We celebrated Max’s First Birthday over the weekend and I’m so excited to share some photos with you. Now, I love planning my kids’ birthday parties; I think it’s fun and an opportunity to get creative. I’m just not that good at day-to-day crafts and Pinterest-y-ness so a birthday party is my excuse to go all out.

I discovered pretty quickly that it’s much harder to plan and execute a party in Germany than it is in the States. I’m just not as familiar with the local resources and I couldn’t order things like cookies and cake pops which I usually do. I ended up buying a lot from Amazon because they have really fast (and free) shipping.

Poor Max wasn’t feeling his best on his big day, but I think he had a good time. He got lots of love and attention from our friends. And he got to eat cake. Not a bad day, if I do say so myself. So, on with the photos… (and lots of them).

Sweets

I have a bit of a sweet tooth (understatement of the century) and a birthday party is a great excuse for all-things-sweet so I went for it. We had two cakes, cupcakes, gummis, swirly lollipops and yogurt-covered pretzels.

Max’s smash cake on the left and the matching cake for everyone else on the right.

Everyone went home with a little bag filled with candy.

(We totally ran out of time the day of so there are some details we didn’t get to – and seeing them in photos is making me nuts. For example, I intended to frame the cute sign pictured above rather than just resting it against the wall.)

Food

The party was at 3 in the afternoon so we served appetizers and cake. We made Macaroni & Cheese Muffins (or Cupcakes if you’re talking to a picky toddler), Vegetable and Dip served in cups (idea totally stolen from Pinterest), Baked Goat Cheese en Croute, and Chips and Guacamole and Fruit with Dip. Totally random menu, but they’re all things *I* like and that’s how I decided what to serve.

Activities

When planning parties for my older kids’ I usually focus on several games and activities. But, this party was for Max, and one year olds aren’t big on party games, so we really didn’t have much planned. There were lots of children here, and they spent most of the time playing in the play room but we did have a couple quick  activities. We had coloring sheets that matched the giraffe theme and “pin the spot on the giraffe” game. The game was a total last minute addition and our friends helped us out last minute. We used leftover stickers from labeling the treat bags and water bottles as the “spots”. The kids loved it, so I’m really glad we thew it together.

He’s 1!

And now, the best photos of all… the birthday boy!

And the fun was over when he flipped the cake onto the ground.

 Shopping Details

• All the custom made paper goodness, including invitations, cupcake toppers, stickers and signs: Flossy Stylish Design
• Cakes and cupcakes: Sweets by Meredith Rae
• Birthday plate and cup: Preppy Pickle
• Tissue pom wheels: PomPomSale
• Bow tie (and tie and diaper cover from first birthday pictures): JHP Couture

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Check out the other parties I’ve planned for my kids:
Pink Pig First Birthday Party, Barnyard Bash Petting Zoo Party and Pirate and Mermaid Boy and Girl Birthday Party.

For the second year in a row, I’ve struggled with combining the birthdays of my children. Toddler boy turned three in late-August and Kindergarten girl turned six in early-September. With their birthdays less than two weeks apart, they (and I) have known all along they would have a joint party. They love each other. They share the same friends. They both love cake and ice cream. Should be simple, right? Nooooo.

I have known for months that toddler boy would want Thomas the Train for his party theme. Kindergarten girl’s themes went in an order something like this: ABCs (since she’s learning to read), Ponies, Butterflies, How to Train Your Dragon, NOT Hello Kitty, and, and, and…

Last year I chose a rainbow theme birthday party to connect their love of Disney’s Cars and Fairies, but I was truly stumped with an idea for this year. In late spring, we hosted a “movies on the patio” playdate with friends and that got me thinking that I could connect just about any two things with a movie-themed party. From there, the planning was much easier.

After deciding upon a movie theme, Kindergarten girl picked “Cats and Dogs” to represent her interests and I ordered the movie posters right away. I wanted them to greet guests as they walked the red carpet. Despite that, the Thomas poster didn’t arrive in time for the party, so guests walked the red carpet sans posters. But don’t they look lovely?

Because our guests ranged from toddler to elementary school age, I kept the activities simple.

