Ben turned three years old on February 26th! We celebrated his special day in the cul-de-sac in front of our house with family and friends and a train to pull us all! We had a magnificent time!
As the kids boarded the train we handed out engineer hats and whistles! They got to take them home along with train-shaped rice krispie treats (as seen on the table). We made the rice krispie treats, cut each one with a train cookie cutter, wrapped them in cellophane bags and tied a ribbon around them. We even put some of the treats on lollipop sticks and used them as decorations. They turned out super cute! We also set up a sand table and train table for the kids to play with when they weren’t riding the train!
The train was a hit! It seemed that the adults enjoyed riding it just as much as the kids. It was actually quite relaxing…I know…a toddler birthday party and “relaxing” typically don’t go together, but seriously, the train was fantastic! There was a light breeze blowing through the little train windows and the train played music. It was fun to just sit back and enjoy the company of the other passengers on board!
Some of my favorite things about the party…
The pom poms (as seen hanging above the entrance by the gift table)! Candice made them by taking ten sheets of tissue paper, folding them accordion style, tying a ribbon around the center and then fluffing them into pom poms.
The kids’ tables and chairs! I went back and forth about whether or not to use these cute little tables and chairs and I’m so thankful I did! I hesitated to even bother setting them up because I didn’t know if the kids would actually sit down to eat, but they did…we used them a lot!
The train engine! We also tried to carry the train engine from the invitations throughout the decorations for the party. The day before the party I started having second thoughts about the pull-apart train cake I had ordered. It seemed to be a little more cartoon-like than engine-like. Just hours before the store closed for the evening, I changed the order to red and blue cupcakes. That night I bought a train engine die-cut craft punch, a circle craft punch, lots of card stock and some lollipop sticks from Micheal’s. Candice and I spent most of the night (and early morning…try 4 am) making cupcake toppers and finishing up the rest of the decorations. Thank you, Candice. I couldn’t have pulled it off without you! A big thanks to Tim and Jake too…they were very helpful as we instructed them on where to “hang this” and “put that there” while setting up everything outside for the big day!
My most favorite thing about the day…the birthday boy, of course! Here’s a cute clip of him blowing out his candles!
Another favorite…the little round revolving metal cake stand Ben’s cupcake is sitting on in the video. It plays the “Happy Birthday to you” tune. It was my mom’s and she used to play it at our birthday parties! Love love LOVE that I get to share it with my kids!
Happy Birthday, Sweet Ben! We love you!
Since I had so many photos I thought I’d show the rest of the party in a slideshow. Enjoy!
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A little sidenote: I found most of my inspiration for Ben’s party from these two websites. Check them out…you will be inspired too!
http://www.hostessblog.com/2010/07/real-parties-modern-train-birthday/
http://tomkatstudio.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-to-shop-vintage-train-birthday.html
Jake and Joanna 
that was so cute! I love the birthday cake holder that has the birthday music. I remember that well with Mom and her Birthday cakes. That is so neat to have that. See you soon and tell the boys we love them.