Post COVID (or whatever phase this is), I think the return to in person birthdays is one thing I am most excited about. Obviously kids parties are my jam which you may know if you have been following along for a while. When my good friend said she had booked the local farm for her daughter’s second birthday I was thrilled to assist in making it memorable. I had my own daughter’s birthday at the same farm when she was turned two (you can see it at Somebunny is Two). While we could have done a traditional farm party the birthday girl is big on feeding the ducks and thus, the theme Daisies + Ducks came to fruition.
Maplewood Farm is a located just a few minutes from Vancouver and is the perfect location for a kid’s party. You get access to a party room for three hours and of course, it includes admission for all guests. You can also purchase bird seed, which in this case, was a necessity for feeding the ducks.
Family friendly and perfect for all ages, Maplewood has not only a pond full of ducks, but a number of other fun activities to partake in. You can roam amongst the goats or see the cute bunnies in their little decked out abode. Pigs, cows, horses and even a resident peacock can also be found. The best part is truly its size. With five acres, your busy toddler or child can just roam in the wide open spaces (this is obviously coming from a mother that lives in small duplex).
Once the party goers had fun on the farm grounds, they returned back to the party room. We had setup a couple craft tables, as guests were free to come and go as they pleased. I simply got foam shapes with stickers and also wooden daisies to paint. Noting many of the guests were between two and six, we needed to keep it age appropriate and also easy to clean up. I loved to see what the kids created. Everything they made was so unique.
For the menu, the usual suspects were served. Think cupcakes, cookies and cake. As I usually do, I bought store bought cupcakes and added my own colored sprinkles to match the theme. I also ensure we added some healthy options like yogurt parfaits and veggie cups. As I am now more environmentally conscious and cognizant of excess waste, each was served in reusable jars. I also made sure to grab some alphabet cookies from Trader Joes as they are perfect for a toddler party.
My close friend (and mother of the birthday girl) is an amazing cookier and nailed the sugar cookie options in my opinion. Of course, there were ducks and daisies, but how cute are the “2” cookies? She also did the most amazing cake. My rule is always keep the cake simple so it isn’t too distracting in photos and doesn’t take away from the sugar cookies on display.
For the takeaways, I kept in mind the range of ages present (from about 1 years to 8 years old), and got a couple farm themed goodies. How cute is the duck yo-yo and wooden butterfly toy I found at the local dollar store? Also you can’t go wrong with stickers and a pinwheel at any age.
And of course, when I saw daisy balloons from modern party store, Joonie and Joe, I had to get them. I am not even sure I did them right, as I think they were supposed to have one more petal added, but they still looked so good. I had visions of putting them behind the dessert table but they actually were the perfect photo backdrop.
It was hard to say if the birthday girl liked her cake or feeding the ducks. It was definitely a toss up. Another farm birthday in the books. Now who wants to invite me to their next party. The themes are endless. Three little piggies anyone?
