Train Themed Birthday Party {guest feature}

by Kori Clark

Hi!  It’s Kori here, and I am so excited to finally share my little guy’s second birthday party!! When it comes to filling orders vs. putting together posts…I have to admit that orders come first. Especially when I know that the blog post will be one that will require more time than normal, as Holden’s Birthday post did. My fantastic photographer fell ill, so I ended up playing photographer, which meant I had to do the edits as well. I assume actual photographers are quick at these things, but they are time consuming for me, so I finally finished editing the photos a few days ago and now I can finally share!!

We actually did two smaller scale parties for him this year instead of one large party. One was the Rainbows & Rocket Ships Group Party that I shared a few months back, and the second was his family Train Party! Holden became obsessed with trains a little after he turned one, so it seemed like the perfect theme.  { I learned that one big party would have been easier in the long run, but life is about experimenting, right? }

So, without further chit chat…here are the pictures!

• For me it always starts with the invite! I really liked the idea of a fun print, with the simple text at the bottom.

• The weather was beautiful, so we had everything set up outside! We had a kids table and benches, covered in fabrics that coordinated with the party, the activities stations, and the dessert table! We also keep appetizers inside on the table, for anyone without a sweet tooth!

• We started out with activities, which included coloring trains, train puzzles, making wooden trains (this one ended up being the dad’s activity instead…), and making a cardboard train out of boxes.

• After all the fun, it was time to sit down and get a bite to eat!! I must admit that my absolute favorite aspect of this party was on the kid’s table….the runner by A to Zebra Creations!
• I set up the favors as the place settings for the kids table.
• I found these sweet little copies of “The Little Engine that Could” on Amazon.com and thought they were just too sweet to pass up!

I like to plan parties in between meals so some snacks and some desserts will be more than enough. I set up appetizers and little bites to eat in the house, and had the dessert table outside. My husband still has his old trains from when he was a little boy, so we used them to decorate. One of them even went on top of the cake! I made the back drop from…you guessed it, a sheet and Duct Tape. It really does work for anything! Most of the sweets were from the grocery store, but I had a few specialty items I couldn’t resist.

Renee from Bees Knees Creative made the train and mini circle cookies to look just like the invite!! She always makes us smile with her detail!! I also had a few kids coming that had food allergies. We love our little friends with allergies and I HATE to see them at a party and not able to eat anything, so when I heard about Dorangela from Two Prince Bakery Theater (and then realized she was local) I had to order some of her allergy free cookies!! I ate allergy free myself for about 6 months, and I tried everything I could to make a good tasting cookie. It is a HARD thing to do, but she nailed it! Her cookies were so tasty and I was so happy to finally find a safe food for our little friends with allergies.

Of course we also had to have cupcakes! I had Brittany at Editable Details create the toppers and when I opened the package to see the actual “wood grain” in the tracks, I am pretty sure I squealed loud enough for the neighbors to hear! They are seriously cute, and she had a hole in each one for my toppers!

And this is the little guy that melts my heart each and every day. He makes this family perfect and balances us out with his silly, boyish charm! He loved every moment and is now in the middle of planning his third birthday!

Printables, styling, & photography – Paper & Pigtails  /   Train themed table runner – A to Zebra Celebrations  /  Train themed Cookies – Bee’s Knees Creative  /   Allery free Cookies – Two Prince Bakery Theater  /  Cupcake fondant toppers – Edible Details

About Kori

Kori Clark is a stationery designer with a degree in graphic design and specializes in digital illustrations. Kori’s passion for stationery has led to a successful business, Paper & Pigtails, which includes classic paper products as well as party printables. Her work has been published in Celebrate Magazine, Yum Food & Fun for Kids, and HGTV.com.