Liam's fierce love for tractors made choosing the theme for his 2nd birthday party pretty simple. On Saturday we had a construction party for him to celebrate with his friends and he had so much fun!
When Liam's party guests arrived, they each put on a construction hat and jumped straight into their working zones. ;)
We had a wrecking ball zone where the kids got to stack different size boxes into a tower and swing the wrecking ball into their tower to knock it down! This was by far their favorite game and Nic's too! He became best friends with all of the little kids, especially the boys, who were loving when he helped build their towers to knock down. Liam's reaction every time it would fall was the absolute best! As it would begin to sway from side to side after being stacked to its limit, he would hold his breath with an anxious look on his face and then scream and fake laugh/cough with excitement when it all fell down. Hysterical!
Another zone we had for the kids was the digging zone. It was definitely the second favorite for everyone but might win as Liam's top favorite! We filled a plastic storage bin with a couple bags of sand and had duplos, legos, wood pieces, and rocks throughout to dig up with tractors. Can you believe we had this on a mat in our KITCHEN?! I know, we're crazy! You have to improvise with October birthdays when the weather has already dipped a little too low to have games outside.
Liam naturally hogged all of the tractors in the sandbox but the other kids didn't seem to mind. It was easier to dig with their hands anyways!
We had a ring toss zone in our hallway but it ended up being kind of out of sight out of mind so it didn't get used by more than one or two kids who tried it out. Aren't those homemade rings award winning?! ;) Good job Nic! We searched allll over town (which in this town is honestly not many choices haha) and asked everyone we knew for rings to borrow for a ring toss and they could not be found. Tin foil and painters tape for the win!
After playing games for a bit, everyone was ready to eat! One of my favorite parts about designing the whole party was this digger & balloon wall! Thanks to a sweet husband who helped me hang it all just where I wanted it, it turned out better than I even imagined! For the food table we had pretzels (nails), chex mix (nuts & bolts), and grape/banana/strawberry fruit skewers (traffic lights). Liam loves candy way more than cake right now so we went with a non-traditional dessert, a build your own cup of dirt! Everyone got a cup of chocolate pudding (dirt) with gummy worms, crushed oreo (gravel), reese's pieces (rocks), and candy corns (construction cones) to choose from for their toppings! It was a favorite and so yummy!
For drinks we had a refueling station with water and lemonade!
Liam's birthday "cake"! ;)
We all sang "happy birthday" to Liam as he tried to blow out his candle (again, sorry there wasn't two!) or swipe at the flame. haha We adore you birthday boy!!!
I love Liam's face in this next picture. haha He was all about those gummy worms and stuffed them in until his little cheeks were exploding. He also didn't let go of his tractors during his entire party!
While everyone was eating I had name tag stickers, tractor stickers, washi tape, and markers on the table for them to decorate their construction hats. The table runner was also chalkboard paper so I got out chalk for them to decorate the table. Everyone loved it!!
After food and hat decorating the kids went back to playing at the zones for a while and then Liam opened his gifts. As a mom, I loved watching this part because his excitement for each and every gift he got was just so sweet! He loved all of them equally and wouldn't put anything down. He has carried all of his new tractors and fire truck in one big pile with him everywhere he has gone since that day. :)
A big thank you to all of his cute friends for coming and celebrating him with us! We are lucky to have such wonderful neighbor kids for Liam to grow up and play with! This was the best group shot I could get. It was like herding cats trying to wrangle everyone together and have them all looking at me. haha :) (His buddy Weston is missing from this picture too because he didn't want to leave mom and dad) but we loved having everyone who could come!
