Backyard Farm Birthday Party For Your 4 to 6 Year Old

Pony Rides at a Farm Birthday Party

Turn your backyard into a barnyard with ponies and little animal friends, like bunnies and chicks hopping about for all to cuddle. Bring the farm right on to the birthday table with a cow-themed tabletop and a homemade red barn cake!

Bring The Farm into Your Backyard

Kids are master party planners. I love how their imaginations latch on to a theme in the weeks before their birthday party, dreaming up decorating details and activities for the big day. My daughter, Kelly, just turned four and decided to have a Backyard Farm Birthday Party. Her heart was set on pony rides and a petting zoo. However, I had to make sure that my budget would be able to include all the animal friends (rentable by the hour) that she wanted to invite. We decided to visit "The Farm", a kid-friendly barnyard where goats roam free and ponies happily trot tots around a track, to get a little inspiration for her event. Afterward, we discussed our options and drew pictures of the cake, so there was no disappointment on her special day. Here's what we planned for the party.

Crafty Pony Invitation

Crafty Pony Invitations

The star attraction at the party was ponies. Kelly and I created this fun invitation. We used pink cardstock, and complementary floral paper for the pony's body. Pink feather trim, yarn, and thin yellow ribbon added a playful texture to our invite. I printed the party information on "saddles" and Kelly attached them to the front and back of the pony with glue stick. For your pony invitation, start in the scrapbook paper aisle at your local craft or stationary store. Once you select the main colors and patterns for the invitation, browse around the store for the accent trim.

Cow-Themed Tabletop

Farm Party Table

We decided to feature cows on our party table and in the decor. I was all set to cut out black spots and paste them on white tablecloths, when I came across "cow print" party ware at Oriental Trading. The black and white cow spots on items like cups and balloons were exactly what I had in mind. Best of all, I could easily accent it with a "pop" color like pink, red, or whatever matched my theme.

Barnyard Fun and Games

As our guests were 4 years old, the games needed to be simple and non-competitive. I like to set up a craft table that fits the party theme. It's a good idea to have a place where little kids can ease into a party if they're feeling shy, or keep themselves busy if they don't want to participate in the group activities. There are a bunch of ways you could go with a farm party. Personalized cowboy hats are a favorite, with many decorating items available to put on your craft station such as self-adhesive foam animal shapes and letters, or sparkly crystals and ribbon trim. In addition to a featured craft item, I put small paper bags with handles on the table for the kids to fancy up for a treasure hunt. Treasure hunts are ideal for this age group, where the kids can explore the backyard collecting foil-covered chocolate coins or thematic trinkets, like little plastic animals.

Chicks are a big hit at the home petting zoo we rented for the party!

Along with the rental of the ponies, "The Farm" offered to send a couple of barnyard animals for the kids to play with. My children became particularly fond of a chicken named "Bad Hair Day", during our visit, so we put in a special request for BHD to attend. We could have bunnies, chicks, ducks, even a goat! I thought the goat might be a bit too rambunctious for the kids, so we opted for little, cuddly creatures.

Red Barn Birthday Cake

Candy Barn Cake

Candy on cake always makes little eyes light up! We went with a barn birthday cake, decorated with red licorice, Skittles, swirl lollipops, and Andes chocolate mints on the roof. To give the cake some height, I constructed it similar to a multi-tier wedding cake.

MAKING THE CANDY BARN CAKE

Step 1: Place one rectangular layer cake, about 4-inches high, on a large cake board (available at most craft stores or bakeries). This is the bottom cake.

Step 2: Place another rectangular cake on a cake board that is cut to the exact length and width of the cake. This is the top cake.

Step 3: Cut 8 wooden dowels, as long as the cake is high; a 4-inch high cake would require 4-inch long dowels.

Step 4: Insert dowels vertically into the bottom cake; dowels act as "columns" to support the top cake.

Step 5: Frost the cake with white icing.

Step 6: Create a barn roof from Styrofoam.

Step 7: Frost the entire roof with icing, and set it on top of the cake.

Step 8: Decorate the cake with red licorice for the barn siding, mini chocolate bars or Andes mints for the roof, candy for accents, and animal crackers.

No doubt, this cake took some time, and many bakeries offer farm theme cakes. My little girls loves to bake and, fortunately, I had the time this year to make her cake. When her party was in full swing, she had a huge smile on her face and a look of pride, knowing that she helped to plan and put it all together.

We want to see your party ideas come to life in our Celebrations Forum! Do you have any fun ideas or activities for kids age 4 to 6? Let us know what your kids cooked up in the party recipe section! And if you need any help, just Ask Jeanne.