JOHN DEER PARTY

Another fun decoration is this photo props that is picture perfect. It's a John Deere tractor photo stand in. Not only is it great entertainment for the young ones, it will no doubt help you take great photos of your birthday child and his or her guests. Send a picture home with each child as a party token or mail out with thank-you notes and be sure to save copies for the scrapbook as well.

Birthday Express has buckets of John Deere decorations you can load up on like a framed signature matte, keepsake scroll and floor puzzle just to name a few.

TABLE DECORATION IDEAS

When it comes to tables, we've got cha covered! Tables are fun to decorate and are a great way to bring in your theme and colors. In fact, they are so fun, you may want to bring in more than one. I always do!

The cake, beverages and snacks can be grouped together on one table or each made into separate ones. You can even have a gift table. I usually cover tables for the guests to sit at as well.

A table cover is a great place to start. You can use solid green and yellow plastic ones or even sheets, pink and green for the girl's theme. I haven't found any John Deere themed table covers but you can always improvise.

Fun by the yard! Themed fabric in the green or the pink is not hard to find. Just cut out a piece and fray the edges for the rough and rugged down on the farm look and you have an easy fix!

Another fun idea is to cover a table in yellow or pink with the cover flowing to the ground. Cut a scrap piece of green indoor-outdoor astroturf carpet for the top. Add some tractor toys and a few mounds of dirt and you have a fun and interactive table the kids will remember for a long time.

Check out this First Birthday table cover from Birthday Express. It is actually the Johnny Tractor theme but it fits right in.

A centerpiece is important because it is the focal point and puts a finishing touch on the table decor. This is one featured in the photo to the left is our pick because it is picture perfect! It comes in pink as well as the green.

You can also get creative and make your own. Weight some yellow and green (or green and pink) helium balloons down with a John Deere cap or tractor toys.

To decorate the tables, spread out the food, drinks, cake or whatever is going on the tables and go from there. Fill in empty spaces with toy tractors, bales of hay, John Deere caps or whatever fun farm things you can find that adds theme to it. John Deere blow outs and party hats make the cut for festive table additions. You can even scatter packages of John Deere fruit snacks about.

Here's a clever idea. Purchase a pair of John Deere kid's boots and fill with sunflowers, wheat grass or even helium balloons. Not only do the boots make unique table decoartions, your child will love wearing them later.

The containers you are using to serve the food and beverages can add to the décor so use fun ones like John Deere serving trays and John Deere bucket tins. A John Deere pail with shovel even makes a creative container to serve out of. And of course John Deere theme napkins, cups and plates not only make fun tableware, they add mow decoration too! For even more fun, you can personalize them with photos!

Little deeres run out of fuel if they don't have some food to get em back in gear so feed them well, John Deere style!

If your party falls at or around mealtime, be sure to serve some filling food as well as snacks. We have included both main dishes and snacks so you can pick and choose what works for your party!

DISAPPEARING HARD HAT SANDWICHES

Make up sandwiches like peanut butter and jelly, chicken salad or deli meat and cheese and cut each in fourths, triangles or squares. Arrange them in a John Deere hard hat and watch them disappear!

TACO SALAD

Make up a batch of our taco salad (below). Double it if desired. Be sure to end with the shredded lettuce on top then place a John Deere tractor on top of the "grass".

TACO SALAD

2 ripe tomatoes, diced

1/2 pound sharp Cheddar, diced

1 large onion, diced

1 head iceberg lettuce, was"hed, drained and shredded

1 pound lean ground beef, browned, crumbled and drained

1 cup salad dressing (recommended: Catalina)

1 (7-ounce) bag tortilla chips, crushed

salsa on the side

Tortilla chips, extras to set nearby

Brown the ground beef with a packet of seasoning. Drain and place in a yellow or green bowl. Add the tomatoes, onions (optional), cheese, and crushed chips and stir in the dressing. Add shredded lettuce on top and place a john Deere tractor on it. Serve with tortilla chips with salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side.

JOHN DEERE DOGS

Hot dogs are always a favorite down on the farm.

Simply grill, broil or boil weiners and set inside a bun. Arrange on a yellow or green platter or you can even stack them in a galvanized tin bucket for a really fun effect!

Serve chilli, cheese, diced onions, relish and all the fixin's on the side. Don't forget to set out musturd, ketchup and mayonaise too.