Guess How Much Movie Candy in the Jar

Many of our guests are emerging readers, writers and learning new math concepts in their classrooms. I wanted to take advantage of that by having them estimate how much movie candy was in each of several jars and record their findings. The closest guess for each container won the entire canister of candy…great incentive for kids and adults alike! For the preschool set, I had a special small jar of Dots prepared for them to estimate. After spending much time with the jar counting, we had a three-year-old guess the exact number! And toddler boy won a jar by guessing “95″ for everything (there were 80 Twizzlers in the jar and his guess was closest). In case you didn’t make the connection, 95 is Lightening McQueen’s number.

Piñata

Another driving force behind the movie theme was the fact that I had props, including the red carpet and a movie camera piñata, left over from an Oscar-themed party The Shopping Mama conducted for Redbox several seasons ago. To fill the piñata, I shunned the usual candy route. Because we were having pizza and a movie at dusk in the back yard, I filled the piñata with glow sticks and glow bracelets. As the children beat the piñata, many of the glow sticks were activated and shining when the contents came out. And were they a hit!

The glow stick love continued through bath time and into bed.

Cake

I made cupcakes on each child’s birthday, therefore I made the party cake to reflect the movie theme rather than Thomas or Cats and Dogs. A box of popcorn seemed the obvious choice and was so much fun to make. I am a firm believer that a cake should, above all, taste good. So for me, fondant and tons of dye were not options. I had to accomplish my cake goals with buttercream and small amounts of sprinkles and natural food coloring. To add kernels to the popcorn, I did use some yellow nonpariels.

Movie

What’s a movie-themed party without a movie screening? We set up a projector and hung a sheet across the back of the house for the older kids to view Cats and Dogs. The toddler set was inside watching Day of the Diesels with Thomas. To be honest, there were moments of viewing, but there was lots of running around playing with glow sticks and burning off cake sugar.

Goodie Bags

As guests departed, we asked them to make their own goodie bags. I set out boxes of movie candy and toys and asked them to take one of each to put in their popcorn bag. Toys included plush cats and dogs and train whistles from Oriental Trading as well as actual Thomas trains I scored in an eBay auction. We had some very happy, tired departing guests.

I’m so glad to have conquered this year’s challenge of combining the loves of both my kiddos. However, I do need a significant rest before next year. I don’t know how some parents plan more than one of these per year!

We have TWO “It’s Fun to Be One” Gift Bags to give away – one boy and one girl. Check out what’s inside!

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Jewels and Pinstripes “It’s Fun to be One” Celebrity Birthday Boy Bag has a retail value of $450 and contains the following products:

• Skip Hop Bento Diaper Bag,
• Posh Mommy custom parent jewelry,
• child track suit by adidas,
• Stephen Joseph Silly Sac and Quilted Backpack,
• Stride Rite SRT shoes,
• Worry Woos plush and book set,
• Personalized Label Set by Mabel’s Labels and
• Life is good ”Milk Man” T-shirt.

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Jewels and Pinstripes “It’s Fun to be One” Celebrity Birthday Girl Bag has a retail value of $550 and contains the following products:

• Skip Hop Bento Diaper Bag,
• Ladybugs and Lullabies hair clips and gift certificate,
• Posh Mommy custom parent jewelry,
• child track suit by adidas,
• Stephen Joseph Silly Sac and Quilted Backpack,
• Stride Rite SRT shoes,
• Worry Woos plush and book set,
• Personalized Label Set by Mabel’s Labels,
• So Young Mermaid Lunch Box and
• Life is good ”What’s Up Buttercup?” T-shirt.

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Win! Celebrity Birthday Bag for Boy or Girl!

How to Enter: Tell us which “It’s Fun to Be One” Celebrity Birthday Bag you’d prefer AND your favorite item in that bag.

Earn Extra Entries: valid only after leaving mandatory entry comment. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

• Like Jewels and Pinstripes and The Shopping Mama on Facebook.
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  Celebrity Kid Birthday Gift Bag Giveaway! 2 winners – total value $1000 @TheShoppingMama http://bit.ly/PjpHTu 
• Subscribe to The Shopping Mama in email or RSS.
• Sign up for the The Shopping Mama Newsletter.

