Caleb's Thomas the Train Birthday Party

What a fabulous party. I wish I had time to do more (becuase I'm OCD like that) but here is how it went:

Even though we found great ideas for homemade invitations that looked like train tickets or boarding passes, we opted for the store bought just so we could focus our time on making the games. Besides, I'm worried that if I sent the boarding passes, no one would remember to bring them to the party.

As guests arrived, they followed the tracks we made with sidewalk chalk to the door and were greeted with blue and red balloons, a green arrow sign with white letters which read "Caleb's Party" and pointed to the door. We had Thomas music playing at the door and a RR crossing sign on the door which read "Welcome to Caleb's party." A large Sir Topham Hatt (made out of poster paper and painted by me) was standing at the door to greet everyone.

Indoor decorations included blue and red streamers and a store bought Thomas birthday banner plus more balloons. I traced big circles on yellow paper and made several RR crossing signs. I made several other white RR signs that said, "Refueling Station" (by the food), and "Freight Drop Off" by the presents. I cut white letters and glued them onto green posterboard to make signs for, "Tidmouth Shed", "Brendam Docks", "The Quarry." We bought a Thomas tablecloth as well as a solid blue one.

Activities: The first station was the Thomas mask making station. The second station was the coloring station where each child received their very own coloring book (I made by gathering tons of activity pages online). The 3rd station was Thomas Memory (which I made on the computer).

Other station ideas I had but did not have time to prepare: Doorknob hanger and Thomas puzzle, decorate your own train cookie, paint your own clay ornament shaped like a train.

To begin the party, I was going to have someone ring the doorbell and leave some packages wrapped in brown paper but we were all in the backyard so I just blew the train whistle, gathered all the kids around, and told them that Sir Topham left a package. It was a book from Sir Topham Hatt. When I made the book, I made sure it had a pocket for the boarding passes and a pocket at the end for the certificates. I printed the cover of the book from Thomasandfriends.com. Here is what it said:

Dear Caleb and Friends,
I have some very important jobs for you to do today on the Island of Sodor. First you need your boarding pass. (I gave each child a boarding pass that my husband made).

If you received your coloring book, someone will punch your pass for you. (I used a cloud punch that looked like the Thomas logo. My wonderful Aunt Joanie did all the punching).

You will get another punch for making your Thomas mask (http://www.thomasandfriends.com/usa/activities_learning_cutouts.asp).

Next, I need you to go to the quarry. You have an important job to do. James has been having a lot of trouble with Troublesome Trucks. They have spilled out all of his coal. Can you help to put it back? "Toss the coal back into the Troublesome Trucks"- My husband created the TTs out of gray poster board and a box. We used black bean bags.

(punch tickets)Next, there is one piece of coal that rolled away. Caleb’s mom is going to show you how to play, “Pass the Coal” so that you all can help get that last piece back into the Troublesome Truck. "Pass the Coal" was played using a black bean bag my MIL made. The kids sat in a circle and passed the coal to Thomas music. When the music stopped, the child holding the coal was 'out.'

(punch tickets) Uh-oh, Thomas had a wash down and his number is fading. Will you help with Thomas’s number? We’re going to play “Pin the Number on Thomas.” "Pin the Number on Thomas. " I made the poster using a transparency and then I painted the poster at home. The numbers were cut using a die-cut machine at the school where I teach.

(punch ticket)Our last game is Thomas Bingo. Please sit down in a circle and you will get your game card.

(punch ticket) You’ve worked very hard today, I have a certificate for each of you (thomastoystore.com click on fun stuff).

Now it’s time for Caleb to open his gifts and then we’re off to the refueling station for some cake. Don't forget your goody bag and a balloon when you leave. Caleb says thanks for coming!

Other game ideas: Sir Topham Hatt says (make a hat out of black construction paper)
Bowling- cover each pin with pictures of the different trains
hopscotch
Thomas dominoes

Caleb loved every single gift. His Granny made him the shirt he is wearing. He got some new trains, some Thomas books and a coloring book, a Thomas Color Wonders, a soccer ball, a remote control Thomas, skates, and too many more to mention. He seems to love them all too!

Food: I made the Thomas cake and attached Annie. We created a train (we covered shoeboxes with gray paper to look like Troublesome Trucks) to hold the food and one of the cars (blue) held the "logs" (pretzel rods). We used one of Caleb's toy Thomas' as the engine.

We had Thomas plates and napkins mixed in with blue plates and napkins just to save a little. We had blue utensils and red and blue cups.

Other food ideas: blue jello jigglers cut with train cookie cutters sandwiches cut with train cookie cutters.

Goody Bags- Each child received a red bag containing Thomas stickers, bubbles, candy shaped like Thomas, and a miniature puzzle. Each family received a Thomas CD with Thomas music and a picture of Caleb on the cover. Each family also received a Thomas matching game of their own.

Other ideas not used: rent a party train to come
make a plywood "tossing" game and paint to like Thomas
Save BIG boxes. Cut and paint each to look like trains and let the children wear them...Race?
Printable Thomas calendar pages at DLTK website
Make doorknob hanger-see DLTK website
Make a huge Cranky the Crane as well as "waves" using 3 different sized cardboard cut-outs. Then say that Cranky the Crane has dumped his freight into the water and needs help getting it out. The kids can "fish" it out with a fishing pole.

There are tons of Thomas websites out there. You can find online activities, calendars, paper models, and more. Here are a few:
justthomas.com
timeforthomas.com
thomasthetrainfansite.com

Please feel free to leave your ideas or comments below. Click on "comments."