FRESH FRUIT AND VEGGIE TRAYS

Display the harvest! Everyone loves fruit and veggie trays so why not make one of each? Fill er up with all the good produce you can find. You can serve yogurt did with the fruit tray and ranch dip with the veggies.

PIGS IN A BLANKET

These pigs will warm the hearts and tummies of your guests. Add a little green food coloring to a biscuit mix and stir well. Wrap hot dogs with the mix and bake until done for a new twist on a n old favorite!

For even more John Deere recipes, check out this cookbook!

SWEET TREATS

WATERMELON POPS

1 cup sugar, divided

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin

2 cups boiling water, divided

Ice cubes

1 cup cold water, divided

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin

3-4 Tablespoons miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 pkg. (4 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1-1/2 cups thawed Whipped Topping

First, mix 1/3 cup sugar and lime gelatin mix in medium bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to 1/2 cup cold water to measure 3/4 cup. Add to lime gelatin; stir until ice is completely melted. Refrigerate 25 min.

Then, repeat what you have done using strawberry gelatin mix and omitting the refrigeration step. Pour into 16 (3-oz.) paper cups. Freeze 20 min. Stir 1/2 tsp. chocolate chips into gelatin in each cup.

Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar with mixer in medium bowl until well blended.

Stir in whip cream and spread over gelatin in cups.

Pour lime gelatin over cream cheese mixture. Insert wooden pop stick into gelatin in center of each cup. Freeze 3 hours or until firm. Remove pops from cups just before serving.

A really fun way to serve these is to split a watermelon and place green side down so that the red part is facing up. You will need to slice a bit off of the bottom so it wont wobble. Stick the pops into the watermelon.

HAYSTACKS

Ya gotta have haystacks when you have a John Deere. These are yummy and easy to make.

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1 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup peanuts

2 cups chow mein noodles

Melt the chips and peanut butter (3-5 minutes). Stir in peanuts and chow mein noodles. Drop on wax paper. Put in refrigerator for faster set or let sit overnight on counter.

CAKE POPS

Everyone is reved up over cake pops these days and it's easy to see why. They are fun to make and fun to eat and oh so cute too. Use a Cake Pop maker to bake up the pops then push in a stick and dip in green and yellow (or pink) candy melts. Add yellow, green or pink sprinkles before they dry. You can wrap in plastic wrap if you want and tie with curly ribbons, yellow ribbons on the green ones, green ribbon on the yellow ones. If you are baking for the pink party, alternate pink and green accordingly. Arrange on a John Deere platter or in a yellow or green basket or bucket.

OTHER GREAT IDEAS Set out John Deere candies as well as bowls of yellow and green M&Ms and yellow and green suckers too. John Deere snack packs work well also.

You even can make your own tractor lolly pops with these fun molds.

BIRTHDAY CAKE

Ask any kid what his or her favorite part of a birthday party is and you will probably hear, "The cake!" Make sure your John Deere birthday party cake is one the kids will get reved up about. We have some suggestions to help you get in gear.

Our friends created this sweet cake by tracing a picture of a John Deere tractor onto a piece of waxed paper and outlining the tracing with an icing pen. The wax paper was then removed and the cake decorated accordingly with green, yellow and black whipped canned icing then outlined with a black icing pen.

Another great idea is to bake and frost a cake, then add a John Deere cake topper like this one that comes with a toy tractor, plastic fencing and trees. It's fast and easy! And the best thing is that your birthday child can play with the tractor after the party.

For the more adventurous, get a load of this. You can make your own tractor shaped cake using this cake pan from Birthday Express. Simply follow the instructions that come with the pan and you have one cake the children are sure to dig. I recommend using Wilton icing colors for the green and yellow or pink and green as it is fantastic for producing bold bright coloring!

You can also bake and frost your own rectangle or round cake and add small John Deere tractor toys on top. You can even decorate the cake to look like a field using graham cracker crumbs for the dirt. Add fences, trees, animals, etc. then place the toys on top, one for each child if possible. The children especailly like picking a toy off the cake to take home.

For a nice effect that works for whichever John Deere cake you choose, invert unfrosted cake to a covered sturdy piece of cardboard. You can use green or yellow wrapping paper or even an excess piece of yellow or green (or pink) table cover. Decorate the cake. Add cut pieces of yellow and green curly ribbon around the cake after deorating.

Don't forget the candle! We didn't find any John Deere themed candles but all children are proud of their new age so why not get a number candle?

Kids deerely love these cupcakes! They are easy to make and fun to eat and less messy too. They can be served instead of a cake or along with one. I like making minis as well as full sized ones.