Before his friends left, we sent them each home with their very own tractor and some extra reese's. :)
// Party Sources //
tool belt sold out (similar: here)
tractor party favors
font used on the signs & other party decor
construction hats (similar: here)
wood round & napkins & seating tag labels (Hobby Lobby)
washi tape
name tags & plates from the dollar store
When Liam's party guests arrived, they each put on a construction hat and jumped straight into their working zones. ;)
We had a wrecking ball zone where the kids got to stack different size boxes into a tower and swing the wrecking ball into their tower to knock it down! This was by far their favorite game and Nic's too! He became best friends with all of the little kids, especially the boys, who were loving when he helped build their towers to knock down. Liam's reaction every time it would fall was the absolute best! As it would begin to sway from side to side after being stacked to its limit, he would hold his breath with an anxious look on his face and then scream and fake laugh/cough with excitement when it all fell down. Hysterical!
Another zone we had for the kids was the digging zone. It was definitely the second favorite for everyone but might win as Liam's top favorite! We filled a plastic storage bin with a couple bags of sand and had duplos, legos, wood pieces, and rocks throughout to dig up with tractors. Can you believe we had this on a mat in our KITCHEN?! I know, we're crazy! You have to improvise with October birthdays when the weather has already dipped a little too low to have games outside.
Liam naturally hogged all of the tractors in the sandbox but the other kids didn't seem to mind. It was easier to dig with their hands anyways!
We had a ring toss zone in our hallway but it ended up being kind of out of sight out of mind so it didn't get used by more than one or two kids who tried it out. Aren't those homemade rings award winning?! ;) Good job Nic! We searched allll over town (which in this town is honestly not many choices haha) and asked everyone we knew for rings to borrow for a ring toss and they could not be found. Tin foil and painters tape for the win!
After playing games for a bit, everyone was ready to eat! One of my favorite parts about designing the whole party was this digger & balloon wall! Thanks to a sweet husband who helped me hang it all just where I wanted it, it turned out better than I even imagined! For the food table we had pretzels (nails), chex mix (nuts & bolts), and grape/banana/strawberry fruit skewers (traffic lights). Liam loves candy way more than cake right now so we went with a non-traditional dessert, a build your own cup of dirt! Everyone got a cup of chocolate pudding (dirt) with gummy worms, crushed oreo (gravel), reese's pieces (rocks), and candy corns (construction cones) to choose from for their toppings! It was a favorite and so yummy!
For drinks we had a refueling station with water and lemonade!
Liam's birthday "cake"! ;)
We all sang "happy birthday" to Liam as he tried to blow out his candle (again, sorry there wasn't two!) or swipe at the flame. haha We adore you birthday boy!!!
I love Liam's face in this next picture. haha He was all about those gummy worms and stuffed them in until his little cheeks were exploding. He also didn't let go of his tractors during his entire party!
While everyone was eating I had name tag stickers, tractor stickers, washi tape, and markers on the table for them to decorate their construction hats. The table runner was also chalkboard paper so I got out chalk for them to decorate the table. Everyone loved it!!
After food and hat decorating the kids went back to playing at the zones for a while and then Liam opened his gifts. As a mom, I loved watching this part because his excitement for each and every gift he got was just so sweet! He loved all of them equally and wouldn't put anything down. He has carried all of his new tractors and fire truck in one big pile with him everywhere he has gone since that day. :)
A big thank you to all of his cute friends for coming and celebrating him with us! We are lucky to have such wonderful neighbor kids for Liam to grow up and play with! This was the best group shot I could get. It was like herding cats trying to wrangle everyone together and have them all looking at me. haha :) (His buddy Weston is missing from this picture too because he didn't want to leave mom and dad) but we loved having everyone who could come!
Before his friends left, we sent them each home with their very own tractor and some extra reese's. :)
// Party Sources //
tool belt sold out (similar: here)
tractor party favors
font used on the signs & other party decor
construction hats (similar: here)
wood round & napkins & seating tag labels (Hobby Lobby)
washi tape
name tags & plates from the dollar store
How did you get the balloons to stick together on the digger & balloon wall?
ReplyDeleteI was going to ask the same thing
ReplyDeleteHi thanks for these ideas what kind of paint did you use to paint the cardboard claw yellow?
ReplyDeleteDid anyone get an answer about how she hung the digger and balloons?
ReplyDelete