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Friday, September 21, 2012

Construction Truck Themed Birthday Party

We had so much fun with the construction truck theme that I wanted to write an in-depth post in order to share some of the party details. Here is some of the planning that was involved:


Party Favors




Yellow Construction Hats: from Amazon
Tool Belts: from Home Depot
Mini-chalkboard/Stand: from Michaels


Goody Bags: I made these out of construction paper/brown bags and stuffed them with truck stickers, fruit snacks, and construction worker rubber duckies


Food/Desserts


Fruit Punch: I made this recipe
Frito Dip: I made this
Pasta and Sandwiches: from the supermarket


Lunch Break, Birthday Sign, and Tissue Paper Luminarias: I made these
Caution Tape: from Home Depot
Miniature Orange Cones: from Amazon



Wrecking Balls: tangerines
Spare Tires: mini chocolate doughnuts
Rocky Road: marshmallows on a stick dipped in melted chocolate and chopped pecans
Fruit Skewers: strawberries, grapes, and blueberries arranged on a stick (these took forever to prepare but everyone really seemed to enjoy them)


Nuts and Bolts: chex mix
Pebbles: recees pieces
Logs: pretzel sticks


Dump Truck Cookies: from Etsy seller thecookiemaven


Dirt and Worms: I made this recipe, added gummy worms, and made the personalized signs and labels


Cakes: Rather than buying those fancy fondant cakes, we decided to just order the two cakes that we needed from Giant.  Our guests at both parties said that the cake actually tasted good!

Decorations



Banners/Signs: I made all of these except for the "party area" sign, and my hubby made the sign on the bottom right


I'm such a lucky girl to have these two sweet guys!

Picture Collage


Newborn to 24 months poster: I made the first poster last year for Ryan's zoo-themed birthday party, shown on the left.  I decided to continue the idea this year for months 12 to 24, shown on the right.  We displayed both of these posters on an easel at his parties.

Toddler Activities


Toddler Work Area: trucks and blocks


Coloring Pages with Crayons: pictures of trucks printed from Tonka
Dump Truck Shirt: from Etsy seller gigibabies






Movie Theater Room: featuring Bob the Builder



Ooops!


Water Bottle Labels: Okay, so, if you were at our party, you know that our water bottles were regular and boring.  These cute labels never made it to the party because although I bought water-proof label sheets, designed the labels myself on the computer, and printed them out, they were unusable because they never dried.  I'm assuming that the problem is that I printed them with an inkjet printer rather than a laser printer (?).  But either way, they all smeared and had to be thrown away.  So... don't make the same mistake that I did and be sure to print your labels on the printer that they are designed for!

I hope that you have enjoyed these tips and ideas for throwing a construction truck themed birthday party!


28 comments:

  1. You are so creative! Great job with all of the details!

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  2. Thanks, Kare! I wish that you could have been there this year, we missed you tons! xoxo

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  3. this party looks so much fun & so creative!

    I also wanted to add that you look great! It seems like your hair grew back so fast, in a little over a year? Did you use any products that helped it grow faster or anything that you could recommend??

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  4. @Katie- I never used any special products for hair growth, but I do use Burt's Bees volumizing shampoo and conditioner. It has been about 17 months since my last chemo treatment. My hair grew VERY slowly the first 12 months or so, but since then, it has seemed to have grown much faster on its own!

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  5. Hello I was wondering where you found the labels for the hard hats and if you had a template for the little men on the goodie bags? I'm in love with this theme! Thank you for posting

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  6. @Ivon- I designed the labels for the hats on my computer in photoshop and word and then printed them. For the construction men, I used these cut outs: https://www.azlearningbug.com/catalog/index.php?upc=400100155615 and then cut out the clothes and hats out of construction paper.

    And thanks, I'm glad you like the theme!

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    1. Hi Dana, any chance you'd be willing to share the hat labels you designed? They're great!