Hats off to this one! You can bake cupcakes using our recipe or one of your own. Next, frost with white or yellow tinted frosting and add John Deere cupcake picks.

You can also bake up a batch of cupcakes using yellow and green cupcake wrappers and frost with alternating yellow and green Wilton icing colors. Of course if you party is for a girl, you can add pink in the mix. Frost the ones in the green liners with yellow and visa versa. Add yellow and green jumbo confetti sprinkles in the same manner, yellow on green and green on yellow. Top with a John Deere tractor toys.

Another really great idea weed like to share is our Mower Please cupcakes. Frost your favorite with green frosting and add green tinted coconut on top of each, the longer shreds, the better. Add a tractor toy atop of each and you are good to mow!

Take your cupcakes to a whole new level! To attractively display your masterpieces, consider a Cupcake Tower like this one from Amazon.

I actually have two matching towers, a smaller one for mini cupcakes and one for regular sizes. When using confetti sprinkles, I use small dots on the minis and large jumbo dots on the larger ones and it is a fantastic finishing touch. Plus, the display adds height to your table setting and nice decor as well.

Taking your cupcakes to another location? You may want to check out this convenient Cupcake Carrying Case.

BEVERAGES

Time to gas up! The children are running low on fluids and need some refreshing. Make sure the drinks at your John Deere party are both refreshing and fun!

Here's a cool idea. Fill John Deere utility buckets John Deere bucket like these with boxed or canned drinks and ice them down.

Or, if you really want to go all out, fill up this John Deere Wheelbarrow with ice and drinks. If you don't have a John Deere brand, any wheel barrel will do.

You can also opt to put a little punch in the mix using one of our John Deere punch drink recipes. Serve in a John Deere tin tub or in a regular punch bowl. Make our ice ring using John Deere fruit snacks. If the children are young, do make sure they do not drink the candies.

Green Gatorade or Powerade make good drinks to serve as does lime or apple Kool-aide.

If the children are older, you can serve a yellow beverage out of a new, clean five gallon gas tank.

Remember to serve the drinks in style with John Deere theme tumblers or cups. Enjoy!!!

NOTHING RUNS LIKE A DEERE FUEL

2 lg. cans pineapple juice

4 cans frozen lemonade

1 (46 oz.) can Hi-C orange

10 cans water

1 c. sugar

2 bottles ginger ale (2 liter)

Mix together and serve chilled!

BE A DEERE PUNCH

2 c. sugar

2 pkg. lime Kool-Aid

2 qt. water

1 (46 oz.) pineapple juice

1 qt. ginger ale

Dissolve sugar and water. Add Kool-Aid and pineapple juice. Add ginger ale. Pour over ice or add our John Deere ice ring.

>JOHN DEERE ICE RING

Taking a ring Jello mold fill it half full with Sprite. Fill 1 inch with water. Add John Deere candies. Freeze hard. Turn out onto tin foil then rewrap and store in freezer until ready to use.

MOWER SMOOTHIES PLEASE

6 bananas

6 cup milk

3-4 teaspoon vanilla

6-12 ice cubes

Blend ingredients in blender until smooth and serve immediately.

The children will have a hay day with these fun games. Ice Breakers are games and activities played at a party to help the children get to know one another. It is a great idea to play at least some at the beginning of the party so the children can warm up to the group.

WHO AM I?

When the children arrive, place a sticker or picture of a farm animal on the back of his or her shirt. Pair the children in groups of two. One child will look at his or her partner's animal and act it out until the child guesses what animal is on his back. Then, the tables turn and it is the other child's turn to guess. It is best to pair children up who do not know one another since that is the point of the game, to get aquainted.

HAVE YOU EVER?

This game can be simplified are made more difficult according to the age and maturity of your guests. Have the children sit in a circle and ask questions about life on the farm such as, "Have you ever riden a tractor?" The children whose answer is "yes" will run around the circle to get back to their spot for the next question.

Other questions can be" "Have you ever picked apples on a farm?" or "Have you ever painted a barn?"

CHARADES

The little ones may need some help with this one but it can be fun for all ages.

Have the children sit in a semi-circle. Each child will take a turn picking something on the farm to act out. Have them whisper to you what the word or phrase is and then, without talking, they will act it out.

Whoever guesses the answer correctly gets to be the next actor. If a child gets stuck and has trouble coming up with a word or phrase, you can assist.

