This Step by Step How To Guide will provide you with everything you need to know to throw an incredible Farmers Market Party! Your attendees will love it!

Farmers Market Parties are all the rage recently. But have you heard of them? Earlier this spring my sister approached me saying she wanted to throw a farmers market party. As soon as she explained the idea to me, I was immediately in! We both love going to markets ourselves, and even had a brief stint of being vendors last summer with our short-lived baking business.

We had several months to think about what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do it, and we settled on a theme: favorite things! Shortly thereafter, we settled on a date. With the what and the when lined up, we jotted down a guest invite list and started piecing everything together.

If you’ve been around a bit you’ll know that I love event planning! In fact, the last party I posted about was a Favorite Things Party, which is still one of my favorite parties to host (or attend) – so we decided to combine that idea with the farmers market theme and voila!

What is a farmers market party?

Let’s first define what a farmers market is. According to Wikipedia: “A farmers’ market is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers’ markets may be indoors or outdoors and typically consist of booths, tables or stands where farmers sell their produce, live animals and plants, and sometimes prepared foods and beverages.”

A farmers market themed party is where you invite friends to bring an array of thoughtful, intentional and delicious contributions. Something you’d find at a local farmers market! It’s a creative gathering where friends make or source a favorite item and everyone “shops” by exchanging their goodies. The best items to bring are the ones you probably already have the supplies for (or are already growing in your garden). You bring the foods or hobbies that bring you joy!

The only rule is that it has to have some sort of homemade element to it. Something painted/crafted, created, baked, canned, grown, sewn, etc.

Once you have the final head count you can let your guest know how many of their packaged items they will need to bring.

The goal of the party is to be a celebration of community, creativity and enjoying the simple pleasure of homemade goods shared among friends, both old and new.

The invite

Because of the nature of the party (and I suppose depending on how many people you plan to invite) and also because it is summer and everyone has extremely busy schedules, we sent out our invites about 6 weeks in advance. We wanted to have plenty of time for our attendees to check their calendars and gather ideas.

A couple of days after the invites went out we sent a text to all of the invitees:

“Hello! By now you should have received your Farmers Market party invitation! We are so excited for our party!! Just a couple of things to know: RSVPs are requested no later than 8/1. The number of items you bring is dependent on how many guests we’ll have, but it should be somewhere in the ballpark of about 15 or so – but we’ll know more when we hear from everyone. Also! As soon as you know what you’d like to craft/create/make/grow, if you’ll let us know so that we can avoid duplicates (it will be first come, first served). We hope you are as excited as we are and we hope to see you there!”

This was a great text to give friends an idea of what to expect and contained a little more information than the invite had.

We set the RSVP deadline two weeks before the party date. The day after the deadline we had our official headcount and then sent this text to everyone that would be joining us:

“Hello farmers market friend! The party is quickly approaching and we’ve got some updates for you!! We have on official headcount – there will be 16 total guests so please bring 16 individually contained items (i.e. think as though you’d be selling your item at a market and a customer would be purchasing it and adding it to their market shopping bag). If you have not yet notified us of what you’ve decided to bring, please do so at your earliest convenience to avoid duplicates. Just a reminder that we will be providing drinks and refreshments so come hungry :) The party will be held in the backyard, so when you arrive please follow the concrete sidewalk on the west side of the house and through the gate to find us! Looking forward to seeing you soon!”

What’s in a name?

We named our party the “Sisters Saturday Swap” which felt fitting because a) we’re sisters! And b) getting together with girlfriends is also like a sisterhood. It was the perfect fit for us! Other name ideas for your party might include:

• Farmers Market Swap
• Saturday Swap
• Friends Market
• Summer Swap
• Friendship Farmers Market
• Sunday Swap
• Girls Night Swap
• Seasonal Swap

What to bring to a farmers market party?

Honestly the possibilities are ENDLESS! Because this was a new-to-us party, we assumed it would be new to others as well, so on our invitation we put lots of ideas to help get the creative juices flowing.

Here’s some of our suggestions:

• Honey
• Jewelry
• Homegrown produce
• Granola
• Body scrub
• Jams or jellies
• Salsa
• Pickled veggies
• Candles
• Baked goods
• Bath salts
• Simple syrup

We themed our market party as “favorite things” so essentially if you have a favorite recipe or family recipe or some sort of tradition you enjoy – it would be the perfect addition for the party!

So what’s next after the invites are out?

• Decide on a menu
• Settle on a theme/decor
• Figure out a party favor if you’d like to spoil your guests
• Think of an activity or two for guests to do while they take turns “shopping”

Planning for our party began long before the invites were sent out. You’ll want to decide if you want to include food and drinks, or just snacks, or a party sans food altogether. We knew because of the party time (6PM) we wanted to include food and drinks. I had come across this idea for individual charcuterie boxes a while ago and saved it for the right time. This party was the PERFECT setting. We also knew the perfect drinks to serve. Last summer one of our top sellers as farmers market vendors was a delicious peach ring lemonade – so that immediately got added to the menu. We also provide bottled waters as well (because hundred degree summer: say no more). Then we rounded out the meal with a gorgeous Sunshine table cake made with orange cake filled with strawberry & orange curd.

