I asked Evan a few months ago as I was starting to plan his birthday party if he wanted a planes or a trains theme (because I knew he liked both a lot). His response was that he wanted "all of them", so that was the beginning of the planes AND trains party theme. I started by designing an invitation that fit the theme. I was pretty busy last month, and didn't get any printed and mailed, but in this digital age I hope that the emailed invitation is the next best thing. :)
The invitation (with personal details hidden)
I searched on pinterest for lots of inspiration and found some excellent decor ideas. From the train tracks on the entry way (which I changed up to be made more easily with chalk than with electrical tape), to the cake that had a train track around a landscape scene with a plane on top, to the food serving train. I made the food serving train out of colorful to-go boxes (I chose blue and red to match his party colors), with yellow construction paper wheels glued on them (thanks to my dad and aunt Linda for helping with that craft project!). It held kettle corn/popcorn…one of Evan's favorite snacks. I also served fruit (mostly berries…Evan's favorites) and some veggies (including cherry tomatoes fresh from our garden!), and then some cheese and crackers too. The party was in the morning so it was just meant to be a light morning snack.
Our entry way on the day of the party leading up to the front door
The front door (I guess it's a curious 10-month old baby crossing too)
The snack table, with our popcorn-serving "party train"
I made another train out of animal crackers boxes (each of which were one of the favors for the guests to take home) as a centerpiece out on the kids' table. They each also had a Dusty glider plane and a juice box at each seat. This was how it looked before all the guests arrived and there were 2-3 year olds sitting around it (with their parents too). I'll show a "during" picture in my next post to show the after math of what 2-3 year olds do to a party table.
The kids' table
About the cake, I designed it based on the inspiration I got from pinterest and then took it to some bakeries nearby to see who could do it for me. It took me a few to find out willing and able (in fact the first one I ordered from called me two days before saying they couldn't do it after all---> panic!! Glad another store was willing to take it last minute and did a fantastic job!). It really turned out just how I has designed it…I loved it, and so did Evan!
Here is the design I made and gave the bakery. The only things I did myself after they decorated the cake were to put a toy plane (it was actually an airplane ornament) and train (one of Evan's Thomas trains…) on the cake, as well as the "3" candle.
The finished product:
Above the cake (and snack table) was one more decorative item that I borrowed from a friend, and which Evan loved…an airplane mobile! It was so colorful and a perfect addition to the decorations! I finished things off with some red and blue balloons around the room. In fact, I stayed up late the night before the party finishing all the balloons and getting the basics set out on the table so that when Evan woke up the day of the party he already got to see most of the stuff set out and ready to go. I love surprising him like that, and his response was the best reward. The rest of the story coming soon…
View of the snack table from behind with the airplane mobile visible
1 comment:
Seriously love all the details! The popcorn train is so cute.
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