Ideas for Kids Farming & Harvesting Parties
- To enhance the harvest and farming theme, decorate the party area with corn stalks, pumpkins, gourds and hay bales. Use baskets filled with apples as table centerpieces. Ask a local farmer to bring a tractor to let the kids climb on and take pictures with.
- Play pin the tail on the donkey. If you are having the party outside near water, like at a park by a river, have a rubber duck race. Each child will get a rubber duck. The adults will mark off a start and finish line on the water. Then all the ducks are dumped into the water at the starting line; the first duck to reach the finish line wins.
Have an adult demonstrate to the children how to do a pig call, and then let the children have a pig-calling contest. Hold a cow-calling contest, as well.
Have all of the kids dress up as either farmers or farm animals. Then have a costume contest and give out prices to the kids with the best costume, the most unique costume and the funniest costume. Encourage the adults to dress up as well. - Prior to the party, set up a hay maze for the children to crawl through. Cover the top of the maze with netting. This will let the sunlight into the maze, but prevent the kids from standing up and looking for the exit. It also allows children to see their parents, so if they do get scared, their parents can tell them where to go to get out.
- Serve foods that are natural and reflect the food harvested. Serve caramel apples, apple cider, pumpkin pie, pumpkin rolls, sunflower seeds, potato pancakes and corn on the cob. These options reflect the season and the theme of farming and harvest. They are also better-tasting and better for the kids than processed and prepackaged foods and snack.