Once you have your menu decided you can move onto décor. Farmers market parties can be indoor or outdoor. Depending on how many guest you have or your specific space options you can determine where you want to host it. I’ve seen probably an equal amount of indoor vs. outdoor – so you decide! Should you decide to host outside, keep in mind the weather can affect your party. If possible you’ll want to provide shade for your guests on hot summer days and may possibly need coolers/ice packs for any market items that require refrigeration.

We hosted our party outdoors. Given the number of guests we knew it would be more comfortable outside (minus the heat wave we’d been experiencing). We used canopies for shade and had a rechargeable misting fan going to provide a slight amount of relief from the heat. We wanted it to feel as close to a market as possible, so I went to a local (extremely local… new-to-me hidden gem down the street from) u-pick garden where I hand picked some fresh veggies – peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini etc. the day before. Our neighbors happen to be farmers and they let us borrow a few various-sized bushels that worked perfect for holding veggies and flowers! Earlier this year, I discovered the CUTEST flower stand at one of my local summer markets! The morning of the party, I went and picked up arrangements for the seated table centerpieces, along with table décor for holding the market goods. They were the PERFECT addition.

You’ll want to come up with an activity to keep your guests entertained while they take turns “shopping” the market. A couple of weeks earlier, a friend had asked me if I’d ever heard of sprinkle embroidery – which I hadn’t. She sent me a video example and I was immediately sold on the idea! I thought it looked really fun and I didn’t have to think twice about including it in our party. It was an absolute blast! We baked mini individual cakes using these adorable containers with store bought cake mix and store bought icing. We bought a variety of sprinkles and provided tweezers for each guest. We also printed an example sheet for anyone who needed a dose of inspiration.

Party favors

Because the number of guests you invite will already be going home with that number of market goods, you technically don’t need to provide a favor. However, if you’d like to it’s a lovely gesture and a fun little extra bonus surprise! We really leaned into the idea of an actual market decided to grow some herbs from seedlings and give those as gifts. This was my sister’s brilliant idea. She grew oregano, dill, cilantro and basil. Packaged them up cute-as-can-be so that on the way out, each guest could choose an herb to take home! She also made cute little bookmarks!

How do I put together a floral bouquet bar?

When doing research for this type of party, I kept seeing bouquet bars and I immediately fell in love with the idea. As one who regularly keeps fresh flowers on my kitchen counter, the idea of everyone else getting to do the same was an instant yes for me. If you want to add in this fun activity it’s really quite simple. Decide how many stems each guest can go home with, buy an assortment of florals and greenery to choose from & then decide how your guests will make their bouquets. Either wrapped or in a vase! We went with the wrapped option, although I really wanted to do the vase idea. I just couldn’t get my hands on enough vases for a reasonable price. We sourced our flowers from Trader Joe’s which has great affordable flower options.

Because I knew I would be crazy busy the day of the party I went to Trader Joe’s the day before to secure our florals and greenery (I had scoped out their offerings and prices the week prior). I decided to get a few different greenery stems:

• Star of Bethlehem (LOVE this one!!! Blooms stunningly)
• St. John’s Wort
• Eucalyptus (two varieties)

Then landed on a couple of different colorful florals:

• Dahlias
• Gerbera daisies
• Waxflowers

Each bunch ranged in price from $3.99-$5.99 for most of them. The really nice thing that Trader Joe’s offers is free buckets for transport, as well as some water to keep the stems submerged – which I thought was really helpful AND thoughtful. Just be sure to secure them properly in your car as you take them home and don’t be a dummy like me with tipped buckets and water spilling all over your trunk! ;)

Out of convenience I also purchased the Trader Joe’s easy bouquet wraps so that each guest was able to wrap their arrangement to take home. These were $1.49 ea. We provided an assortment of ribbon choices to complete their masterpieces.

How do I put together a charcuterie?

The individual charcuterie boxes were a huge hit! I’m so happy we decided to have this as our meal. At first I wasn’t sure if it would be substantial enough, but after having the charcuterie, the lemonade, the table cake AND market goods samples – there was more food than we were prepared for and not a soul went home hungry!

