It all started last summer after an impromptu Family dinner. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much that we thought we needed to do it again. Not that we needed an excuse but we thought that after 40 years of “being Andrew”, he’d earned himself a party in his honour.
If you’re looking to have a farm hoedown of your own, here are a few things that you’ll need.
1. A Farm complete with tractor and pressure washer
2. A Corn Roaster and Smoker. Uncle Kevin welded a smoker just for the event! If you know him, you won’t be surprised.
3. A huge cauldron or a cow trough for beverages
4. Music. We rigged up an ipod to a gettoblaster but considered getting some local musicians to come and play. Next time…
5. Food. The more food produced in house the better; beets, green beans, apple sauce, corn, potatoes, green onions, lettuce and even the eggs were included in our dishes.
6. Camp Fire. You can have a traditional fire, one in a fire pit or try a Swedish Candle. It took a while to get going but once it did, it lasted well into the next morning and would have kept going if we’d kept feeding it.
7. A Chocolate AND Vanilla Birthday Cake.
8. People. While our table was overflowing, it wasn’t the food that was the highlight of the party, it was the people.
Judy and Eric (friends from Camp),
Will, Diane and Ben (my first cousin on my Mom’s side as well as The Kids guardians),
Uncle Don and Aunt Bev, Fred, Marcella, Nanna and Jim, Liz and Kevin, John and Sally, The Zoo and of course Andrew!
BIG Thanks to Uncle John and Aunt Sally who prepared the venue, Kevin for smoking the pork, cooking the corn and coordinating the fire, Ed for barbequing the potatoes, Aunt Bev for cleaning up, Ben and Marcella for amusing The Kids and everyone that brought something for the meal.
Happy Birthday Andrew. Here’s to (at least) 40 more…
Have You Ever Hosted a Surprise Party?
Eight Things You’ll Need For An Authentic Farm Hoedown (a.k.a. Party) @zoojourneys http://t.co/d6NIASfvCY
— Journeys of The Zoo (@zoojourneys) August 12, 2015
Looks like an amazing day 🙂 I love the rustic feel to the country!
Is it an optical illusion or is the cake sloped?
Dear Soozle,
No pulling the icing over your eyes.
The cake is in fact sloped (much to the chagrin of my Aunt Sally that baked it). The reasoning was because she didn’t have two equal sized cake pans so when she “married” the chocolate and vanilla cake, there was a difference in levels. No one noticed but if they had, we were going to say it was a “ski slope” as my brother loves to ski!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our day. It was amazing.
Besos Sarah
Sarah recently posted…Find Out How You Can Save for Your Child’s Education with RESPs
I am so glad it turned out as wonderfully as it did. I wish I had a farm to hoedown because this looks splendid. We have never done a surprise party because I can’t lie. I have been to a surprise party for my MIL though and it was great 🙂
aneta recently posted…Label it ALL With Mabel’s Labels #Giveaway
Dear Aneta,
We only told one little white lie… Andrew thought that it was Liz’s birthday instead. He even helped pick out all the birthday decorations and many of the other details 😉
Besos Sarah.
Sarah recently posted…Get Ready for Back to School with LunchBots from @BabyJoy_ca! CAN, 8/31 #ContestAlert
What a beautiful setting for a hoedown! I haven’t thrown a suprise party but I’ve had two thrown for me — a sweet 16 and one for my 30th. It’s high time I turned the tables and threw one for someone special! Maybe Uncle Andrew’s 41st? 🙂
Julie Dyer recently posted…Want, need, must-have: The Sengled Pulse wireless light bulb speaker
What a beautiful party, loved reading about it. I especially loved the Swedish Candle, I’ve never heard of that before. I’m afraid I don’t know anyone with a farm here. I used to go up during the summer and help out my cousin on their farm. Harvest season was always lots of fun with huge parties for all the helpers.
Happy birthday, Andrew!
What a great farm you got. You sure know how to throw a shindig! 🙂
Freda recently posted…#62: Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
This looks like such a fun party! Perfect for a get-together with our extended family at my BIL’s farm!
gotta love a crackling camp fire
Can I come to your parties?? Wow – looks like so much fun!!!! Love the corn smoker. But seriously, where is my invite 🙂
Well well, it looks like a fabulous party. That Swedish Candle has me amazed, and the food, friends, and family must have made uncle Andrew feel really special. I only hope I have friends who love me this much when I turn 40!
My 12-yr old daughter no longer has traditional birthday parties. She actually prefers to have celebrations like these; with just her family, “camping style”, with a fire & great BBQ’d food, music & laughter. We go away every summer on her birthday weekend & have the best time.
Dear Krista,
All of our family birthday parties are like this, we call it a “Mexican Fiesta” as people can bring whoever they like. The more the merrier. If you every need any more “family members”, we’re always up for a party 🙂
Besos Sarah.
Sarah recently posted…Get Ready for Back to School with LunchBots from @BabyJoy_ca! CAN, 8/31 #ContestAlert
That’s awesome! Who doesn’t love a surprise party and and with a corn boil to boot? I love that you were able to have such a great time with the people/family in your life. Memories you’ll never forget.
Jason recently posted…Dialysis And Donations
I would prefer a live band to a boom box!
If I get to choose. 😀
This sounds like a fabulous way to celebrate a 40th birthday!
Peady @ Tempered with Kindness recently posted…Too Much Looking. Not Enough Leaping.
I’ve spent much of my life in Western Canada, so western themed parties are pretty common… I love them and its a great thing for kids (so much fun and GREAT food). Happy 40th!!!!
Dear Aliya,
Next time we’re going to get a mechanical bull!
Besos Sarah.
Sarah recently posted…Treat Yourself to a Relaxing Weekend with Essentials from Stayfree! CAN, 9/24
Ohhhh awesome likes like a great time , and a great theme , so cool Happy 40 th Birthday 🙂
Just add s’mores!