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  7. Hello,
    I was wondering where you found the waterproof labels. Last year for my son's 1st birthday I made my own bottle labels and just printed them on paper and tried to spray them with a sealer...the ink still ran when the bottles sweated!!!!

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  8. @Anonymous- I found the labels here: http://www.onlinelabels.com/Products/OL6200LP.htm?src=mp-5&sr=1058235582
    Just remember to make sure to use them on the correct type of printer! =)

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  9. Such a creative theme. Am pretty sure my son will love this and will ask me to have this theme for his birthday party. He actually loves playing construction trucks. labels stickers

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  10. How adorable! Thanks for all the detail you've given us. How did you make your food signs? This is something I always want to do, but run out of time. So, this year, it's first on my list. Thanks!!

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  11. I love your construction theme and I think you did a wonderful job with it all. My son is turning three in September and he is in love with dump trucks and cement mixers but I am having a hard time finding anything to go with this theme. Where did you find the decals/stickers that you used on the banner? Did you make your own blocks, if so what did you use? And last did you have to pay for the Home Depot tool belts at HD? I hope you don't mind all of my questions but I am in need of some help. Thank you.

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  12. @iansmommy9- Thanks! For the food signs, I used large scalloped and circle punch-outs (such as this one: http://www.uchida.com/p-201-clever-lever-extra-giga-craft-punch.aspx). I printed the middle part (words/pictures) off of my computer, the outer circles were punched out of construction paper, and the brown stands were made out of folded cardstock. Best of luck with your party!

    @Lisa Blanton- Thank you! I got the templates for the digger and dump truck off Etsy. Once you have the main shapes, you can trace them onto other colors of construction paper and cut them out if you need multiples. I did not make the blocks, they were toys that R already had. I'm sorry that I can't recall where they came from, but they are cardboard-like material and I do remember that they came flat and we had to fold them to create the actual 3D blocks. The tool belts were 77 cents each at home depot. I hope that helps and of course I don't mind the questions at all... please feel free to ask more!

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  13. Love the truck birthday!! I am having the same theme and LOVE your ideas!! That party looked awesome!! I also saw your pink ribbon and I just walked in the Cleveland 3 day bc I support the cause and just wanted to send lots of positive thoughts your way!

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  14. @Sarah- Thank you so much for the comment and for your support in the Cleveland 3 day!! That is awesome!

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  15. Thanks for posting these wonderful photos! I'm having a party this weekend with the same theme and needed some ideas. :)

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  16. @Marissa Cruz- You are most welcome! I hope that your party turns out amazing!

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  17. How did you make the trucks on the "Ryan is Two" circles? Everything came out awesome!

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  18. Really cute party idea! I'm looking for themes for my son's second birthday party and I think he would really like this. Did you feel like the blocks, trucks, and coloring kept the kids busy?

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  19. @Ashley Harris- Thanks! The trucks were a template that I bought and then traced to make multiples for the signs.

    @Elizabeth- Thank you! I felt like the kids were entertained. They spent most of their time eating (haha!) and also spent time doing the activities: blocks, trucks, and coloring. Some of them also watched part of the Bob the Builder movie. So yes, they stayed busy!

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  20. Such an awesome party, you did an amazing job! I love how each of the kids were given a construction hat and apron...they would have looked adorable :-)

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  21. @Catherine Holt- Thank you so much! I did think that Ryan and his friends were super cute in their little "uniforms".

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  22. Ok super cute!!! Gave me a ton of ideas. Love the signs you guys made. Creative idea !

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  23. Here is a really cute and helpful cheat sheet of the types of construction trucks you can save on your phone or print out for them: http://100thingsapp.com/types-of-construction-trucks/ You can even print them, and laminate them, to put in goody bags.

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  24. planning a construction truck party for my little guy and this is such a big help! you had some great ideas. thank you so much for sharing!

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    1. You are so welcome! I hope that your little guy had a blast at his party!

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