You know you’ve been to too many birthday parties when you quietly groan at the site of yet another cake. When we got an invitation for a party at Muscoot Farm in Katonah, I knew this party would be different. The morning of the party, the sky was threatening rain, so we put on our rain boots and arrived at the farm in a steady drizzle.
Here’s the thing about Muscoot Farm birthday parties: They’re fun rain or shine.
It also helps when the two moms hosting the party are Scarsdale elementary school teachers. To say these ladies are good with kids is an understatement. I didn’t need to worry about a little ol’ rain. We were greeted by some friendly “big kids ” who led us to a charming white barn. There we had a large room to ourselves with tables set up for the kids to color.
First up, a scavenger hunt! The kids were given clipboards with a worksheet featuring illustrations of a cow, pig, chicken, goat and horse. They were directed to color the animals, then find the animals on the farm and check each animal off. The kids were divided into groups led by “counselors” (cousins and big brothers and sisters) and each group was given a funny name. We were in the “funny chicken” group. And off we went to find the animals!
I didn’t even notice the drizzle and I know the kids didn’t. We found the animals pretty quickly (our counselors kept us moving) and stopped to “huddle up” and talk about which animals we hadn’t seen yet. When we saw another group pass, we shouted our group name “funny chicken” as a show of solidarity and early team building (just like my kids will do in camp one day). The little kids loved having the big kids in charge.
After the scavenger hunt, there was a hay ride. We sang songs (Old McDonald, of course) and spotted a deer running through the woods. After the hay ride, we had lunch and cupcakes in the barn. The kids played outside, climbed on a tractor and ran around. I talked to my friends and enjoyed my lunch. After all, the kids couldn’t go very far. When it was time to go, my kids were exhausted and I felt refreshed. There’s nothing a like a day in the country.
Muscoot Farm is a Westchester County Park and is free to visit. The price to rent the barn for birthday parties is $100, plus the hay ride is $75. You supply your own food and paper products and they’ll set up the room with large tables and chairs. You can rent picnic tables if the barn is already rented. We’ve heard that Saturday mornings at Muscoot are generally empty so you feel like you have the farm to yourselves. Find out more about birthday parties at Muscoot Farm here.
Muscoot Farm: 51 Route 100, Katonah, NY; 914-864-7282
