Happy Birthday - Party Planning

October 2016 - Our Ambassadors

Birthday Parties. I’m going to be really honest. I dread them. I actually cringe when I think of parents that have 3 or more kids for whom they have to plan and execute these excruciating events. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE kids and my home is quite known for organized playdates. I think it’s just something about the time and energy it takes to decide on the what, where and when, all of it supremely unique, that both exhausts and annoys me. LOL, sort of.

My son’s 8^th birthday had come and gone, and still we had not thrown him a party. Bad timing (September is so busy for us), laziness, both? Who knows? It just wasn’t coming together. It wasn’t until my family attended a recent obstacle race (called The Freakn Farmer at the beautiful Covert Farms Family Estate), that I had my “ah-hah” moment. I thought to myself, “how cool would it be to host a party here, where the kids can learn about organic farming, taste organic food, and then finish off the tour with a fun, wet and muddy obstacle race?”. I quickly ran over to the owner of Covert Farms and told her my idea. She loved it and agreed to keep the kids’ course up till the following weekend. Cool.

The next few days my fingers were quick at work putting this all together. Pulling off a party like this in less than a week required some help. So I reached out to some key people who I knew would help make this event amazing! The cake, cookies, décor and extra goodies were all sourced locally. Supporting local small businesses is huge for me, so I encourage you to always source local first before buying elsewhere.

One of the biggest challenges was the party food. Now, I realize when most kids think of birthday parties they think of hotdogs, pizza, chips, pop, goody bags etc. This is another reason why I dislike birthday parties. It’s all crap. Can I say that? I knew I didn’t want to be a promoter of crap; for this party I wanted to focus on delicious and nutritious items that were fresh and yummy and nutritious – including the “goody bags”! I actually wanted to see if they would eat what was there for them or complain about what wasn’t. I wanted to quietly show them that healthy food is delicious!

I decided on a menu of warm vegan stew (to warm up the kids), and veggie sandwiches. Next stop was a visit to my local Nature’s Fare Markets store, where I can always count on the produce to be organic, seasonal, and fresh!

Our produce list consisted of celery, carrots, sweet potatoes, red peppers, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, red onions, alfalfa sprouts, garlic, and broccoli. We also picked up a few extra organic items to make our menu complete. Goody bags were comprised of apples, organic lollipops, Annie’s cheese crackers, and honey fruit snacks. Having all of these items available in one location for me is amazing.

Our friends at Pure Gym + Juicery created the most amazing stew that I have ever tasted. You would actually think there was meat in there…it was that thick and tasty. We then got our hands on fresh baguette loaves from Cobs Bread and the girls at Pure made up delicious veggie sandwiches. These two items were a huge hit with the kids, and adults too! It was such a rewarding feeling to see kids of all ages enjoying what normally they would say “no thank you” to at the dinner table.

Mission accomplished.

Finally, to end off our Organic Freakn Farmer party we began the obstacle race. I honestly don’t know who had more fun. The kids participating in the race OR the parents watching them. Fresh air, healthy, nutritious food, and some physical activity all made for a great party.

We’d love to hear from you on some unconventional parties you have thrown or attended. As Moms, life is busy, so sharing alternative options is very much welcomed! We hope you enjoyed one of our alternative birthday party suggestions!

………Now let’s all say “ORGANIC”!