Our little guy had a birthday last week!
It was a bit of a whirlwind going from Christmas straight to train party. At least deciding on the party theme was easy. Trains are pretty fun and allow for a lot of options. Best of all, we were able to pull it together in one day! I had help from my family, though. It was fun having my sister around. And my husband “catered” the lunch so that was a huge help.
As always, I started with a train party pinterest board to get some inspiration. I saw a lot of “tracks”and trains on the tables carrying appetizers, cupcakes, etc. I decided that would be the centerpiece so we hot glued green starlight mints to graham crackers to make the train cars, and connected them with red vines. I got the mints and licorice at the dollar store.
I copied the candy train idea from Pinterest. The original link is expired, but this is the pin link.
The original has starlight mints for wheels. My little brother choked on one of those so I went with lifesavers instead. I couldn’t find a rolled package of lifesavers anywhere (I only had a day so I couldn’t look on Amazon) so I went with a half of a mentos pack. Mentos probably aren’t that safe either, but at least they are a little chewy. I gave the parents a warning before they left (I’m paranoid like that). Some of this candy you can find at the dollar store.
We hot glued black licorice to the table cloth to the make the track, and added some Christmas snow.
Luckily we had Toby for the caboose!
I wanted to use my Cameo to make a train cut-out for the treat bags, but I ran out of time so I went with stickers instead. Inside were a couple stamp rollers and some leftover candy from the trains. I also included a train coloring book.
Percy pulled the lone cupcake that didn’t fit on the cupcake tower.
I made the bunting with fabric and a flag pattern (from cardboard) I already had. I have sewed these before, but this one took about 15 minutes using liquid stitch. I used a fabric marker to write his name.
I got red and blue plates and cutlery from the dollar store and the Thomas cups and napkins at a party store. My sister cut part of the Thomas table cloth to attach to the bench.
Birthday banner and balloons were from Amazon. I realized I needed to order those a few days before the party and thankfully they arrived in time. The party store charged 50 cents per balloon to blow them up, but I still saved money.
We set up the tables for the snack, lunch and craft. We taped a table cloth to floor to protect the carpet as well. The extra went on the bench.
It was my sister’s idea to put on a Thomas the Train show during the party.
The kids loved batting the balloons! That’s pretty much all we needed at the party.
I got a train cookie cutter from Sur la table that we used to make the cheese train cut-outs. Birthday boy enjoyed them.
We set up some trains in the playroom and they were promptly torn down. All part of the fun!
I’m lucky to be married to a chef and he put out quite a spread. Bacon ranch chicken skewers and grilled shrimp.
Baked buffalo chicken dip – I thought this would be too spicy, but it was pretty mild. It was a crowd favorite for sure.
John’s aunt shared this shrimp dip recipe and it’s fabulous.
Grilled zucchini and squash. He was actually grilling in the middle of winter – he’s that serious.
Mouth Watering Stuffed Mushrooms. I don’t like mushrooms, but I like these.
And the kids got Pizza Hut, E’s favorite.
I saw a pin (which I can’t find anymore) for decorating sugar cones to make Christmas trees. Of course the track needed some trees so the kids decorated those.
I set out M&Ms, sprinkles and coconut for toppings. The coconut and sprinkles were the only ones that worked well.
I was so excited to get these little tubs at the dollar store in the right colors. Later I realized I could have used the leftover cupcake liners. Oh well. I did use one cupcake liner in the mason jar at least.
We used green candy melts for the tree coating.
Checking out the trees.
The kiddos got to take the trees home at the end of the party.
I had a grand vision of homemade cupcakes and then it became box mix cupcakes with some crushed oreos in the mix with some homemade icing. Then an hour before the party I had to make a store run for eggs so then we went with store-bought icing. The candy toppers are from the party store.
Got the cupcake liners on Amazon. I think you can get them at the party store, too.
Kids love store-bought icing anyway. E asked for a second cupcake.
This party boy had a great time, and was all tuckered out!
I ordered a Thomas beanie for the birthday boy. Couldn’t resist. I will update with a pic when we get it.
Thanks for stopping by Time to DIY!
What a cute party it turned out to be!! So glad I was able to contribute. 🙂
Me too, Julissa! Thanks for all your help!
What an adorable party! Love all the details and that food looks amazing!! Does your husband want to cater a MOPS event? 🙂 That last picture of Ethan is SO cute!
Thanks, Amanda! I will ask him. 😉 Loved your Christmas card! You had me at the chevron print, but I also loved your copy inside re: 10 years in office. Very creative and cute!
What a cute party!! I had never seen the train made of candy or the trees! So cute! Sorry we had to miss! Fun times!
We missed you guys, Kelly!
Very cute !!!! May I ask where did you get the happy birthday banner?
Thank you, Veronica! I got that at Party America (we were living in Parker, Co. at the time). I think I’ve also seen it on Amazon. Hope that helps!