Stay at Home State Fair

One of our favorite summertime traditions is spending a day at the State Fair! We love the thrill of the rides, visiting the cute animals, the challenge of the games, and of course, all the indulgent fried foods! The fair is such a cheerful way to wrap up the summer, and since it was not an option for us this year, we decided to have our own Stay At Home State Fair!

When Isaac suggested we add the idea to our summer fun list, the Ferris Wheel in my mind started spinning! No surprise the first thing I started mulling over was what we would eat! Haha! Mouths watering, we reminisced over our favorite fair treats, and then decided on a menu of fried pickles, corn dogs, curly fries, corn on the cob, frozen lemonade, some fresh watermelon (because something needed to be healthy!), and elephant ears. I don’t have much experience making fried foods, but I have to say, they all turned out pretty tasty!

We used a spiralizer to make fresh curly fries with Yukon gold potatoes. Once cut, we soaked the fries in water for 3-4 hours, dried them thoroughly, tossed them in olive oil, and then baked them in the oven on 425F for about 35 minutes, moving them around with a spatula every 10-15 minutes to ensure even browning. When we pulled them from the oven, we gave them a generous dusting of coarse kosher salt. A tad healthier than fried fries, and SO delicious!

To make the frozen lemonade we just whipped up a large batch fresh squeezed lemonade (juice from 7-8 lemons, 1 1/2 cups of simple syrup, topped off with water). We filled two ice cube trays with the lemonade, and reserved the remainder in the fridge. When the lemonade ice cubes were frozen, we blended them with the lemonade. Super simple, sweet, and refreshing!

As we prepped our food, we decided to spread out all the indulgence and eat the elephant ears the next morning as part of our breakfast. It was a great decision for our bellies and our taste buds!

We knew finding fun games would be critical to our Stay At Home State Fair success. Wanting options that were simple and reminiscent of the games we played at the fair, we scoured Pinterest for ideas, and landed on balloon darts, ring toss, cup tower, and a barnyard animal cleaning station. Each of the games were easy to set up, inexpensive, and used mostly items we had around the house!

Balloon Darts
Isaac spray painted a scrap piece of plywood and then attached blown up balloons with tape. He had purchased a set of new darts for the game at the grocery store, only to return home and discover that someone had stolen them from the packaging! Oops! Turns out some really sharp pencils work okay in a pinch. They weren’t quite heavy enough to pop the balloons by throwing them, but the kids had a ball running up to the balloons and giving them a good jab.

Ring Toss
For the ring toss we used some decorative bottles we had around the cottage, and placed them on an upturned cardboard box that we had spray painted. We twisted two pipe cleaners together and formed them into the rings. Doesn’t get any easier than that!

Cup Tower
After the ring toss, we set up a pyramid of paper cups on the cardboard box and let the kids try and knock them all down in one shot with a small inflatable ball (which also happened to be one of the prizes!).

Barnyard Animal Cleaning Station
On a small table outside, we set up a large plastic bowl of soapy water, 2 toothbrushes (from a 4-pack from the the Dollar Tree), and a set of plastic farm animal toys that we had dunked in the water and then rolled in the dirt. We explained to Isla and Cole that the animals had rolled in the mud and now they needed a bath so they would be sparkling clean for the fair. The kids had a ball scrubbing the animals, and Cole kept taking the already clean toys and rolling them in the dirt so he could wash them again!

The games were plenty of fun on their own, but you can’t have a fair without prizes! I gave this aspect of our day a lot of thought, because I try to be really intentional with our purchases so that we aren’t overloaded with stuff and contributing too much waste, but I also wanted the kids to feel the thrill of a true fair-like experience. Thankfully, I found some amazing options at The Dollar Tree that the kids wanted, needed, or would definitely use:

• fairy wings (Isla has been asking for new fairy wings for weeks, and I knew if Cole saw her wearing them he would want a pair too! I foresee lots of great imaginative play happening!)
• a journal (Isla uses them constantly, and this journal had a black scale print, reminiscent of Toothless, so I was certain she would go crazy for it!)
• a sparkly pencil case (perfect for Isla’s special pens)
• a ball
• a minion toy (this definitely falls into the LPC “little piece of crap” category for toys that I try to avoid, but I knew Cole would just adore it— life is all about balance, right?!)
• a cement roller truck (no matter how many vehicles Cole has, he is always thrilled for the next one, and he uses them all!)
• a mini stapler (somehow we didn’t have one and Isla asks to staple things all the time)
• a build your own birdhouse kit
• a construction vehicle coloring/sticker kit
• an Onward movie puzzle (perfect for family game night!)
• set of canvases

The kids were so excited they could barely contain themselves when we revealed the prizes to them. Isla exclaimed, “These are WAAAAAY better than the real fair toys because we’ll actually use these!” I was so dang proud of her response!

Ferris Wheel Art
While art projects are not typically part of the fair, I thought it would be fun to commemorate our Stay At Home State Fair with a collaborative piece and so we created this playful Ferris Wheel collage! The kids pained different sheets of paper, which I cut out to make the wheel and individual buckets. Then we snapped a few silly photos us, each imagining what we would be doing if we were in a Ferris Wheel. Can you tell I am not a fan of that ride?! Safa is clearly not impressed either. I was, however, so happy with how this little project turned out!

Barnyard Bingo
I don’t know about you, but I love playing BINGO at the State Fair! It is a nice little break from the hustle and heat of the day, and winning some extra elephant ear money is always nice! I created these cute little Barnyard Bingo boards (see inspiration here) by making a table in a Pages document and dragging saved clipart into the cells. This game is perfect for a fair themed party, and the fall season, so I have no doubt we will be reusing it over the next few months!

Pseudo Photo Booth
Before bed we wrangled the kids for a few photo booth-esque pictures. I created the strips in Photoshop and then printed them so we could hang them up and reminisce about our Stay At Home State Fair!

That night we all fell into bed tired, full, and happy— just like after a day at a real fair, only less dusty and with more money left in our wallets! Our Stay at Home State Fair was a great success, and I am truly surprised by now simple and affordable it was to pull together! There is a good chance this could become a new summertime tradition… at the very least, we will be making fried pickles more often!