8.19.2014

Luke's Train Party {Choo Choo Luke is TWO!}

Luke's 2nd Birthday Party was on Saturday.
I knew that I wanted to throw him a train party.
First, I can't resist a cute rhyming slogan like  "Choo Choo Luke is Two"
Secondly, Luke loves trains. Loves them. He loves Chuggington, he loves playing with trains & he loves saying "choo choo" 

His actual birthday was the 9th, but our families were out of town, so we had his party this past weekend. On his actual birthday we took him to ride the steam trains. It was a blast, he loved it.

Here is the invite that I made for his party:
{Invite will be available in my Etsy Shop when I re-open for Fall}

Since Luke is only 2 & doesn't have that many friends,  I promised Kevin that I would keep his party small, so his party was just family...but that was still almost 30 people since everyone is local....Both sets of grandparents, Aunts, Uncles & Cousins. And, we also invited a family that we are best friends with and they are basically like family.

This was a fun party to decorate for. I have had lots of ideas swirling in my head for the past few months.

Decorations:
As you walked up to our house, I had a "train track" that I made out of black electrical tape.
It was time consuming to make, but I loved how it turned out :)
I made a sign on our porch that said "The Larson Station"
I also made 2 signs for my flower pots, instead of putting RR for the Railroad sign, I put LL for Luke Larson
And, instead of Railroad Crossing, I put 2 year old crossing.
 The front entrance:

For appetizers, I had Veggies & Hummus and I made a train out of the containers:
I had one of these old school Fisher Price Trains as a kid, loved it! I got one on ebay a few months ago for Luke & it worked out perfectly for my Veggie Train :)
I added black wheels with construction paper to the containers.
I loved how it turned out!
 Other appetizers I had were Onion Dip:
And Corn Dip {Recipe HERE}:
The appetizers set up on our island:
I hung up some paper lanterns:
 I also made an "All Aboard sign:
I loved using red, blue, yellow & lime green for his party, such a fun color combo!
For drinks, I set up the "Fueling Station" outside:
 Chugga Chugga....get it?
 The party started at 4:00, so we served dinner. Here was the menu:
 I set up the dinner food where I had the appetizers:
 

My tortelini salad is one of my go-to's for parties:
 {Recipe HERE}
Yum!
And, of course....I always have a Dessert/Sweets Table at my Parties!
 Close up of this cute banner I bought {HERE}
I love Dessert Tables!
Close up's of what was on the table:
 Again, I had LL instead of RR.
 I made the cupcake toppers as well.
A dessert table always needs some candy!
 We love licorice!
And, sugar cookies:
 If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that my mother in law makes amazing cakes for my kids birthdays.
 The train one might be one of my favorites! She made the cake look like the train I used for the invites/cupcake toppers/food labels. She is amazing!
Her cakes not only look good, they are also delicious!
For the favors, I set up "Baggage Claim" .  
The red "L" is from Luke's bedroom and the clock (like Grand Central Station) is from my Family Room.
 I made a bunting out of train conductor hats (Oriental Trading) and I had leftover bandanas from Claire's Cowgirl Party.
Luke wouldn't wear a bandana or hat, he kept ripping them off, but look how cute my nephew looks:
I had a variety of favors at the Baggage Claim. A bandana & hat for all the kids and I also had wooden train whistles.
Note to self: Whistles are annoying. Never again. LOL!
For the 3 kids under the age of 5, I had these books for them to take home:
For the older kids & adults, I had train cookies:
 I get all my favor cookies made from a local bakery.
Close up of the cookies:
  I made the tags....."Thank Choo for celebrating Luke"
  I also bought a nice version of "The Little Engine that Could" and had the guests sign it:
 Luke loves books, especially Choo Choo books.
I love that we have a keepsake from his party!
I was happy with how the Baggage Claim turned out. It was a last minute idea.
  Party Activities:
 Since Luke has a summer birthday, I am pretty sure most of his parties will include swimming. 
Gotta love a Train themed swim party :)
Final event of the party....Cake Time!
 I used the vintage high chair that I spray painted red for his One year old Nautical Party last year.
{Banner made by my friend Heather}
 Close up of his shirt:
 
  Me & the Birthday Boy! {Please excuse my top bun & no makeup. It was a swim party after all!}
 Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!
I hope you had as much fun at your party as I did!
Can't believe you are TWO!

22 comments:

  1. Love it! And I was waiting to see what kind of cake Jill would make-so cool! :)

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  2. What a fun party! You did an amazing job!

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    1. You did an amazing job! I would like to share your blog on my website at http://www.MagicTrainParties.com for parents that are planning a train theme party to get ideas.

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  3. How CUTE, Mel!!
    I absolutely love the LL sign and cupcakes, the amazing train cake that matches the invites, and the idea for the guests to sign "The Little Engine"!
    So fun, and it brings me back to Nolan's party a year ago :)

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  4. Such a great party. Love all the details as usual. Can't wait to order that invite for my guy's second birthday in December!!

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  5. This is one of the cutest parties ever and you are so clever with all the decor. The appetizer train and the play on words are just the best!!! Can you plan all my parties from here on out please!!!

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  6. Such a fabulous party!! I just love it Mel! And listen, I can hardly believe he's already two. Such a sweet little boy :).

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  7. You are so creative! And Luke is such a handsome little boy!!

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  8. Amazing party! I love getting sneak peaks into your parties because I always leave with ideas. Like you cowgirl party!
    Love the train appetizer idea!
    Funny...when my son was three we had a Thomas Train party for him and I passed out train whistles as well...not a good idea.

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  9. You are amazing!!! I can't imagine that he wouldn't have loved it!!! I did a car themed party for my son when he turned 2 because was/is obsessed with cars. I really didn't think he would care all that much, but he had a blast because cars were EVERYWHERE!!! I am sure Luke was just the same.

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  10. I don't even know what to comment on. Everything looked absolutely amazing. I loved the entrance way. The train tracks leading up to the door was genius! The food looked amazing and I might have to borrow that corn dip recipe. I'm hosting a baby shower and I think it would be perfect! The signing of the book is also such a great idea. I'm going to have to do that for my kids next party. You rocked this party momma :)

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  11. Happy belated birthday Luke! This party is just precious! Love all the details and how cute is that veggie train. Love it!

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  12. Cute, as always! I'm getting ready for my little man's 2nd b-day party in October and I might have to use the book signing keepsake idea, love it!

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  13. Luke is just the cutest thing EVER. GREAT party, as usual!!!

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  14. This is amazing! You thought about every detail, I love it! My dad is a railroad fanatic and worked in the industry his whole life, so I imagine if we ever have a boy, I will definitely have to come back to this. I just love the train track walkway and the licorice! You thought of everything!

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  15. Thanks dear for sharing your 40th birthday experience!! I am also wondering about my mother’s birthday celebration and then I got your article. I will use your ideas surely.
     best birthday restaurants NYC

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  16. Incredible birthday party! I am in love with these decoration ideas. For me planning a party has always been an impossible task. Usually I get confused about decoration and food stuff. I always hire good party planning companies for doing all arrangements.

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  17. This is so helpful. My son is turning one in a little over a week and we are having a Chuggington themed party so I'm excited to use some of these ideas for his party too.

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  19. Very well written article. its very graceful to read such a post.Keep up the good work

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