Fall birthday ideas include apples, hay and tons of fun
Apple orchards and cider mills can be lovely, seasonal locations for fall birthday ideas, but there are some drawbacks. Stay away from cider-seeking bees and long lines by recreating the cider mill experience at home. With the right menu, adorable decor, and games for your fall birthday child, your at-home apple orchard will come to life.
Welcome guests with a themed banner
Paper products can truly tie together your entire theme, and Etsy is one of the best places to find what you need for your fall birthday party. The Party Pack Special includes a birthday banner, door sign and cupcake toppers (Dream Party Paperie, $50). Personalized décor can truly turn your living room — or backyard, if you live in an area of the country where you’re not yet tempting the weather — into your own version of a fall family favorite outing.
Bob for apples without the germs
Bobbing for apples is a quintessential Halloween party game, but many parents will give pause to a game that involves a bunch of young children diving open-mouthed into a bucket of water to try to clamp the same apple selection between their teeth. Change the game, just a little, and have all the fun without all the cross-contamination. Add magnets to plastic display apples, add them to a cute tin beverage container, and use the poles from a magnetic fishing game to let kids take turns pulling the apples from the bucket. Mark each apple with different numbers to correspond to prize bags.
- Threshold™ Hammered metal oval beverage tub (Target, $25)
- Let’s Go Fishing Game (Amazon, $22)
- Garden Fresh faux fruit bag of red apples (Michael’s, $13)
- Tiny craft super magnets (Amazon, $3)
Go beyond cider and donuts
Even an at-home cider mill should be well-stocked with cider and cider donuts. If possible, purchase the donuts the morning of the party, so the soft, cake-like donuts are as fresh as possible. Popping them in the microwave for a few seconds before serving will offer your guests the authentic feel of fresh cider donuts. For an alternative dessert, try our fabulous Creamy Caramel Apple Pie Parfaits.
Create a photo backdrop
One of the really lovely things about a trip to an orchard are the fantastic photo opportunities. Create a photo backdrop at your at-home orchard, and offer to snap shots of all of your guests. Let parents know they’re welcome to use the backdrop for their own photos as well. Depending on your budget and annual photo needs, there are two ways you can arrange a photo backdrop: purchase a professional one or create your own.
The Hay Stack Halloween Professional Photo Backdrop is a vinyl backdrop printed with baby-safe Latex ink (Etsy, $57). The backdrop can be used indoors or outdoors, so it’s a practical option if you plan on having annual fall parties and want to photograph your kids — and your friends’ kids — with the same backdrop each year.
If you’re not planning to reuse the backdrop for later parties, creating your own simply takes a little bit of planning. Find a solid wall on which to stage your photos, whether it’s a neutral painted wall or the wooden wall of a shed. Purchase a few bales of hay at a landscaping store, opening one and creating a floor of scattered hay while stacking the others. Purchase a few pumpkins and one additional fall accessory. The professional backdrop includes a rope, but other fun fall ideas are a bushel of apples, pot of mums or a favorite stuffed animal. While there will be imperfections with the homemade backdrop, you can get a wider variety of photos by letting kids climb on the hay and interacting with the rest of the display.
For more fall photo ideas, check out our 12 Fall photo props for baby.
Do you prefer to have your birthday parties at home or at another location?
