For my daughters first birthday party we threw a BUDGET CONSCIOUS barnyard birthday bash with an emphasis on cows! Invitations: I made them on the computer. They were very simple with a picture of a barn on the front with a rooster saying Rhys' First Birthday" On the inside they said Please join us for a barnyard birthday bash! I added clip art of cows & a number one. The invites cost me nothing b/c I made them myself and handed them out in person. Those who were too far away to attend I sent them email invites. Decorations: I printed out a barn clip art that I liked and put it on an overhead projector and traced it onto cardboard. I bought paint at Hobby Lobby on sale for 2$ each. (red brown & black)I still have lots left over. If front of the barn I borrowed 6 bales of hay from my family and put 3 on each side of the barn. On top on the bales I put metal tin cans left over from infant formula with bandanna ribbon wrapped around the tops & bottoms and raffia tied around the middle from the Dollar store. Inside I put bandanna print balloons. I gathered farm animals (toys decorations etc) from our house and placed them around the barn & hay bales. At each table I had red tables covers from the $ store and in the center I put stuffed cow toys and play tractors/barns & her radio flyer horse on wheels!. I tied multi-colored balloons and balloons with cows on them at each table. I also tied raffia around bandanas to look like napkins.  The craft table was covered in brown butcher paper and had craft supplies scattered around that I purchased from the $ store and coloring pages of cows I printed off the internet for free. GAMES: I bought a cow pinata from a discount online store and filled it pencils play dough etc... from the $ store. They all got a bandanna print box to put there prizes in. I made a pig toss game out of a cardboard box. You tossed the small bean bags into the mouth. I set up a cow bowling game we already had at home. We also did a time capsule. Food: The food table was covered in bandana print paper and had a huge cow balloon in the middle. I put chips and crackers in cowboy hats that I put upside down and lined with bandannas. I put the drinks in a red wash tub and filled it with ice. We also served animal crackers. The cake was cuddles the cow. She was pink & purple. I also made cupcakes and topped them with an Oreo sundae topping. It was crushed up oreos with little white cream cows. We used the 1st b-day barnyard print plates & napkins. I played a Farmer & the Dell CD in the back ground that had all kinds of farm songs on it. All the kids received bandannas and cowboy hats  to wear to look like farmers (from the $ store bought around Halloween!!. My daughter wore overalls and a cow print bandanna and drank from her cow sippy cup! Most of the children we know are 4-10 year olds and they all said they had a good time at a 1yr old party!"