A few months ago my now 8yo said she wanted to have a pioneer-themed party.  Immediately my brain started turning and flooded with ideas.  Not much more was said, the ideas trickled here and there, and it was before I was on Pinterest.  However, it seemed a mini family vacation with an amusement park visit were more likely than a party to celebrate both girls’ birthday.  Then about a month before her actual birthday, K. told me she wanted a party, a pioneer one.  She didn’t want it specific to “Little House on the Prairie” because she loves this time in history overall and the many stories she reads, including the Little House books.  In fact, this past year she was a pioneer for the Harvest Festival.   (Her grandma made the costume for her!)  Later, on a field trip when we went to a historic home and she wore her costume again.  She sleeps in it sometimes.  When she has a set of chores she sometimes puts it on.  She loves her costume and I love her imagination.  I loved Laura Ingalls when I grew up, or perhaps Melissa Gilbert more, so this was fun for me too.  I started looking on Pinterest and getting ideas, and getting intimidated.  Not long after, one afternoon, when we were slower than usual because of some illnesses, we took the time to make party plans and I realized the party would have to be after her actual birthday.  I’d never have time to do it all (and I still was short on time!).  K. had A LOT of ideas, super creative, and I wanted to honor that and bless that and incorporate her ideas as much as possible.

I’m posting the images here with the MANY details below.
joy!

Invitations

We did her invitation on PaperlessPost which was great.  They went out a month before, and were free and SO cute.  We did a gingham envelope liner, kraft “paper”, and some pretty wildflowers.  The colors for her party were pink, red, yellow, blue, and green, so we kept with those.  I was also able to use this to send a message to all the moms a few days before the party about attire and food choices.

Organic, Gluten Free Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Frosting and Old Fashioned Decor

 I used Pamela’s mix to make an 8-inch round double-layered cake.  I frosted it with this buttercream strawberry frosting, and instead of frozen strawberries, I used fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market.  I used farmer’s market blueberries dusted with sugar to decorate it.  K. loved her cake, so I was happy.  There often is room for improvements, but since she was happy, I chose to be thrilled.

I set the table using a pink gingham flat bed sheet that I already had for the tablecloth.  I used an extra piece of burlap that I had (Home Depot garden center) on the wall.  I also used a bunting flag that I already had from Starlit Nest.  The fresh flowers were from the Farmer’s Market.  I tried to keep within the color theme, and give it a fresh, whimsical feel with the snapdragons and yellow freesia, in the blue vase (that I’ve had for a few years and sadly chipped it that morning) with a string bow.  I had an extra pail that I stuck a pot of daisies in for more flowers and added a scrap of fabric so the pot from the daisies didn’t show.

The little pioneers would eat cake in “tin pans” (dollar store aluminum pans for popcorn.)  They would eat with wooden utensils (bamboo forks, one of my biggest splurges.)  The forks were placed in a bean can that I had saved and washed earlier.  I filled it with dried split peas (bulk section at Sprouts, cheapest bulk bean and the right color!).  I tied the can off with extra fabric, ribbon scraps and a button.

K.’s idea was to use our wagon for gifts which I labeled with a heart “slate” I already had.  I kept trying to tie it on, and it didn’t work, and K. told me to lean it on the rock.  Brilliant child.  We had wanted to cover it, but that didn’t happen.  (This is a constant theme of this party: the lack of time.)

In-Town Lemonade (served in chilled mason jars)

Last year when we read the entire Little House series I appreciated that, for Laura, lemonade was a completely novel drink, primarily served in town.  For the party, we collected lemons from my parents’ lemon tree, my husband juiced them, I added filtered water and Sugar in the Raw to taste; and we had lemonade!  I served these in chilled Mason Jars (Target has them), that had a hole drilled in each lid, and a paper straw (Amazon and elsewhere online).  Similar to the pails for supper (below) we had to file down the drilled areas so there weren’t any snags.  All the jars were washed and dried after this, then put in the freezer until the start of the party.  Prior to the freezer, I used a Sharpie paint pen to put initials on the bottom of each jar and that worked well.  The lemonade was VERY popular.  I did have to replace the paper straws about half way through the party because they lost their structure and were starting to peel.