Giveaway Rules: Giveaway ends August 10. Open to US residents only, 18 and over. Jewels and Pinstripes will ship to winners after randomly selected by The Shopping Mama.

This weekend my son was so excited to attend his BFF’s birthday party. And, when I say BFF, I mean it. The two boys are joined at the hip and talk about each other constantly. It’s really quite cute. So, while my little man was enjoying an amazing party with his friends I was admiring all of the fabulous details of the Superhero Themed Birthday Party. It was awesome!

My friend Leslie is seriously multi-talented! She took my maternity and pre-baby family photos and designed and organized the entire party. I’m so happy she is allowing me to share the details!

Superhero Party Activities

The superheroes arrived to a felt cape with their initial. The first activity of the party was to decorate the cape with stars and lightning bolts. Each boy had his own bag of sticky decorations – so they just had to remove the backing and stick the shapes to the cape.

My little superhero and the birthday boy!

While decorating their capes, Leslie had some breaking news to share with the boys. Turns out there was a “Bad Guy” on the loose in our neighborhood! Leslie passed around a photo of the “Bad Guy” and told all the superheroes to keep their eyes peeled. Next activity? Weapons training to prepare for a run-in with the enemy. They did some NERF slingshots and bow and arrow practice, aiming at bulls eyes with a photo of the “Bad Guy”.

And then they spotted the “Bad Guy” (aka Leslie’s husband and the birthday boy’s dad)! The boys were armed with silly string to capture him!

Superhero Party Food

The party food was clever and very five year old boy friendly. The kids enjoyed Wonder Dogs (homemade corn dogs), Jello Jabs (portioned jello), Power Puffs (cheese puffs) and Superade (Gatorade). I loved how she used the red, yellow and blue color theme throughout the party from the capes to the balloons to the food.

The food was displayed on a table with a handmade cityscape backdrop. I am not sure the boys appreciated the awesome details, but I sure did!

Superhero Party Favors

In addition to taking home a cape and mask, each boy got to grab a few treats on the way out. They each got a superhero coloring/activity book, Punching Pops (Pop Rocks), Heros (candy dispensers) and red, blue and yellow candy sticks.

Happy Birthday, Noah! Thank you for an awesome party, Leslie, and thanks for letting me share the details.

Food & Desserts

The party was from 2 to 4 in the afternoon so I didn’t put much attention or effort into providing a lot of food. Call me a pregnant lady with a sweet tooth, but my attention was on providing lots of delicious desserts. The food table had “Sushi” (turkey sandwich rolls), Goldfish, and Fruit Salad. We had “Pirate Punch” (Capri-Suns) and Water for the pirates and mermaids to drink.

And for the good stuff… the desserts! We didn’t do a cake and instead did a sweets table with lots of choices.

We had Cupcakes, “Starfish” Rice Krispies Treats, Sugar Cookies shaped like mermaid tales, pirate hats, shells and starfish, Chocolate Covered Oreos, Cake Pops, and Swedish Fish (of course!).

We encouraged guests to take home some of the left over goodies (and there were plenty).

Pirate & Mermaid Party Fun & Games

As soon as kids arrived, they got decked out and dressed up like either a Mermaid or a Pirate. The Mermaid costumes – a felt tail and crown – were handmade by my mom and were just perfect! The pirate costumes were from Little Tikes. Having the kids get in character was a blast and all the kids really got into it. They gave each other pirate names and said “Arrgh!” a lot.

Once dressed, the kids Decorated Pirate Masks I found at Michael’s for $1 a piece. I thought it would take up all of 3 minutes, but the kids actually sat around the table and colored for a while. It was a good activity to have kids doing at the beginning while everyone was arriving and getting dressed.

Next we played a last minute addition to the party called Cannon Ball Pop. The goal of the game is to pop everyone else’s cannon ball (dark colored balloon tied to your ankle) and be the last one with a balloon. I wasn’t sure how well the game would go considering the kids were definitely on the young side of the target audience for the game. But, it was a huge success and totally hysterical. The kids got into it and were totally good sports about it.

