Sep 6, 2011

Tuesday Threads: Mr E's Third Birthday!

Yes, you read that correctly...it's Tuesday. I am featuring this week's Thursday Threads post early. Mainly because I am too excited to wait until Thursday!

We were so excited to celebrate Mr E's third birthday last weekend! I absolutely love planning the kids' parties and Mr. E was thrilled to have a TRAIN party! Once he chose the theme, I summoned the creative juices and gathered inspiration. It was such a joy to celebrate with close friends and family. Everyone had a blast!


I got the idea to feature a REAL train ride since the Indiana Transportation Museum is nearby. The party was held at a park and everyone climbed aboard for a special caboose train ride! I chose a basic color theme and decorations that were easy to set up before the party.

This was the first year, Mr. E was excited to invite all of his friends. I was thrilled to be able to plan some fun activities for the kids to enjoy. Coloring pages from Cake Ink and fun paintable wooden trains!

Then there is the food! A must for an outdoor party! I decided to put together a variety of box lunches. Hosting a party outside the home makes it difficult to prep in advance. The less you haul, the better!

I {foolishly} worked at the hospital the day before E's party, which meant I woke up at 5:30am Friday, took care of kiddos, left for work at 2pm, and made it back in my bed at 1:30am Saturday morning. I was exhausted! So, I tried to plan ahead and do as much prep work as possible. I made 30 deli sandwiches Friday morning and prepped single serving cups of grapes and baby cucumber slices on Thursday. The sandwiches were added to each box lunch right before the party so they remained cool on our 97 degree day!


Each box lunch held a sandwich, chips or crackers, grapes, and cucumber slices. The bakers boxes were personalized with an 'All Aboard!' sticker and a 'Choo choo' joke on the inner lid. To stay cool, the guests enjoyed blueberry lemonade and cold water! The table decor included a vintage suitcase, oil lantern, and 'Fuel Up' sign.

Mr. E wrapped up the Happy Birthday chorus by blowing out the candles on his fun train cake!

After lunch, crafts, cake, and a few gifts, favors were handed out before our train ride. Each child received a train cap personalized with their name, a wooden train whistle, train sticker, and some Chugga-Chews crackers. The adults grabbed a chocolate chip cookie on the way to the station. It was great to see the kids enjoying their hats and hearing them toot on the whistles!

We rushed to the nearby train station just in time! Two red cabooses were lined up and ready to take us on a special birthday ride! We also enjoyed touring the museum's mail train car and dining car. The ride was hot {and a little lengthy for the kids}, but we experienced a very authentic trip through woods and over the creek. So fun!


It was an amazing day that was fun to plan, but MOST importantly we had fun celebrating Mr. E! He is my little man who is so full of energy and wit.  

Hope you had a wonderful birthday E!!

More Details:
Invitations: Love My Bear Designs 
Paper sandwich bags: HeyYoYo
Cake: Pat-a-Cakes and Cookies Too
Coloring Pages: Cake Ink
Tissue Fan Decor: Devra Party Corp.

28 comments:

  1. Extremely great job on this! You're so talented at having cute parties!! Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is adorable! What a great party you threw. I'm loving all the details

    ReplyDelete
  3. What an incredible party! I can see why you were so excited to share it! The invitations and all the pieces that coordinate with them are incredible!

    So glad I saw you link-up at "Just a Girl"!

    Best,
    Jenn/Rook No. 17

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful, party ideas. New follower from the Creative Bloggers hop. Hope you stop by for a visit. http://grandmabonniesweeclassroom.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! What an amazing party. Did you nap on the train? :)
    Blessings!
    Kathleen @ AlwaysSewLove

    ReplyDelete
  6. That looks like an amazing party. I might have to use some of your ideas for my son's birthday next year. He love trains too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. TOOT TOOT.... so darn cute. I have 3 boys. My oldest had a fun Thomas Party when he was 4. My almost 3 year old would love a train party too. I love all the details you put into the party, and where you had the party as well. Well done. WINKS-jen

    ReplyDelete
  8. What an AWESOME party! My guy turns 3 Wed and poor thing isn't getting much of a party. I'll have to try a train party like this for his 4th birthday.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very very cool! I love that you thought of every single little detail. Love the train ride, he looks like he had a blast!

    http://lifecraftsandwhatever.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. this is such a darling party! I'm sure it was a blast. great ideas too! I love it all. I'm a new follower

    kathryn
    www.thedragonsfairytail.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Cute! Can a little girl have a train party. She looooves "Chooo-Chooooos"

    ReplyDelete
  12. What blessed little guy to have such a crafty mama! Wow!!!! what great ideas you had. Love everything! Thanks for sharing. I am your newest follower. Hope you can visit me sometime :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my goodness this is so, so cute! You thought of every detail and the box lunches were a great idea. I love the "fuel" sign for the punch. What a special birthday for an adorable little guy. Thank you for sharing with us at Inspiration Friday!

    Heather

    ReplyDelete
  14. OMG- how beautiful..Love it..Hello there.. I'm following ya /linking per beyond the picket fence hop..Lovely blog you have here.Can't wait to read more.. Hope you can stop by & visit me sometime / follow back.. TY So much.. Have a great week.Marilyn from http://theartsygirlconnection.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. How precious! I'd love to feature this next week! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well done! It looks like it was an amazing party. Very lucky little man you have. Thanks so much for sharing at Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I've got a three-year-old who would be ecstatic to have this party! I adore those train ticket invitations.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Such a fantastic party Alyssa!! Love the tickets, box lunches, the whole thing AND his sweet face says it all..he had a blast!! Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love this party! I'd like to invite you to link it with my Things I've Done Thursdays link party going on now!

    http://bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com/2011/09/things-ive-done-thursday-2.html

    Melanie

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm featuring your son's party at the Social Saturdays link party! It's so adorable! Thanks for sharing :)

    Jamie
    day-and-age-design.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. This is such a great party... and I am loving the location... Sharing on my FB page ;)

    ReplyDelete
  22. omg, his third birthday is so cute! You are so creative!

    ReplyDelete
  23. What an adorable birthday party! My son loves trains...he would love this! Thanks for linking up to the Creative Genius Link Party! I'd love to see you link up again tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  24. hello! i love this party! i was wondering where you had the invites made?? i am having a train party for my son and LOVE these!!

    Thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. HI! I found your blog via Pinterest and wondered if you could share where you got the "Build-A-Train" kits!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! The train kits are Melissa and Doug brand and the cheapest I found them was at trainparty.com { http://www.trainparty.com/products/decorate-your-own-wooden-train-engine-kit.html }. They also offer discount codes. I glued the wheels on before the party. They were all ready to decorate for the kiddos. Hope this helps!

      Delete
  26. what size boxes did you use for the lunch? They look like the perfect size for my daughter's petting zoo picnic 2nd!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! Sorry for the delay in responding! The boxes are a white bakery box - 9 in x 5 in x 4 in

      Delete

Leave a Note...