2nd Birthday-Train Party

When Evan was two, he was obsessed with trains.  All Aboooooard!  Our house became a train wonderland!  We rented a train that offered kids rides around the neighborhood, crafted a mini train track inside our house, and had food and beverage train stations.  Everyone said that it was TRAIN-TASTIC!!

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The Invitation

We took Evan to a local railroad crossing and took pictures of him in his train costume.  Then we inserted these pictures into the invitation above.

The Color Scheme

Red, light blue, and white were set for the color scheme.  You can find similar printables on Etsy and another seller features many cute train items here.

The Flowers

Although the flowers were not a focus of this party, we like to have a few simple arrangements around the house to add warmth.

The Cake and Dessert Station

Chew-Chew!  We decided to do lots of little desserts instead of one big cake.  The two-year-old guests enjoyed having their own cupcakes.

We did vanilla and chocolate cupcakes topped with edible train toppers available on Etsy.  You can find similar train toppers on Etsy here.

In order to get these large banners, we gave a company my electronic image and had them print it out for us.  I have used Vista Print in the past and have been happy with them.

We made train cake pops in various flavors and lined them up to make a train.  The bottom is a piece of styrofoam that we decorated with ribbon around the sides.  Place graham cracker crumbs and edible rocks on top of the styrofoam to create a terrain.  We used black licorice for the tracks and as decoration for the trains.

These are lemon sugar cookies with a printed edible paper on top of the cookie.  You can order this edible paper with your own images on Etsy here.  Some edible paper is self-sticking but if it’s not, you can attach with clear piping gel.  Each clear bag was topped off with a train motif topper included in the party printables we purchased.

The Decorations

We loved this Evan and Friends sign you can find on Etsy!  There is a similar one on Etsy here.  Using the printables from the party package we printed the balloon train stickers on sticker paper and attached them to balloons.

We use shadow boxes frequently for dinners and parties because you can add a small poster and accompanying trinkets that are appropriate for the party.

We rented small tables and chairs that were a perfect kid size!  Tables were covered with a tablecloth to match our color scheme.

The Food

It’s time for lunch and surprises abound!  Bento boxes were tucked in a light blue bandana.  When the kids opened their bento boxes, they discovered more train surprises.  Kid-friendly bento boxes served kids’ lunches.  Raisins were in a reusable plastic muffin liner with the word coal cut from a fruit roll up.  Cut outs of train bread, lunch meat, and train cheese provided the ingredients for the kids to make their own train sandwiches.

We wrapped up the train bento boxes in a bandana to make them look like bindle bags.  The kids like unwrapping these bandanas to find their surprises.

These veggie wraps were wrapped in parchment paper to keep them together and then cut in half on a bias.  Train designs were printed on sticker paper and placed around the wrap.

The spread above would be a great menu for either a luncheon, day time party, or picnic.  The details of how to make this menu are explained further here.

Cut pineapple and watermelon in train shapes to follow your train theme.

It was a hot day so we thought it would be fun to bring in my favorite gourmet popsicle vendor.  Both the kids and the adults loved the fun-flavored popsicles from Pop Craft.

The Entertainment

We hired a balloon artist so that the kids could choose the balloon creation that they wanted!  This artist made everything from trains to the Little Mermaid.

We rented this amazing train!  It came with a kid-friendly conductor who took us for trains rides around the neighborhood!  We found this train by doing a Google search for trains in our vicinity.

So you are wondering how you make train tracks inside of your house?  We used electrical tape to make a circular track in the downstairs of our home.  The only problem is that your kids will want to keep it there forever!

Each child got their own train car with a rope to pull him or her around them around the track.  We found file boxes and tube boxes to make the train and spray-painted them red.  Letters were created on my Cricut Explore Air 2 from vinyl.

Black balloons filled with helium acted as our steam for the trains.

Children could ride in the train with furry passenger.  Some of the kids wanted to give the stuffed animals a ride in the train cars.

The Favors

Each guest got to pick out cake pops or lemon sugar cookies to take home.  Kids took home their hats, whistles, bento boxes, and cups.  After the party, moms and dads felt inspired to make lunches at home using the bento boxes.

Our Birthday Boy

 

We found this cute shirt on Etsy.  You can find a similar shirt on Etsy here.

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