Our “big” game of the day was a Treasure Hunt. We took advantage of having the party at the Community Center of our neighborhood and sent them on a hunt around the area. We made a treasure map that showed the location of three clues and also the treasure chest. The clues spelled out the words “A Pirate’s Life For Me” and the kids had to yell those magic words to get the treasure chest to open. My husband was the hunt-leader and I think he had as much fun as the kids.

The treasure chest had beaded necklaces, jewel rings, gold coins and, my favorite, Pirate’s Booty. I happen to think that’s totally funny and clever – yes, it was my idea.

Pirates & Mermaids!

The party was worth all the planning and time and effort when my daughter said, “This is my most favorite party ever.” Here are some of the happy mermaids and pirates at the end of the day – remind me next year to get a group photo early in the party!

Shopping Details

• Invitations, Paper Goodies & Signs: Simply Sweet Parties
• Chocolate Covered Oreos: Sweet Tooth Sweetie
• Sugar Cookies & Cake Pops: Heavenly Bites Cakes
• Paper Poms: Prost to the Host
• Mermaid Tales: Pattern from Miss Pretty Pretty, made with love by my mom
• Pirate Costumes: Little Tikes

A Rainbow Cake

Following inspiration for an ombre cake from Glorious Treats and a rainbow cake from Bakingdom, I combined the two ideas and made a very colorful cake. As each child arrived, they stopped in their tracks to admire the huge, colorful centerpiece and started asking, “When can we have cake?” right away.

Because many moms and kids are sensitive to highly colored food products, I also made plain vanilla cupcakes topped with rainbow sprinkles and colorful toys.

Rainbow Decorations

We hosted our party at a local outdoor park popular for the birthday crowd. I knew we would be under a pavilion and decorating would be a challenge, but wanted to make sure guests could find the right location. Solution? I made huge paper flowers to adorn the four posts of the pavilion and a rainbow wall of ribbons to hang on either side. I must apologize, but I forgot to take a picture of the rainbow wall during the party and only have a picture of the first half during construction.

Our party did have a sad note. We are a military family and just days after this celebration, movers came to pack us for a relocation. Because I want my children to remember all the people from various places that are special to us, I made their “Happy Birthday” garland out of photos of local friends holding the individual letters for the sign. For example, our librarians who have been conducting story time with my children for four years are holding the letters “H” and “Y.” The kids’ swim coach is holding the letter “T”, etc. For instructions to make your own rainbow garland, please view a post I created earlier.

Goodie Bags

Goodie bags were easy… give each child the ability to make their own rainbow and so much more! Each goodie bag contained a box of crayons, a box of colored pencils and a small bag of Skittles. Because our party was held during back-to-school time, I was able to get the school supplies at a bargain price.

The Challenges?

How do you make a rainbow theme masculine enough for a boy?

To make the rainbow theme relevant for toddler boy, I purchased race cars in a rainbow of colors to top white cupcakes, found a rainbow “transportation” tie on Etsy for him to sport at the party, and gave him the book “Freight Train” by Donald Crews to support the theme and his new-found interest in trains. Needless to say, my boy knows his colors now!

How to incorporate preschool girl’s love of fairies and toddler boy’s love of cars into the theme?

I knew that I wanted to include the things my children love in their party, not just go full steam ahead with a theme of my choosing. So, to include fairies and cars, I found small figurines and toys in a rainbow of colors and placed them atop white cupcakes. Voila’. My children and all the guests were thrilled with the cupcakes!

How to include healthy food at a birthday party?

This one was so very easy for a rainbow theme. There is a tremendous emphasis on “eating the rainbow” every day, and I was already well familiar with Ellie Krieger’s rainbow fruit skewers with chocolate-dipped strawberries, so including them in the birthday buffet was easy.

It’s time to kick the party planning into high gear! The big day is only 5 weeks away and since I hope to use a lot of handcrafted products there is no time to spare.

Winning Theme

Thank you to everyone who voted for your favorite party theme. The theme you picked is…

Yee haw! The party will be slightly different than originally envisioned because we moved and no longer live near the Stables where I planned to have the bash. But, weather permitting, there will still be pony rides and a petting zoo – in OUR yard! Crazy.

