Birthday Parties for Tots

Of course it hard to keep a mom from bringing up her kids, so here is the first post in the Kiddie Kronicles.

Birthdays are such a big deal for parents and children. Hosting birthday parties for toddlers may seem easy but can wind up being a lot of work. Toddlers don’t have a wish list when it comes to birthdays so its all on the parents to make the event fun and memorable. My son’s first birthday was at Romp and Roll. They took care of everything from setting up to cleaning up and all I had to do was bring the food. At 2, my son was infatuated with Thomas the Train. Around this same time I had become a Pinterest junkie an figured with the help of Pinterest I would host his second birthday at home. The theme of course was Thomas the Train/Anything Train. Pinterest became my personal assistant in pulling it all together. The site’s links sent me to Amazon, RTD Trading, Party City and of course DIY land.

Each child received a personalized gift bag that included conductor hats (Amazon), red bandanas (Amazon), train sippy cups (RTD Trading), bubbles and stickers (Party City). The gift bags were also a diy project. i purchase multi-colored bag sets and train ribbon from Micheal’s Arts & Craft Store and made the railroad signs with the kid’s name on them.

    

The food table was decorated with items from Party City and handmade RxR signs (made using poster board and cut our printed letters). The red, blue and green items were purchased a the Dollar Tree.

  

I found ceiling decoration idea I on Pinterest and used it in the playroom. I used plastic table cloths and balloons from the Dollar Tree to create this. I stapled the table clothes to the ceiling because they were too heavy to tape. I wasn’t concerned with holes left from the staples because I have popcorn ceilings which I plan to remove sooner or later. The table cloth colors coordinated with the theme. The balloon arrangement was just tied together and tied there to cover were the table cloths met and to add decoration.

Railroad tracks (another Pinterest idea) lined the walkway to the house. I simply used black masking tape to create.

Activities included: Train table station, Inflatable train ball pit (Toys r Us), Train tube, and for the older kids Playdough and model trains projects (Micheal’s).

And last but not least the cake! I bought a smaller cake since I also had cupcakes. Overall, I spent around $200 for food and decorations. Just about the same amount I spent the year before. This year his birthday will be what he calls a “Jake Party”. Stay tuned for adventures with Jake and the Neverland Pirates Party meets a soccer birthday bash!

Related articles

• My daughter’s Lalaloopsy 2nd Birthday Party (cutieqcardsncrafts.wordpress.com)
• 5 Ideas for the Best Children’s Party. Rated by cost, hassle, enjoyment. (mrsmummypenny.wordpress.com)
• Fire Station Birthday Party (splendidcelebrationsblog.wordpress.com)