Beep Beep…This Baby is Two…A Party Review

Cupcakes with printed toppers, stoplight cups and a mum
is a nice seasonal touch of color!

For King Diaper's Birthday this year, we had a car themed birthday party.  It was lots of fun to plan and lots less complicated.  I think that one of the best ways to plan an event or party is with a Pinterest Board.  I started my Car Themed Birthday Party Board several months ago with collected ideas.

To go along with the theme, I did a few simple things:

• Ordered a car theme party invitation from Tiny Prints.
• I also ordered bright solid color plates, napkins and cups in yellow, red, orange and green.
• I used black table cloths on the tables with yellow tape making a road stripe down the middle.
• Toilet paper holders were turned into small cars along the table.  

All of these things were easy and could be done in advance.  Also, party invitations could easily be made through a print or word processing program.  These things were all done first.

I wanted to make simple favor bags for the children.  This was an outdoor party at a park.  So, I included bubbles and sunglasses.  Hot Wheels cars were also spread down the table for children to take home.  I ordered the bubbles and sunglasses from Party City.  Hot Wheels cars can be picked up anywhere.  I ordered a 20 piece set from Amazon Prime.  Working full time and traveling for work doesn't yield a lot of time for shopping.  My sofa on Friday night is the best place to shop!  (online!)

Sandwich cars, BLT wraps and spare tires

Food was yet another easy fix.  

• Spare tires - chocolate covered doughnuts.
• Stop light cups - Jello layered into little plastic wine cups in green, yellow and red.  Kids really liked this.  I hadn't had jello in years!
• Turkey and ham sandwiches race cars - I cut the sandwiches into narrow thirds and attached 4 little grape tomatoes with toothpicks for wheels.  
• Cup cakes - Plain with sprinkles and little cut out toppers that I found a print out for with the theme online for free.
• BLT Wraps for grown ups
• Assortment of chip individual chip bags
• I even printed labels for the food from a free site.  
• Juice boxes and water for guests

The final thing was a birthday shirt for the birthday boy.  I love Etsy!  It is an addiction.  But there are so many wonderful gifts and unique items from lots of different sellers!  I picked out a shirt with the number 2 shaped by a road with cars appliquéd and his name monogramed.  So fun!  

Gifts by Gita is a mother's and baby shop that has lots of cute shirts with lots of different themes to choose from.  This is the shop where the birthday shirt came from.  If you are looking for a unique baby gift for momma or baby, this would be a great resource!  

If I could go back, what would I keep and change?

1. The park location is a keeper.  Kids were entertained and had something to do.  At this age,
   
   games aren't really successful and a lot of work.  So, outdoor play was great especially at this time of year.
2. I had a little too much food, but we didn't run out.  I think I will scale back next year.
3. We had the right mix of homemade items and bought items so I wasn't working so much.
4. Themes can be as easy or difficult as one makes them.  This was an easy one!
5. Shopping online for gifts and party items is a must.  Best decision ever!  Lots of selection and allows me to pace the work load of it all.

This birthday was a success and much easier than last year.  I felt like I paced myself more and did less.  But, it was still fun, cute and enjoyable.