Little House Party Activities

Another successful party for a special little 5 year old. She had never even seen the "Little House on the Prairie," but I sold her on the activities, so that sealed the deal. Awesome. I kept worrying that she would change her mind at the last minute, but she stuck with me and had a blast. Here are some of the details of our party, and the activities we did.

• Coloring - This is always a great starting activity, or something to pass a few minutes.  The girls colored this and this picture.
• Read a "My First Little House" book. 
• Washing Clothes - I cannot overstate how big a hit this was. We probably could have done this the whole time. I had a huge stack of old stained onesies that the girls dunked and hung on the line. They were a perfectly fun little size for them to hang.
• Write with a Feather - The pioneers may or may not have done this, but we enjoyed it all the same. You could also write with a chalk and chalkboard, that would be fun too, I imagine.
• Make necklaces with "Indian Beads" - 5 is a perfect age for Pony Beads and plastic thread. The girls really enjoyed this. I imagine you could turn any number of beads into "Indian" beads, based on age of the kids.
• Guess the # of Clothespins - Wow - 5 year olds are not great estimators. I missed the boat on that one, but the clothespins looked cool in the jar, and it didn't require much effort.
• Making Butter - As I mentioned, if I had fewer moms around this would have been a mistake. But since mommas helped with the shaking, it was pretty interesting.
• Shop at Oleson's Mercantile - I sewed them each a goody bag with their initial on it. I also sewed each a tiny bag, which contained 10 pennies. They got to shop - old fashioned candies (from Cracker Barrel), a little notebook, and corn husk dolls. I think that's it. My least favorite activity. They just all gathered around me while I passed out stuff. Maybe if I organized differently, it would have gone better. This girl seemed to have fun doing it at her party. But it was cute seeing the old timey candy sticks, taffy & mints. Pictured below is me, giving them all a giant lecture about how sugar used to be special.
• Sewing - Picture of their sewing hoop here, and then the overview of my "how to" here. Big hit, I think.

We piggypacked her party onto a lot of other historical discussions and crafts we did this summer, so you might notice our Pretzel Cabin and Covered Wagon in the background. The best "Little House on the Prairie" invitations came from here.

Get more inspiration here: adorable Little House party, American Girl Kirsten Party,  another AG prairie party, this Prairie Girl's party, Homespun Heart Prairie party, a supercute vintage sewing party,

Making Butter

Did you know you can make your own butter by just shaking whipping cream? Add a little salt too if you like (don't forget to drain the buttermilk!) Sure, it's not a huge shocker, but sometimes we forget how food really works. Don't we? At our "Little House" party, the girls got to make and take home their own butter. I just took baby food jars, spray painted the lids, and let them make their own! I'll be honest, this was interesting, but they lost interest quickly. Moms ended up finishing the task. I'm glad we did it, but if I did not have moms hanging around, I would probably not attempt this again. The girls got to taste the butter on homemade bread and were all impressed! Here are 2 posts about butter making, if you would like to read. (Note: We did not use a marble in ours). Read I am Momma or Apartment Therapy.

Little House on the Prairie Party

You've seen the cute birthday girl, and the bonnets, here are some more pics from our Little House party. It was super cute, and if someone cares to hear about the activities, I'm happy to share! I think I have at least ONE reader! I have more fun pictures too when I can squeeze out a moment to post them. Cake by Sarah Wilson. Cookies by Michelle Martin. Making Butter Post here. (**Additional post about all of our activities here.)

Prairie Bonnets

My sister-in-law made bonnets & aprons for the Little House on the Prairie party. Aren't they so cute?? The fabrics: Happy Land Eloise Light Blue,  Amy Butler Love Tumble Roses Pink, Sugar Hill Birdie Pink, Happy Land Claudia Sky Light Blue, and Tea Cakes Tea Rose Vanilla. And here is the tutorial she used. Each bonnet used 1/4 yard of fabric. Much to my surprise, most of the girls kept their bonnets and aprons on the whole entire time! Here are the girls coloring their little house on the prairie pictures.

 

My sis-in-law is a great seamstress and can tackle your project too. Let me know if you want her number!!! Thanks, Renee!!!

Happy Birthday!

My little Katie Belle is turning 5! We had to celebrate a little early, so she is still my little 4 year old for a few more weeks. I'll post more pictures soon of these precious little pioneers! I forgot how cute her 3rd birthday party was (we do big celebrations every other year)! Noah's Ark Party, Part 1 and Part 2.