A DAY ON THE FARM STORY

Have one child start a story about his or her day on the farm. After a few minutes he or she will pass the story on to the person to the right to continue. It is fun to see what imagination the kids have.

APPLE PASS

It's time to harvest apples on the farm and it's a race against time to see which team can finish the task first. Divide the children into two groups. Have them form two lines. Give an apple to the first person in each group and on the count of three, the two teams must pass the apple using only their chins.

The apple must be passed right down the line and cannot be touched by hand and may not be dropped. If it is dropped or touched, that team must start over. The team finishing first wins.

Gear up, everybody...there's gonna be a hoe down! Are you fueled up for some fun on the farm? We have some great John Deere party games for you that your little one and his or her friends are really going to love.

ALL AGES

HAY RIDE

It goes without saying that if you have a tractor and trailor, a Hay Ride is in order. No John Deere party is complete without one. But what if you don't have the farm facilities? Well...improvise! Do you have a wagon? Add some hay and pull the kids around or better yet, let them pull each other. You would be surprised the simplest things that kids love and remember for years to come.

Add even more fun by hiding green and yellow Easter eggs in the hay that the kids can dig for. Fill them with fun toys and candies. The child that finds the most can even win a bigger prize like a John Deere tractor toy.

SACK RACES

For some good, old-fashioned fun, sack races can't be beat. Mark and start and finish line. Give each child a pototoe sack or pillow case and help them get in the sack, feet first. On the count of three, the children will hop to the finish line. The first one there wins.

PINATA

A pinata is always a hit. Be sure to include one at your party. Hang it from the ceiling inside or from a tree outside and let the children have at it. I like to give each child a sack to put their goodies in prior to playing. I also like to let the younger children go first so the older ones don't bust the candy out too soon!

YOUNGER CHILDREN

It is best to keep games short and simple when it comes to younger children. Don't stress on games rules as they will no doubt create their own.

TRACTOR TIME

Set out a box of tractor toys and let the little ones play. If your party is outside, you can let them play tractors in the dirt. Give them some plastic shovels to create hills and even some plastic farm animals for the full effect.

If your party is indoors you can lay out a sheet to designate a "farm" area. Let them plow away. Give them toy farm animals too.

MUSIC

Playing music is a fun idea to really set the farm scene. "Old MacDonald" is a favorite farm tune for youngsters. Check out this fun Farm Songs cd for kids. And this incredible John Deere CD is tons of fun too!

THE FARMER AND THE DELL

Have the children form a circle and choose one child to be the farmer. Sing the "Farmer and the Dell" song along with them while nds and circle around the farmer. The farmer will then pick a wife and the wife will pick a child and so on as the song goes. Each time a child is picked, he or she will enter the inside of the circle with the others who have been picked. If you don't know or have forgotten how the song goes, click here. Or, download or purchase the music from Amazon.

* I like to put a special twist on the game since being the last one picked could make a child sad, I then let that child start a new game and play it once more.

TRACTOR RACE

Have the children line up, side by side, and get on their all fours as if they are tractors. On the count of three, the children will race (on their hands and knees) to the finish line.

OLDER CHILDREN

WHEEL BARREL RACE

Here's another oldie but goodie. Pair off the children into groups of two. Designate one child to be the "wheel barrel" and the other one to be the "farmer" . The "wheel barrel" will walk on his or her hands while the "farmer" holds their partner's feet and guides. It's a race to the finish line and the first couple there wins!

JOHN DEERE SCAVENGER HUNT

This game is especially fun. Divide the children into two groups. Give each group a list of things that you will have previously hid before the party. The groups can choose a team name like the Dirt Deeres or Team Tractor. The two teams will race to find everything on their list before time is up. The team that has the most items wins. * If you have or can get two wheel barrels, it is even more fun to have the teams push them around to find the goodies, loading each item in the cart.

HORSE SHOES

This game has been a favorite for years. You can purchase a very inexpensive version by Melissa & Doug on Amazon.

JOHN DEERE ACTIVITIES

We've got mow John Deere activites than you can ever imagine. We have dug deep to find all the best sow get a load of what activities we have picked out.

JOHN DEERE PUZZLE

The little ones will have a blast putting this giant John Deere floor puzzle together. It has 34 pieces and measures 2'x3' and will keep the younguns occupied for a long time!

JOHN DEERE MOVIE TIME

Bring out the popcorn and plug in a John Deere action dvd or 4 part John Deere movie for some really fun movie time flicks. There is a single dvd or you can choose the four part DVD's and you can watch one or two during the party and save the others for later. Or, all four are perfect for a sleepover.

