Last weekend was party time again in the Marmalade Pie household. My youngest son turned five and once again we booked a nearby hall for some traditional fun. We had a children’s entertainer so didn’t have to worry about providing games and activities, but we wanted to give the room a fun theme based (loosely) upon Tom’s love for horses and tractors.
Creating a pony-themed party for a boy is a little tricky as everything tends to come with a large helping of pink glitter. To create a neutral, country feel, we chose bright red gingham tablecloths. My mum bought some very inexpensive fabric for these and quickly hemmed them for me.
They look much nicer than plastic ones, and will last for future parties. A few artificial plants brighten things up too, along with some brilliant paper plates and cups from Tractor Ted. We also used these sweet little cardboard pots for crisps from Talking Tables.
I had great fun making this year’s cake. My inspiration came from a wonderful cake I found on Pinterest. My buttercream skills won’t stretch to that, so I created an easier version with white buttercream and lots of wafer daisies. The cake underneath was a very simple three tier, six egg Victoria sandwich with homemade strawberry jam. One of Tom’s favourite horses looked fabulous on top. It’s a little girly, I admit. You could swap the daisies for sweets for a less pink effect!
We kept the party bags simple. I try not to buy cheap, generic plastic toys and instead go for something that ties in with the party’s theme. I bought little brown bags from Tiger (£1 for 6) and decorated them with a horse sticker (printed at home). Inside went a homemade iced biscuit, some sweets, a toy horse and an extra sticker. The little horses were £5.50 for a pack of twelve.
We only dipped our toes into the pony party theme, but you could do so much more. Imagine if the whole thing was in barn, with straw bales for seats? I was inspired by lots of fabulous ideas on Pinterest and I’ve gathered everything I loved together on one board if you fancy some more inspiration:
Follow Marmalade Pie’s board Pony / Farm Party on Pinterest.
You are a wonder! I bet Tom will remember this party all his life xxxxxx
Thanks Ruth!
Very inspiring, as I am currently thinking about how to mark my son’s first birthday at the end of this month. I think I may use your 3 tier buttercream cake idea, as it is quite simple and looks lovely.
Massive credibility for not being scared of a bit of pink on a boy’s cake. I am impressed!
Thank you Anna! I used 18cm tins for the cakes and baked them in batches as I only had two tins. I think a lot of 5 year old boys actually quite like pink!
Loved looking at this cake! The party looks fab. Just the kind of thing my twins would have loved at that age. Gemma xx
Thanks Gemma – we loved eating it as well as looking at it! 🙂
Oh Lizzie this is beautiful! I love the gingham table cloths, makes it all look very expensive!
Sounds like Tom had a wonderful time 🙂
Making me feel very boring checking out all the local soft play centres for my Freddie’s 5th in March!
Xx
Thank you Imogene! We all had a fab time at the party. Getting an entrainer in made it SO much easier. Soft play is a great option if you don’t want too much hassle, I am tempted some years!
Happy Birthday to Tom!
Thanks Katie!