Tractor Party {Birthday}

My son celebrates his 4th birthday today!  We had some family and friends come over this past weekend to help wish him a happy birthday.

Guests first received these tractor invitations that I created with the help of PrintCandee's Vroom Vroom Transportation clip art. These are also available on my Etsy shop.

I kept the tractor theme going with a gingham pattern for the banner rather than a sold color.  Truth be told, this is my favorite I've made banner so far.

Last year I began asking my son questions about his favorites.  I did it again this year and it was fun to see how his answers have changed.  His responses were displayed on the food table along with a tractor he painted his grandma last year.

We served just a few appetizers and treats including a Farmer's Garden (veggies and fruit), Tractor Dipping (chips with hummus, salsa, and my mom's homemade guacamole), and Dirt Cups (chocolate pudding, crushed chocolate sandwhich cookies, and gummy worms).  I used some grass printed scrapbook paper to wrap up clear plastic cups for the dirt cups. They turned out pretty adorable!

I wanted to have a cake made for E, but they were going to be much more than either my husband or I wanted to spend.  Instead, I made a cake for him and decided to make one that was grain free.  Sounds gross, right?  But it's not!  My sister has been grain free and refined sugar free for the past year, so she helped me find this Strawberry Shortcake from The Urban Poser. (I also wanted her to be able to indulge in the cake.) I used traditional whipped cream for the "frosting" and put a cute little red tractor on top that we found at our local party store.

I said it was delicious, didn't I?

We offered up our pool for those that wanted to swim, but I knew there would be some kiddos that would not want to go in, like the birthday boy himself.  I made this tractor cut out from an old carboard box that my folks had on hand.  E *loved* it and the other kids had fun with it too.

We gave away these sand pails and shovels filled with seed packets, soil, and plastic bugs to all the kids in attendance.

I love when you get to see the finished product of what you've been envisioning for some time. I couldn't have been more pleased and E couldn't have had more fun on his special day.

*Some photographs were taken by my sister and owner of Emma Youngdale Photography.  You can find her website here or on Facebook here. Follow here real food diet journey and get amazing recipes like the one for the Strawberry Shortcake here.