendition of Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” with some funny lyrics we sing at home with the kids and “Happy Birthday”. Loved it!
I do have to say our son was just head over heels in love with his custom Donald Duck themed piñata. It was exactly what our son wanted. He wanted a star piñata but he also wanted a Donald Duck piñata. Voila! His piñata was a star shaped piñata that was Donald Duck themed. About a week or two before the party he kept wanting to check on it, hold it, take a peek at the candy inside and show it off when Papa came to visit! LOL!
The best moments while planning the party were when our lil’ guy, the birthday boy would check in on the different items I had made and would say “That’s for my birthday? That’s pretty Mama” and “Thank you!”. That was from a 2 almost 3 year-old. Aaaahhh, that just melted my heart and put a huge smile on my face. How cute! Also seeing him have such a fun time along with our lil’ guests was wonderful. All in all the party was a success. Definitely worth it!
A super special thank you to my husband, my Dad and our friend Don who is the best woodworker ever!”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Ferris Wheel Cupcake Holder Ribbon Burlap Tickets Circus Party Supplies Paper Straws Popcorn Bags Wooden Forks Ribbon Balloons Twine Mason Jars Bunting Banner Rainbow Swirl Lollipops Cupcake Liners
This is what Stephanie said about planning the party- “This year, I decided to throw a joint birthday party for my kids, Isabella (7) & Tristan (4). Being in the wedding industry myself, I tackled the party with lots of DIY projects. My husband and I built our own ticket and food booths from picket fencing. These turned out so cute and made such an impact on the party. I made signs for all of the booths and games with my Silhouette Cameo. When our guests walked in, they were greeted at the Ticket Booth and were given tickets for all of the activities and food.
The piece of resistance of the party was the sweet bar that we did. We saw a photo of a table top canopy and used it as an inspiration to build our own. With red/white stripe fabric as a backdrop, we covered the table with all kinds of candy and desserts. Debbie LaRue of Debbie’s Delights made the birthday cakes for the kids. For Isabella, her cake had an ice cream cone theme and for Tristan, Debbie made him a popcorn theme cake. My cousin and I made cupcakes covered in caramel popcorn and mini ice cream cone cake balls to carry out the theme of the cakes. I used glass vases, dresser drawers, old crates and metal accessories to house all of the goodies. Kerry’s KupKakes & Kookies provided the adorable 3-D Carnival cupcakes and not only were they beautiful, they were absolutely delicious. For additional color, I made some fabric bunting banners to embellish the skirting of the sweet table.
For food, we served the guests popcorn, hot dogs & nachos, sno-cones, cotton candy, peanuts, lemonade and real carnival food. My husband’s co-workers came out and made crawfish pistolettes, funnel cake, fried oreos and boudain balls for the carnival goers. As mentioned earlier, we made the food booths with picket fencing and painted them to create red/white stripes. I draped some plastic red/white striped table covers over metal frames to complete the carnival booths.
We offered plenty of games and activities for the kids (and adults). These included: Balloon Darts, Tic-Tac-Toe Toss, Ping Pong Glass Toss, Ring Toss, Duck Pond, Face Painting, Balloon Twisting, Bounce House and the most popular activity, a trackless train that drove everyone around our neighborhood. We found an old Coke Cola cart during one of our flea market trips and drank a case of Coke bottles for the Ring Toss. My cousin who is going to art school volunteered to be our artist for the Face Painting booth and the kids absolutely loved him. Another cousin twisted hundreds of balloons that day and probably became an expert by the end of the day.
One of the most memorable things from the party was Chloe the Clown. My kids’ aunt came to the party in full clown attire and the kids loved her funny antics.
Before the kids left, they traded their winning tickets for various prizes that were displayed on our Prize Booth. This was a big hit for the kids. By the end of the party, we only had a handful of prizes left on the table.
So much work and many long hours went into planing and executing this party for my kids but it was so worth it. My daughter told me this was her favorite party and wished she could relive that day again. Knowing that they enjoyed every moment of it made all the hard work worth it.”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Glass Milk Bottles Striped Paper Straws Whirly Pops Ferris Wheel Cupcake Server Cotton Candy Cones Popcorn Bags Balloons Face Painting Kits Cupcake Liners Clear Candy Scoops Photobooth Props Ticket Rolls
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