Barnyard Bash Birthday Party Shirts

I am excited to call on the creative services of my friend Jenny at The Funky Bee to make birthday shirts for the kids. Things to keep in mind when picking your favorite shirt: the theme is Barnyard Bash and invitations will be Around the Barn from Sweet Paper Lane. Also remember that these are sample graphics – the fabric will coordinate with the theme and all will be embroidered with my kid’s names.

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Barn Tee for him and Cow Tee for her (perhaps with black instead of brown for a true cow print look)

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Cowboy Tee for him and Pony Tee for her

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Number 4 Tee for him and Number 2 Tee for her – both in COW print, candle flame optional

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4 Candles Tee for him and Birthday Hat Tee for her – both in COW print with red accents

Vote for Your Favorite

Now it’s up to you! What set of birthday shirts should I customize?

[poll id="8"]

I’d love to know what you voted for and if you have any color or print suggestions.

You know how The Today Show plans a wedding, and viewers vote on everything? Well, I think that’s fun so we’re going to plan this birthday party that way. First up? You are picking the party theme!

Boy & Girl Birthday Party Ideas

I took some of the party ideas you suggested on Facebook and made some very quick and ugly simple  inspiration boards for my favorite birthday party themes. Check them out and then VOTE for the Birthday Party theme for my kids.

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Inspiration Credit: Farm ABC Wooden Blocks from tiny giraffe shop, Happy Birthday Banner & Party Circles from DoodleLulu, Around the Barn Invitation from Sweet Paper Lane, Farm Friends Cupcake Topper from The Birthday House.

Barnyard Bash Ideas: Party would be in the afternoon at a local stable with Pony Rides and Petting Zoo! Party favors would be custom blocks from tiny giraffe (right, Amy?)

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Inspiration Credit: Children’s Superhero Mask from SuperflyKidz, Birthday Superhero Favor Tags by Ciao Bambino, our capes from SuperflyKidz, Superhero Party Printabls from Petit Bouh, Superhero Write-In Invitation from Sweet Paper Lane.

Superheroes Party Ideas: Party would be at our home, with every child getting their own superhero cape. We’d play superhero games and eat superhero food – whatever that is.

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Inspiration Credit: Team Spirit Shirt & Tutu from The Funky Bee, Football Crayon from Design A Crayon, Football Cupcake Toppers & Printables from Partysaurus, Football Plates, Pom Poms and Football Jersey Die Cut Invitation from Sweet Paper Lane.

Football & Cheerleader Party Ideas: The party would include some football theme games, but not football because, well, the kids are 4 and 2. Party favors would include footballs and pom poms and food would be traditional tailgate fare. I love that the Jersey Invite would have our last name since it’s a party for both of them.

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Inspiration Credit: Pirate Ship Die Cut Invitation from Sweet Paper Lane,  Princess Pirate Custom Round Label from Manuni, Pirate Queen and King Hats from Scarlett Dalila, Treasure Chest Craft Kit from Oriental Trading, and Pirate Ship Cupcake Toppers from The Birthday House.

Pirate & Princess Party Ideas: Crafts include treasure hunt in the backyard followed by chest decorating. Pirates would receive eye patches and princesses would wear crowns.

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Inspiration Credit: Western Wear Invitation from Sweet Paper Lane, Custom Cowboy Boot and Cowgirl Tees from iSpotYou, Girly Horse and Cowboy Hat Cupcake Wrapper and Topper from Scrapbooking Stuff.

Cowboys & Cowgirls Party Ideas: The western-themed hoedown would take place at a local Stable with pony rides. Kids would wear their best western garb and do a little line dancing. Food would include kid-friendly barbeque food.

Vote for Your Favorite

Okay, now it’s up to YOU. What party should I plan?

[poll id="7"]

I’d love to know what you voted for and why. And, of course, all your brilliant ideas to help make your choice  a sweet party.

Thank You!

A big thank you shout out to Sweet Paper Lane and the owner Jayne. She saw the party conversation on Facebook and, to show gratitude for my husband’s service and our situation, she offered my family invitations on the house. I only hope everyone’s is so kind to me throughout the next year!

