Happy New Year friends! Is it just me or are you ready for things to slow down just a notch? I threw my two boys a joint birthday party before Christmas and now it's past that, past Christmas and past New Year's Eve and everything else in between!
Anyway, just in case you plan to throw a county fair party soon, you're in luck! I've got a few tips in my humble bag of tricks! This party could have used bales of hay and wooden crates but who has time to find these things in Manila, when you're doing everything yourself right? So, onto the usual details.
The invitation: Yes, I still like printing and sending mine by hand. Although I do email invites to those who live a little further away as well! I used those smooth, manila-type envelopes for this and TRIED my best to write guests' names using a calligraphy pen.
Decor: Red, white, blue and gingham everywhere! Tarpaulin signage below matches the invitation as expected. Some people may find this unnecessary but for PhP 480 why not?!
The banderitas (I just realized I don't know the English word for it?) are home-made cut up gingham fabric. Okay... if not for household help in this country, I would have ditched the home-made banderitas for store-bought plastic ones!
Red and blue gingham table-cloths on long rows of tables, immediately makes a party feel like a picnic. I was able to borrow those small, wooden boxes that I placed the balloon centerpieces on, to help them from toppling over as it was a very windy day, and to give it a more backyard, homey feel. You'll probably have to squint to see them!
The chairs didn't have covers on them and so I decided to hang balloons behind them. These were simply hand-pumped at home. Again, thanks to extra help!
These balloon centerpieces on the other hand, were only PhP 205 each from National Bookstore. I simply chose and purchased the balloons, decided on how I wanted them fixed and then for the basic balloon arranging, they charge a very minimal fee. They definitely do it cheaper than those party and balloon places, that much I'm sure of!
For the buffet table, I bought burlap from Divisoria and turned it into a table cloth. It's a must to wash the burlap before using to prevent sneezing fits and allergies.
For the centerpiece of the buffet, Classic Confections (Greenbelt 5) made these horse cookies on sticks for me, which I stuck onto styrofoam that I stuffed into this three-tiered galvanized steel serving tray (Pottery Barn circa 2003). I covered the sides of the tray with ribbons to make it look more festive and concealed the styrofoam with brown crepe paper which in turn made it look pie-like. But really what I was going for was to make this look like a carousel. Not sure if I achieve that, but this would look a lot nicer with the plastic covers off. If this were placed indoors I would have done so.
Lastly, in the decor department of a county fair, label, label, and label everything! Don't forget to put a price to things so they seem authentic!
Food and Drink: The type of food you serve is just as important as the decor in setting the stage for a county fair. Mostly convenient things on sticks like hotdogs and corndogs are on the menu. So with popcorn and cotton candy and maybe some rootbeer floats or milkshakes.
As you can see (below) I couldn't help but make a menu with price tags. Ms. B actually asked me if I was going to give away play money so guests can get to eat!
Of course my one year old birthday celebrant had to have some of his favorites on the snack menu as well...cheerios and honey stars in jars! Putting candy and treats in jars add to the charm of your table setting...
as you can see with the home-made rice krispy treats below made by Ms. B!
What did I say about labeling things? I didn't spare anything, not the sangria...
nor the pink lemonade and the Milo!
One thing I felt was really important and which I went out of my way for were these old-fashioned bottled soda and of course bottled beer...cooling in a metal vat full of ice.
See how charming these little 80z bottles are...and with the classic red and white straws! I'm really shallow, I know.
Cakes and Sweets: A county fair isn't complete without "award-winning" cakes and pies! And that's what I tried to recreate with the birthday cakes and the rest of the dessert table. Here I have Classic Confections' New York Cheescake resting on an upturned wooden bucket.
This birthday cake which was a coffee crunch cake from Shortcrust Cake Shop (B.F Homes, Pque.) that I requested in a larger and taller size, was simply decorated with a smaller version of the banderitas...
while this decadent chocolate birthday cake made by my friend, Malu Del Rosario of Chocolatier Classics, only had a single candle on it because it was the cake stand that I decorated with a prize ribbon.
This was how all the cakes looked together. Oh! And that's french apple pie made by my friend's mom that you spy down there. I'm getting hungry looking at these cakes again!
Favors and Prizes: After all is said and done however, while the adults MAY notice your labor of love fixing the party up, it wouldn't be a fun party for the kids without the party favors and prizes.
Here I organized the prizes on an old wooden wheel barrow covered in the same gingham tablecloth, and organized the smaller ones in more of the wooden buckets.
As for the party favors, I opted for cheaper red and blue paper bags over individual wooden buckets, and stuck a sticker on it...matching of course!
Anyway, as you can see, setting the stage for a charming county fair themed party is all in the little and fun details! They need not be expensive details, but they're admittedly with quite a bit of effort so you may want to start planning early!