Activities and Games for the Pioneer on the Prairie Party

• Pick an Apron …(see below)
• Pick a Hair Ribbon… After picking the fabric out for the aprons we picked a few spools of ribbon that coordinated with the fabrics and colors.  I then cut them into good lengths for bows and clothes-pinned them on a basket.  Each girl picked  ribbons to wear, which they took home with them as well.
• Hoop and Stick Saces… hula hoops and a stick, running.
• Hop Scotch, old fashioned court and that link has a list of pioneer games.  (I meant to put pennies in a jar next to the hopscotch court, but didn’t get to that either.  Cough-cough.)  Even games were harder for pioneers but the girls liked trying out a new court.
• Three-Legged Race…  We used fabric strips, leftover from the aprons, to tie each team together, and a clothesline for the finish.  Great fun.
• Sack Races…  I split the girls into two teams for this one.  (Burplap sacks were already made at home with burlap from Home Depot’s garden section.  You’ll need to wash the burlap first, and it isn’t pretty but it does the job.  $4 for 3 sacks.)
• Water Race… Just like fetching the water was a common chore, we had the girls use a ladle to scoop up water from a galvanized tub, run/walk with it and fill up a bucket.  You’ll need to have a smaller bucket, even a glass, or a timer for this one, otherwise it will take awhile.
• Capture the Flag…  It may not be officially a pioneer activity but we did use patriotic fabric strips as flags that tucked into the girls’ aprons.  My P.E. teaching husband organized the game and it worked very well.  The rules of no teaming up were important and it was fun for the girls to be running around.
• Shake and Make Butter...  We did this as a homeschool activity earlier this year and brought it back.  The jars were from Cost Plus (spice jars), and the labels I made at home.  I bought Trader Joe’s organic heavy whipping cream, and filled 1/3 full.  The girls had to shake it.  And shake it.  And they marched around, down and back, and kept on shaking.  And after about 15 minutes, they had butter.  (The butter was supposed to be spread on cornbread muffins– oops, fell asleep the night before and that was my “time” slot to make them.  So they just took the butter home which was still exciting from what I hear.)  Papertowels are good to have on hand in case of explosions– avoid those by not overfilling the jars to begin with.  You can also add a marble so it makes a noise and helps agitate the cream, but NO ONE had marbles in town or online.  In fact, the ones I ordered only came with a note that read, “Sorry, we are out of stock.”
• Pail Supper…  I looked everywhere for metal pails that could fit a supper.  They were pricey for eight of them, but so important for the “feel” we wanted.  I was desperate for some other ideas and found this pdf about pioneer times.  So I decided to look for large tin cans as found at a restaurant or grocery store deli.  The grocery store never got back to me, although they used them.  However, my dear friend Melissa’s husband manages a restaurant and HOOKED US UP with 10 pails.  My husband drilled a hole in each side, and I tied on a twine handle.  I lined each pail with a cloth napkin.  We did simple sandwiches, an organic apple and an organic carrot.  (No cornbread as I meant to have.)  We laid down two quilts on the grass for the girls to eat on and a napkin to lay it out on and to use.
• Story time  While the girls were eating and recovering from their hard work of shaking butter and all the fun from the games, I read them a story from the Grandma’s Attic series.  K. loves this series so it was fun to share with her friends.  I also had a basket of books out for them so they could enjoy a little reading and down time during their supper.
• Indian Bead Hunt & Bracelet Making.  My daughter was intrigued by Laura Ingall’s experiences finding Indian beads near her home.  K. had the idea of the bead hunt, which we did after supper.  I purchased a container of plastic pony beads at Michael’s (with a coupon, so $3), and we scattered them on the ground.  The girls picked up their beads in their tin cans.  After they collected them, we had some extra in a bucket as well, they used a ribbon to bead a bracelet that could be tied on.

Then we had cake, and ate it too.

