DESIGER

Free Printables Modern DIY Train Themed Birthday Party

Its only been...oh...three months since I threw this party for my sons second birthday, but I am so happy to finally be sharing it in a super long post via a billion photos (and lots of cool free printables at the end).  I think this is my favorite party Ive thrown to date.

My toddler loves trains.  Like loves them to the point that Ive sometimes wondered when hearing "My special special is ready to go" approximately 9,753 times each day would drive me insane.  So, when it came time to decide what the theme for his second birthday would be, it was a no-brainer.

I started browsing train parties online, but nearly every party I found either featured Thomas the Tank Engine or was done in red, white, and blue.  But I have an aversion to covering childrens things in pictures of cartoons, and I wasnt really digging the "traditional" train colors. So, I googled trains and railroads and steam engines and all other train-y words I could think of.

In one of my searches, I came upon a railroad crossing sign.  You know, the bright yellow one with the black X and Rs on each side?  Voila! I had my color-scheme: yellow and black; then I decided to throw in gray.  I have been obsessed with gray for the past year or so.  Its so versatile.  So neutral.  So sophisticated. When I get around to showing you some of our new house projects, you can expect a lot more gray.  I love gray.  Seriously.

And so the train birthday party was born.  I love going all out for parties.  Despite my crazy moving, long-distance, stressful life, I didnt hold anything back on this party.  It was the perfect last celebration in our first home.

The Invitation:
The invitation was the only thing that didnt match the color scheme because I just found the old-fashioned train tickets too cute to pass up. (Free customizable printable below.)

The Decor:

DIY train tracks made out of black Duck Tape led guests up the walk (and held up surprising well even though it rained on and off all day).

I made another balloon wreath (get the tutorial here), though I just went with the multicolored balloons instead of theme-specific colors.  I also added some pipe cleaners this year, which I loved.  I just wrapped them around a pencil to make them into spirals, then stuck them directly into the straw wreath in between the balloon clusters.

Heres the birthday boy just waking up from his nap, wearing the shirt I made him.  It said, "Choo Choo. I am two!" and had a train (duh) in the middle of it. 

I had decorated during his nap, so he woke up to the house transformed into his personal train station.  He quickly got over his sleepy quietness and started running around, laughing, and looking at everything in awe.  It was so cool.

No partys complete without streamers.

My DIY no-sew fabric bunting banner said, "Choo Choo Hugh is Two."  Ill post the tutorial soon.

Party favors for the kids: train conductor hats, yellow bandanas, and wooden train whistles.
I decided I didnt want to get left out of the dress-up fun, so I made myself a yellow bandana necklace and bangle.  I still wear both of these accessories on a regular basis, and I love how fun they make me feel!

The Food Car:
 "Chew chew" napkin wrappers.  Free printable below.

First, what everyone comes for...the cake! Or cupcakes as was the case at our party (free printable cupcake wrappers below).  Chocolate with buttercream frosting.  Arranged like a little train that I built out of vanilla sugar wafers, graham crackers, and Oreos.  Mmmm....

 Someone likes them.

The menu included the "food train" of finger snacks and several (homemade) gourmet Station House Sandwiches.  Free printable signs are at the end of this post.  In retrospect, I would have put something in the big blank spot of the table on the left behind the food train.  See that there?  Flowers or something.  Hindsights 20-20, right?

We had Thai Chicken Peanut Wraps (grilled chicken, peanut curry sauce, mandarin oranges, romaine lettuce, chopped peanuts, and chopped red onion), Roast Beef and Onions (roast beef, provolone cheese, caramelized shallots, red leaf lettuce, and a basic garlic aioli), Harvest Turkey (sliced turkey breast, sharp cheddar, romaine lettuce, sliced red onions, granny smith apple slices, and a basil aioli), and PBJs for the kids.

My food train, I used loaf pans from the dollar store for the cars, which included a coal car (black olives), a hopper car (ranch dip), a produce car (celery and caroot sticks), a log car (long, old-fashioned pretzel sticks), a dairy car (cheese cubes), a grain car (chips and crackers), and caboose kebabs (pineapples, blueberries, and strawberries).  Free printable signs below.

The drinks: Diesel Fuel (iced tea) and the Water Tower. Scroll to the bottom for free printable signs.

Grand Central Station (the games):
Conductors Corner: DIY floor play mat that matched the color theme of the party. I sorted out all the yellow blocks I could find in our house for the kids to build tunnels and buildings out of.  Then I added some wooden trains for the kiddos to drive around.  Get the tutorial and printable here!

Coal car bean bag toss: I made a couple of fabric covered boxes, put them up on 2x4s cut to the length of the box, and cut wheels out of a black foam sheet.  For the "coal" I just used black fleece to sew little squares and filled them with some ancient beans I had in the cabinet.

The Grand Finale!

I had one big surprise left for my little man.  His very own train ride!  Get the tutorial here.
 
What started as a boring old garden cart turned into a magical train for a very happy two-year-old.

My plan was to give the kids rides outside, but the rain squelched that idea.  So, the garage it was. They loved it anyway.

 Little man didnt want his buddies to leave at the end...

...though my hubby was clearly ready for the party to be over.

And now for the printables!



Update: In addition to the yellow and gray printables (all below), these are now available in pink and gray!  Click here to get the pink versions.





And theyre available in blue and red.  I got this request a lot. I guess it makes sense...theyre classic train colors.  And now theyre here!  Click here to get the red and blue versions.




-You can download the .jpeg files or the .doc files (if applicable).  The .doc files are already set up with text boxes for easy customization, but remember that sometimes fonts and formats do funky things in Word from computer to computer, so if it doesnt look right, youll have to change the font type, size, etc.

Ive had some people ask where they could find the train image thats found on the food labels and napkin wrappers.  Here is a link to the original file, free to download.


go to link download