Noah's Train Birthday Party

My teeny tiny newborn baby boy turned THREE....in February. I was editing pictures of our Disneyland trip earlier this week and I scrolled past February and was reminded that I have yet to share his really fun Locomotive Party (or Noelle's Frozen party in June).

Six months ago Noah was really into trains. Actually anything with wheels, but since he already had a race car party, we decided on a train theme. Today the train, plane, and car toys are stuffed in an ottoman in the playroom and have been replaced with all things Star Wars. All. Things. I hear the Imperial March a billion times a day. Along with, "Where's the blue storm trooper?" and "Mommy, I'm Hans Solo and you're Padme Amidala."

Rewind back to February and we had a happy little conductor at his train party. Here are some of the details.

My super handy dad whipped up this railroad crossing sign with some extra wood from the shop. It's a legit railroad sign. Like, I could put it up on a road and people would look around for tracks.
Chalkboard sign and luggage from Hobby Lobby.

The big attraction at his party was this fun "train" made out of barrels and dollies. We borrowed it from a local church (my dad plays in a church softball league and has all the connections). I added "Noah Express" and "Choo Choo" to the train to personalize it a bit.

CHOO CHOO! The kids LOVED the train rides around the neighborhood.


The train was pulled by an electric golf cart, driven by Conductor Grandpa.

The FOOD! The was the first time I used a chocolate fountain and everyone really enjoyed it. For dipping I served massive strawberries, rice krispy treats, and marshmallows.  I stuck with red, white and blue (and bandana print) for the color scheme and used the train image as much as I could. It was even on Noah's shirt for the party!

I spotted this red tub at Home Goods and couldn't pass it up. Actually, I did pass it up and then sent Aaron back into the store to get it! It's been a useful purchase. For the other beverages I used Noah's changing table which I donated a couple weeks later.

Drink Station - Along with water and Dr. Pepper (the essentials), there was Cherry Limeade and juice boxes for the kiddos in cute little muslin bags. The printer transfer paper was really easy to use. I just made the design, printed it out, and ironed the design on.
"N" from Hobby Lobby.

I'm a sign maker, so of course I had to paint a few signs for the party.
Platters, locomotive, lantern and basket from Hobby Lobby.

One of my favorite elements in creating a party is the centerpieces. These cost less than 10 bucks to make. The pail and #3 were purchased at Michael's and the plant was $3 at Lowe's. The bandana was $1 at Walmart and brings the theme together on each table. The bandana on the dessert table (scroll back up) is actually a scarf from Forever 21!

Inside I usually display the kids' birth announcements and birthday invitations. I also like to out the favors on this table.

Favors: Animal cookies with a train whistle and conductor hat (Oriental Trading Co).

Talk about easy game preparation: galvanized bucket + balls = coal toss.

My brother-in-law always takes amazing pictures of the kids for their birthday. These are my favorite shots.


Down the road from our house a purple-haired lady has this caboose on the side of her yard. Her family was very kind to allow us on her property but we quickly learned that they had a few screws loose. We were there for a quick 20 minute shoot.



Noah John had a blast at his party. He talked about it for weeks! Until his dad introduced him to Star Wars.

I suppose I should start planning his 4th birthday party now.... May the Force be with you.
-Amanda

Strawberry Shortcake Party - Noelle Turns FIVE!

My girl is five. I look at my baby - fun-loving and shy - but gracefully maturing into a beautiful little lady. She starts Kindergarten this year and I'm terrified. When we talk about it and she sees the tears welling up in my eyes she reassures me with this speech, "Mommy, it's going to be okay. It will just be for a little while and you can go to Target while I'm gone. I have to go to school to learn stuff." I've heard it a dozen times already. She's so brave.

In May we went on our annual Disneyland trip during Mother's Day weekend to kick off the summer and celebrate her birthday. She agreed to have a small birthday party but insisted it have a Strawberry Shortcake theme. I grabbed her Strawberry Shortcake doll and we headed to JoAnn's for a few supplies. Six yards of fabric, a box of 12 mason jars, a string of Martha Stewart pom-poms and we were pretty much ready to party.

Since it was June and the day heats up quickly we decided on a mid-morning brunch. The menu included Sausage Quiche, Muffins, Strawberry Greek Yogurt with granola, Fruit Salad and Cinnamon Rolls. 

For the backdrop, I cut the fabric into 5-inch strips and tied them using a slip knot onto a birch tree branch. I had the crates but painted them white and added the strawberry to the inside of the large crate.

The table was very quick and easy to set up. I found vintage Strawberry Shortcake fabric at Walmart for $3/yard. 

At Walmart I also picked up a couple bundles of cheap flowers and a bag of limes. 

Noelle's refinished desk was used as the beverage table. 

Mr. G drilled holes into the mason jar lids just big enough for the paper straws. It's a one time deal since the lids will rust if they are washed. 

In the dining room I set up the dessert (strawberry shortcake and cupcakes) along with Noelle's previous birthday party invitations. 