We purchased some of the supplies on Amazon:

• Charcuterie Board Boxes
• Wildflower Grease Proof Food Dei Sheets (to line the bottom of the boxes)
• Mini Glass Honey Jars

The meat/cheese/crackers were purchased from a combination of Walmart/Costco/Sam’s Club/Trader Joe’s

• Everyone was raving about this Huckleberry Cheddar from Ballard Cheese – https://ballardcheese.com/products/huckleberry-cheddar (purchased from Costco)
  
• The Seahive Cheddar Sea Salt & Honey Rind was also quite delicious – https://beehivecheese.com/products/seahive (purchased from Costco)
  
• The meat assortment of salami/pepperoni/prosciutto (purchased from Costco)
  
• The Honey (purchased from Sam’s Club)
  
• The entertainment crackers (purchased from Walmart)
  
• The European Milk Chocolate Biscuit Cookies (purchased from Walmart)
  
• Garnishes like grapes and rosemary can of course be picked up at your local grocery store.

What supplies will I need for my farmers market party?

You can use separate stations for each attendee to display their goods (or of course they can always be just placed directly on the table). We purchased crates from Hobby Lobby, BUT for future parties I’d love to source various containers from thrift and antique stores. That’s on my to-do list over the next year until our next party.

As I mentioned before, I thought it would be really fun to incorporate REAL vegetables! So the day before the party I went to a local u-pick garden and snagged a 5 gallon bucket filled with peppers, zucchini, squash, eggplant and on top of that I grabbed some onions, garlic and tomatoes. At the end of the party I opened the bounty and invited our guests to take home any veggies they liked! They LOVED that surprise.

I also happened to be at my local home improvement store about a month before the party and scored some petunias on clearance for $2 a plant! So I bought a bunch, planted them and crossed every finger and toe that I could keep them alive during our unprecedented heat wave. It was a lovely addition to the décor. Such bright vibrant colors!

If your guests are going to be giving out samples it is really helpful to have tasting cups. 2oz cups are the perfect size.

Because my sister and I co-hosted the party, and she invited her friends and I invited mine, not everyone knew each other – so we made place settings and assigned seats so that people would be next to familiar faces. I printed two copies of each name and used the second set of names to identify everyone’s market goods. It was a great way to do the work once and benefit twice.

You’ll want to provide some sort of bag for everyone to put their loot in that they score. We found our cute reusable totes on clearance at Hobby Lobby. They were perfect!

So what did everyone bring to OUR party?

We got SPOILED!!!!! So many amazing and incredibly talented friends attended.

• I couldn’t help myself and so I did two different favorite things. When my husband and I moved into our house I stumbled upon this DIY kitchen sink scrub that I fell in love with. I’ve shared it with a handful of people over the years and everyone who uses it loves it just as much! So I made a sink scrub for everyone and paired it with a mini castile soap and mini sink scrub brush. I’ve also become insanely obsessed with all things sourdough and I love making crackers with discard. So I made a two-pack of flavors – one with cheddar crackers and the other with everything bagel seasoning/toasted sesame. Yum!
  
• My sister also couldn’t help herself and did a couple of items as well. She made the most delicious homemade pesto. Along with that she made an equally tasty homemade chocolate syrup and used these cute jars.

Additionally our party guests brought the following:

• Homemade notecard set w/(2) thank you, a congrats, best wishes and happy birthday cards.
  
• Homemade strawberry freezer jam.
  
• Farm fresh eggs and the cutest little hand-beaded chicken& egg keychain you’ve ever seen.
  
• Salsa (salsa verde, traditional fresh salsa & a chipotle variety).
  
• Berry syrup w/cake cubes.
  
• Party chex mix.
  
• Pepper jelly & crackers.
  
• Homemade (hand illustrated) color pages & crayons.
  
• Browned Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
  
• Pickled onions – a sweet version & a spicy version (the absolute best I’ve ever had in my entire life).
  
• Rosemary-Lemon Finishing Salt.
  
• Canvas market totes.
  
• Handmade (sewn) Rag Dolls.

As everyone started arriving to the party and setting up their “stations” our minds were continuously blown. For most everyone who had anything edible, we gave the option to sample their goods and that was such a fun and unexpected addition to the party. There were chips for the salsa (and all three were available to taste), cake cubes for the berry syrup, tasting cups of chex mix, pepper jelly & cream cheese MIXED with crackers (ummmm who has ever thought to mix the two? I’ve always just poured the jelly over the block of cream cheese – mixed was a game changer), pickled onions over a hummus topped cracker, mini cookies and toasted baguette slices with butter and finishing salt. It was all so good.

In the few weeks that have passed since the party, text messages have been flying back and forth of friends showing what they’ve used so far, and the various recipes they’ve made with their family! It’s been so fun to see everyone loving everything so much!

As the sun was starting to set, everyone had eaten until their hearts were content (and more), shopped for all of the incredible goodies, made their cute little mini sprinkle cakes & put together their beautiful flower arrangements. After months of planning and anticipating: the party came to an end. It was perfection! We couldn’t have asked for anything better and already can’t wait to do it again!

Oh and just for fun, we have to include our pups who also enjoyed the party :)

I think that covers it all! If I missed anything, I’d love to hear from you! Chime in and let me know if you end up throwing your own party & if you’ve got any tips & tricks to share!