All aboard!

We just celebrated my son's first birthday.  We were so excited that we actually celebrated twice...2 parties...2 weekends in a row!  My son is in love with Thomas the Train, so it seemed only fitting to have a train themed party.

After finding tons of ideas on pinterest, and a few of my own, it all came together really nicely...and only slightly overboard :)

 

Cupcake Train and Snack Table

I made the chex puppy chow to look like cinders and ashes from a steam train and the chocolate no bake cookies to look like coal and color coordinating cupcake toppers.

Easy way to make letters for cakes or cupcakes:
1.  Make a stencil by printing letters out in a cool font.  I created a mirror image of the letters before printing them out, but you can print them out normally, flip the paper over and trace the outline.
2.  Cover stencil with wax paper.
3.  Melt colored candy melts in piping bag.
4.  Cut a tiny hole in the piping bag and slowly fill in the letters from the stencil.
5.  Allow to dry (should only take a couple minutes).  Then peel off the the wax paper.  Letters should be smooth side up.

Baggage Claim Favor Table

I used burlap and seer sucker fabric for table cloths.  I found these great lanterns at Ikea for only $4! I used them as centerpieces at the 2nd party and tied balloons to them.  They are adorable, so I'm sure I won't have a problem finding a use for them around the house.  For favors for the kids I used this suitcase shape from the Silhouette Online Store.  For the adult favors I made cookies and cream popcorn.  I'm not a big fan of popcorn, but this stuff is delicious!

We tried to keep the food simple.  We served hot dogs and easy sides such as small bags of chips.   I created a topping train using tin pans from the dollar store and created framed signs for each food station. 

Water bottles with Chugga Chugga labels, crockpot hot dogs and strawberry lemonade.

Fueling Station

Bandana covered high chair, polka dot balloons and 1 year old crossing sign.

I think the framed station signs  added a little something-something to the party, and they were simple to make.  I spray painted dollar store frames and used turquoise wooden scrapbook paper I found at Hobby Lobby as the background.  I even added a little personal touch by using our last name as the name of the railway.

And what kid party is complete without a bounce house?  We even found a train one!  Score!

We even made masking tape train tracks from the front door to the back door.  It was a cute touch that the kids got a kick out of!

Here are some more pictures from the 2nd party.

For the second party I made a smash cake (that did not get even close to being smashed) and my husband made a Thomas the Train out of diaper boxes.  He did an amazing job!

I had so much fun planning this little man's birthday party.  My only recommendation is to start early and enjoy the process!