]]> http://theshoppingmama.com/2010/10/boy-girl-birthday-ideas-pick-your-favorite/feed/ 42 http://theshoppingmama.com/2010/08/sanlori-review-giveaway/ http://theshoppingmama.com/2010/08/sanlori-review-giveaway/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:40 +0000 Kate http://theshoppingmama.com/?p=10837 While it’s grown increasingly popular to send electronic invitations and communicate by email, I remain attached to the idea of sending invitation cards in the mail, I love getting a notecard stationery in my mailbox and really it’s the only way to send an appropriate thank you card. SanLori shares the love of paper goods and invitations and has a wide selection to help you celebrate in style.

About SanLori

Staying connected. That is a central theme of how SanLori began and what they value Sandra Marbaise (San) and Lorraine Maxwell (Lori), friends from their college years, began with the premise that they could build a creative, thriving business and also have an active family life. (Have their Tiramisu and eat it too!) Beginning with twenty eight designs and whole lot of enthusiasm they ventured down this new path and haven’t looked back. What could be better than knowing our “art from the heart” has been around to celebrate some of the happiest moments in life? So stay connected!

Childrens Party Invitations

SanLori has a huge – HUGE! – selection of Childrens Party Invitations. In fact, I had a hard time picking my favorites to feature. If you have a theme in mind, chances are you’ll find a great invitation to go set the tone for your party right. And, better yet, if you don’t have a theme in mind you can browse until something catches your eye. Here are some of my favorite Kids Party Invitations.

You can also keep it simple with some Fill In Invitations.

SanLori also has very kid-appropriate notecards and stationery. I love having cards personalized with my kids names. It makes sending a thank you note more special and it motivates my son to “help” with his thank you cards. We received the Clubhouse Note for my son and the Lil’ Critters Note for my daughter. The quality is great – the colors are vivid and the paper is matte finish making it easy to write on.

Great Gifts & Stationery

The kids don’t have all the fun at SanLori. As you can see from the photo to the right, there are some great gifts and stationery for mamas, too. The new Hot Chicks! candles are the perfect little just because gift for a girlfriend. The packaging looks as good as the candle smells. And the notepads and the Notepads and Paper Cubes are great great for teacher gifts or inexpensive birthday gifts for a friend.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… Everything we received is a winner, and the prices at SanLori can’t be beat. I’m not sure what I like best: the selection, affordability or quality. I will definitely shop there again and recommend the site to friends.

Or Not to Buy… I honestly can’t think of a negative thing or improvement for the products I received.

Shop! SanLori birthday party invitations range between $8 and $13 for a set of 10. Notecards and Thank YOu Notes are between $8 and $10.

Win! $100 SanLori Gift Certificate so you can Celebrate, Gift and Say Thank You in Style!

How to Enter: Browse SanLori and leave a comment with at least two items you’d buy if you win the generous giveaway.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

• Follow  SanLori on Twitter
• Like SanLori on Facebook
• Sign up for the SanLori newsletter
• Follow The Shopping Mama on Twitter and tweet this giveaway. You may do this every day, just leave the link when you do.
  Celebrate in style! Win a $100 gift card to SanLori @TheShoppingMama http://bit.ly/bHeLS0
• Fan The Shopping Mama on Facebook? If you Share on your Facebook, leave another comment.

Giveaway ends September 10. Open to US mailing addresses only.

Disclosure: Thanks to SanLori for providing sample products for the purpose of this review and the giveaway prizes. Opinions are my own.

Clarissa from Clarissa Day by Day shared the Construction party games she put together for her son’s Construction themed birthday party.

The little construction workers received personalized pillow cases they used as prize bags during the party.

The kids dug for buried prizes in the sandbox.

Clarissa made a dump truck out of boxes as the target for a bean bag toss.

Pin the bucket on the backhoe game – definitely a construction game original!

A traditional truck pinata was transformed into a more kid-friendly pull string pinata.

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There are so many adorable construction party bits and pieces on Etsy that I had to share some favorites.

This party was submitted for the All Things Birthday event.