When frosting cupcakes, I always whip a half teaspoon of vanilla extract into the frosting and pipe it onto the cupcakes for a bakery-style look. 

For the craft, the friends decorated a clay pot with foam stickers and then planted a flower. 

I'm certain that no flower made it more than a day but it kept them busy for 10 minutes. 

It was a lovely morning! 

My girl. 

Strawberry Shortcake hair bow from The Palmetto Baby on Etsy

Noelle's Strawberry Stand was an easy project that she loves and plays with every day. The total cost was about $20. 

Here's what you need from Michael's:

(2) Crates - They were half off for $7 each

(2) 24" sticks

4"x 24" plywood

From Home Depot:

Berry Pink Spray Paint

Wood Screws

Once all the pieces are sprayed with paint, stack the crates and line them up. Then drill the screws through the top crate into the bottom crate. 

The 24" sticks fit perfectly snug in between the gaps on the side of the crate. Mr. G used wood glue to hold them in place. You can touch up the glue with spray paint when you're done assembling the stand.

Lastly, paint the plywood slab and use wood glue to secure it to the top of the sticks. Done! Such a cute little stand that can be used as a ticket counter for a circus party, lemonade stand, grocery store play, etc.

A family photo for once!

Happy 5th Birthday sweet girl! I love you so.

Colorful Race Car Birthday Party- Noah is TWO!

My baby is now my big boy. Noah turned two on February 15th! We celebrated with a colorful race car themed party which included his favorite activities. It was a fun, exhausting, absolutely gorgeous day. We all had a blast!
The food table is always one of the first things I plan for parties. Once we decided to go with a race car theme, I asked my dad if we could borrow his race track. Watching the cars zoom around the track was an unexpected element. I love the way it turned out.
Here's a quick clip of the race track in action.

For Noah's Red Wagon first birthday party, I purchased a printable package from Dimpleprints. All of the personalized touches really made that party special so I asked Carli for help once again. She is such a pleasure to work with and customized the package to fit the colors of the party.
I made the "Three TWO One Go!" sign out of a 2ftx2ft slab of plywood. The flashing traffic light is from Amazon.

When the friends arrived, they grabbed a car to race on the track and an official Pit Pass. I have framed the kids birth announcements and invitations to display at their parties. I usually put them on the cake table so guests can see how they've grown.

Aaron's mom, Nana, made this delicious cake. The dent in the cake is from Noah reaching up to grab the car on top. Of course it was the only car he couldn't have that day, therefore the only one he wanted. And how sweet are these stop light Rice Krispies treats?

The weather was amazing, a huge blessing since we partied outside. 

I mentioned in Noah's birthday post that he loves the movie Cars. There were a few touches of Cars here and there. The "Rust-eze" tub is made from one of Aaron's empty Muscle Milk containers. I cut out the logo with the Silhouette machine using black vinyl. More printables from the race car package. I used the cupcake toppers for the water bottles and added text on a couple of the larger circles for the drink pitchers.

A successful party keeps the kiddos busy having fun. And when the kids are having a good time, the parents are able to enjoy their time as well. I set up four "stations" of activities for the party.
1. Noah's Auto Body Shop

The kids painted mini cars (Oriental Trading Company). I picked up the acrylic paint and brushes from Michael's. The aprons are from the Dollar Tree.

Noah very seriously painted three cars. Then came back to paint another one.


Noelle is a bit of a perfectionist. Wonder where she gets it...

The cars dried in the sunshine on brown construction paper.

2. NJ Gardner Tattoo Parlor

My nephew, Evan, showing off his new ink. Tattoos also from Oriental Trading Co.


3. Bean Bag Tire Toss

The best part of these activities - they were inexpensive to put together.
Tire toss = free (borrowed materials).
Tattoos = $5.
Painting Cars = $15

4. Race Track (not that inexpensive)

The kids loved racing their new cars. For the "official" races, Aaron flipped the release lever so 4 cars could start at the same time.



Aaron drew out the plans and picked up the materials at Lowe's. The total cost was about $60 including the spray paint.

Once the track was built, he sprayed it by gradually adding yellow, orange and red. Then he covered the top of the colors with a flame stencil I cut out of vinyl, and sprayed on the blue. The end result was an awesome flame on the track as well as on the side poles. 

The last steps included putting on the lanes, painting lane numbers and "START" to the top, then spraying the entire track with a clear sealer. 

Here's a tutorial on how the track was built! DIY Race Track

And one more "Cars" touch. Lightning McQueen's eyes on Aaron's truck. Just two pieces of construction paper and eyes glued on. Super easy and a fun way to welcome our guests.

Something that I heard several times was, "I wish I had that race track growing up" from the guys at the party. They were just as excited as their kids, probably because they are just big kids themselves!



A huge thanks again to Carli at Dimpleprints for the printables, to my handy husband for all he does, to my mother-in-law for the delicious cake, to my best friends and sister (my bridesmaids) for sharing the day with us and helping in many ways, to my mom and dad for all they do to make everything run perfectly smooth.

And one last HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little man. I love you to the moon!
-Amanda