THE WRITE STUFF

Let the children sign their names to this John Deere frameable poster. Makes for party fun now and a nice keepsake for later.

JOHN DEERE ART

Let the children color and do fun activities with a John Deere coloring book and John Deere activity book. Play some music like "Old MacDonald", John Denver's "Country Boy" and other fun on the farm songs.

ACTVITY MATS

Let the children have great fun with John Deere activity mats. Makes a great party token to take home as well.

COSTUMES

Dig these t-shirts! Your little one and his or her guests will be fit for the farm with this cute-tee! Top it off with a John Deere hat, available in pinkfor the girls and for boys. The shirt and the hat make awesome party favors too!

You can go green too! Amazon has adult size John Deere t-shirts and adult caps too!

Your birthday boy or girl will truely be truckin' with this get up from Buy Costumes. Fits sizes 4-8. You can let your child wear it for the party and then again for Halloween or even donate it for a needy child to wear. At our friend's party, the mom let her son wear the costume for a while at the beginning of the event and then used it at game time to designate the child who was "it".

Don't forget Fido. Get a load of this John Deere dog costume. Now the family pooch can celebrate in John Deere style right along with everyone else. This doggie tee is just too dog-gone cute!

Send your party guests home with some of the harvest by giving them favor bags as they leave the farm.

First of all, you will want to decide what you are going to put the treats in. Knowing the size the containers will give you a good idea of how many favors to purchase and what size they should be.

This John Deere theme box is ready to be filled with fun favors.

If you want to get really creative, turn a John Deere cap upside down and fill it with goodies, one cap per child.

You can also make your own favor bags if you choose to. One idea is to decorate green and yellow solid lunch sacks with John Deere stickers. Spruce the sacks up even more by adding 3D paint. You can even write each child's name on their sack.

My daughter had a great idea for a homemade gift coloring sack that went over so well, she does one for every party in the coordinating theme. Just download a coloring picture, like a John Deere tractor. Print on light yellow, light pink or white lunch sacks. If your printer wont allow the sack to come through, you can just print the pictures out and glue them on with a craft glue stick. Make sure to include a small pack of crayons in each bag so the children can color the picture.

Now it's time for the fun part...filling the containers. There are loads of fun John Deere theme toys and tokens that the kids will really dig.

Of course you will want to include some John Deere tractor toys in the mix.

Toss in some tasty John Deere candy too. Now you can order your own personalized candy bar wrappers to include in the treat bags. Sweet!

Pocket sized John Deere books and jumbo coloring and activity book like this one from Amazon are a perfect addition. Also available from Amazon is this activity book with fine tip washable markers. Of course John Deere t-shirts and caps work great for sure! And for a First Birthday, why not throw in a John Deere bib?

Birthday Express has a nice selection of John Deere party favors like John Deere coin banks, note pads, stickers and lots, lots more.

Add other fun things in the bag or box too like small containers of play dough, yo-yo's, silly straws, magic animals and towels that grow in water, silly putty and whatever other inexpensive toys you can pick up here and there.

And yet another option is to purchase pre-filled John Deere favor boxes like these. You will certainly save time and often, money as well.

THANK YOU NOTES

Once the party is over, you will want to be sure to send out thank-you notes to thank the guests for gracing your child's party. I like involving the birthday boy or girl in this activity to teach them manners and appreciation.

One route you can choose is fill in the blank cards with the John Deere theme like the ones shown below. They are available in First Birthday, Second Birthday and basic.

Or, you can opt for the personalized versions like this one. You can use a photo of your child at his or her party or decked out in a John Deere t-shirt and cap.

I like adding a photo of the guest you are sending the thank-you to like perhaps one that you have the children pose for on the John Deere photo prop. I also like adding some fun confetti in with the thank-you and dressing the envelope up with theme stickers.

GIFTS

Here are our picks of some really charged up John Deere gifts! So if you're looking for a great gift for the birthday boy or girl...take a spin!

Our family has found that often times, purchasing the party supplies in one bundle package deal is often the way to go to save time and money. Here are some John Deere party packages you can do your own math on.

Remember, nothing runs like a Deere so now that you have a handle on your John Deere party, you are on the right path to one smooth running, fabulous party. Combine our innovative ideas with some creative custome touches of your own and you are steering in the right direction. Above all, relax, seize the moments of the big day and enjoy the ride!