State Fair Theme - 2nd Birthday Party  This party, for my son's 2nd birthday in October, was based on North Carolina's marvelous State Fair. I had a goal in mind to do as much of this party "hand-made" as possible to help keep costs down, but you couldn't tell from the finished product that this wasn't a top-notch party. For invitations, I used bandana print paper, coupled with linen-weave vellum paper inserts and raffia ties to send out with the party details. On the bottom, I put "Concessions and games provided!" to let everyone know that we would have lunch, not just a cake! For the location, we held this at our home. Thank goodness the weather held, and we could use all the backyard as well. I decorated the front stoop with huge bunches of colorful balloons that I blew up using a rented helium tank, well worth the money. (These bunches were loosely tied to the railing so I could send the kids home with a bunch each as they left). Inside, we had a red and white checkered tablecloth in the kitchen with the birthday cake in the center. I had made a pumpkin cake out of one chocolate bundt cake and one yellow bundt cake. They were joined bottoms together with bright pumpkin-orange buttercream frosting. For the stem, I frosted a cake cone with green frosting. The foliage was silk ivy leaves inserted all around the bottom of the pumpkin, and a few coming out of the stem. I made curly vines out of green pipe cleaners to stick out of the leaves as well. The backyard was where the real fair came alive. I had three bales of hay situated together in a circle for the kids to sit on with bunches of balloons on them. Scattered around the yard were the game stations. They each had a sign and a bunch of balloons to designate them. The games we played were "Jump for Leaves" (construction paper leaves clothespinned to a low-hanging clothesline), "Coins in the Jar" (mason jar glasses with game chips to toss in), "Bean-Bag Toss" (clown picture on a cardboard base with holes cut out), "Obstacle Course" (route set up using slide, bouncy ball and hay bales), and "Bowling Pins" (soda bottles with sand for weight, wrapped in tissue paper, and a basketball for the bowling ball). I had tickets of differing colors at each game, and when the kids played they would take a ticket to the prize table and pick out a prize from that color bag. I had gotten stickers, pencils, slinkies, tattooes, party games, and candy for the prizes. Each kid had a goodie bag for their loot with their name on it, and there were extra prizes for kids who couldn't stop playing the games. For food, we had a crock pot of chili with shredded cheese for topping, corn dogs, french fries, and corn on the cob on a stick. These were served in red and white checkered paper trays and paper towels. The adults loved the chili, and the ease with which their kids could eat their food as well. For snacking, we had pita chips and snack mix. For beverages, I had a large cooler filled with lemonade drink pouches for the kids and canned sodas for the adults.  The kids all loved the games, which we played first. I ran through each station first to show them the rules, and then let them go to each themselves. The adults just stood back and had a blast. Then we ate, and then we had cake, and then we opened presents. The party flowed very well, with no pauses, since the kids were well occupied at all times. And I could get all my stuff done without having to man the games myself. My son had a ball, and mostly enjoyed seeing all his friends and family playing together. All the kids left wanting to stay longer, and we could have played all day! (P.S. - The only idea I had that wasn't safe for this age group was a fried dough station. I was going to have my husband man a fryer and make everyone funnel cakes with powdered suger on top. However, I didn't have an area in my backyard that was safe enough to secure a fryer so that the kids didn't knock into it and get burned. But I would definitely do this with an older crowd who would be a little more cautious.)