Mercantile Shop

For the “favors” we had each girl visit the “Millar Mercantile.”  (Mercantiles and town stores were such an important part of growing frontier towns as pioneers moved out West.)  Ours was stocked with the old fashioned goodies including: lemon drops, candy sticks, saltwater taffy, soft peppermints, and See’s marshmallow chews.  I also had kettle corn and meringue cookies.  All of this was gluten free too.  For containers I used glass vases, jars, vases turned upside down, plates, and a bushel basket.  I purchased two mini scoops (Wilton’s).  Each girl received a glassine bag and chose what they wanted from the Mercantile.  (Originally I was going to have the girls earn pennies from the games, and let them “buy” items.  But I ran out of time to make that work, and ultimately wanted needed to simplify.  So I was the clerk and I asked each customer/girl choose what they wanted from the store, which worked out nicely.  The sign for the mercantile was made from reclaimed wood– literally.  I went to my friend’s house who is remodeling their backyard and took a scrap of wood from their old fence.  My husband sanded it down and I painted it.  I was hoping to make a pretty design but I was short on time (theme) and did it freehand.  We drilled a hole on each side and hung it up by string.  I used an IKEA curtain that I had for the backdrop to give it its own space.  All of the treat labels were printed on cardstock, folded and I used a mini clothespin to keep it weighted and not blowing away.  You could also do tags hole-punched and tied off with string for each item.  I tried using paper grocery bags for the tags but it required more work than I had (blank) for.  (“Time” is the fill in the blank.)  I purchased candy at Target, Smart & Final, and See’s Candies.  I purchased Kettle Corn and Meringues from Trader Joe’s.  They took their glassine treat bag home in their pails, along with their butter, and wore their hair ties, aprons, and bracelets home.

Each Girl an Apron…

Now, my (step)-mother-in-law and father-in-law were super-generous about a year and a half ago and purchased a sewing machine for me.  I put K. in sewing classes, and she taught me how to use it. 🙂  I have sewed a VERY limited number of items, so limited I’m not sure what other than the sack-racing sacks I made last fall.  So I went on YouTube to find out how to sew an apron.  I saw it in my mind, which is always dangerous to the time I then subconsciously commit to, and came up with a design and sketched a pattern on a paper.  I checked it by measuring my daughter and guessing a bit.  I took K. to Joann’s with me for her to pick out mix and match complementary calico fabrics that we could use.  I also picked out some muslin for lining the half aprons.  Armed with coupons and making use of a sale, I spent less than $20 on all the fabric I needed, and I had leftovers.  The fabric for the ties was too short so I had to sew those on separately, which was more work than one whole piece, but I had to make it work at that point (less than 24 hours to the party time).  I also made a mini apron for my M., so she could be a part of her big sister’s party.  The day of the party we hung them up on a clothesline with clothespins.  My husband joked that our neighbor came out to ask if we needed money for dry cleaning.  I was really proud of my work, but nervous that they would fall apart.  However, they stayed on great and were so cute.  I was really proud, relieved, and felt like I can now I say I can sew a little.  Exciting times.

Making the Children’s Half Aprons: To make these I measured 24″ wide and 12″ height. and cut the laundered fabric.  I folded the edges two times over, ironing each time, and pinned them.  I did the same for the muslin.  I sewed the muslin lining/backing with the calico all around.  Then I added the straps.  The straps were difficult because the fabric was much more delicate than the other calicos.  I added pleats.  I’m certain there are better ways to do this, but it worked for me and that was what I needed to do!  The point is that we can always get better, but we have to start somewhere and really try our best to grow.  I didn’t know if this project would work, but it did!  And I grew in the process.

 

All in All…

Best of all, I’m so glad that my 8yo knew I worked so hard on her party so that her birthday was everything she hoped for and something she’ll always remember.  I love that she loved the party and had so much fun with her friends and they had fun too.  I’ve tried to share what I did, and how it didn’t require a lot of money to do it.  Time, yes, and I did run out of that.  But there was time enough to make it special all the same.   And I had a moment that morning at church where I was reminded that most important to the party was God’s love being there.  This was very challenging in my “do” mentality, to “be.”  (Ah, the Mary/Martha struggle.  I always say how different women would be if the lady and her brand were “Mary” Stewart.)

Now you could do this party and spend more money and make it even fancier, and prettier, and “better.”  Hopefully you’ve been inspired by a few ideas that you can make your own and use to bless your own children.  All in all, I’m glad that I caught  the pioneer spirit: that I reused materials, supported the local farmer, was resourceful, and pushed myself to learn how to make things, do new things, to honor God, and that my family benefited from that.