i am so, so, so late in posting this. the time has really gotten away from me! this is a MUCH belated post about ozzy's birthday party (TWO months ago!!!).
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we celebrated ozzy's birthday on the fourth of july weekend, two weeks early, since we'd be out of town on his real birthday. the birthday theme was a no brainer given his obsession with trains. we kept the party small, just family and one little boy (neighbor).
i didnt really plan much by way of entertainment...the boys were under 2 yrs old, so i figured just having lots of trains and toys to play with suffice. i really wanted to rent a trackless train, but i could only find one vendor that had one in our area and the cost would run close to $1000 for a minimum of two hours. (and yes, there's a train at the mall and one at a local park, but i wanted to keep the party at home, so i ruled those out).
for the invitations, i had a plan to do a pop up train card, but never got enough time to begin production on them, so instead it was an Evite that got sent out to everyone in the party colors and an image of Thomas and Friends. for the responses, i customized the wording. for yes: welcome to the island of sodor, for maybe: stalled at the station and for no: derailed. i felt bad not making ozzy's invitations like i did for mimi every year...but, well, you know, the second kid and all that.
also, did not put a lot of effort into the cake...instead i was inspired to do a designer dessert table with a simple cake. because the party happened on fourth of july weekend, i decided to keep with the red, white, blue colors, which worked out well since Thomas the tank engine is red and blue anyway. i labeled the drinks "Chugga Chugga" and the candy "Chew Chew" which i thought was a cute thematic touch.
for the cake topper i made a simple train out of fondant and some fondant ribbons.
around the room we hung up stars that mimi cut out of red, white, and blue paper. then she used some thread and taped the stars onto the thread and i hung them up around the room. (she was such a great helper! she also helped cut out cookies, ice them, put sprinkles on the cupcakes, straighten up the house, and help keep ozzy entertained. while it's not the same as having an adult help, she did a pretty darn good job for a six year old!).
mimi painted two train pictures to decorate the dining room. they turned out so cute! i am going frame them and hang them up in ozzy's bedroom. the paintings work well w/his bedroom colors too.
i did buy up a bunch of thomas partyware as well as some fourth of july party supplies. at first i didnt want to go the route of all that cartoony Thomas character party supplies, but ozzy kept grabbing everything off the shelves, hugging it to himself, and refusing to leave the store without them, so i caved and bought them. on the day of the party, when i spread out the table cloth with all the Thomas and Friends trains on it, he breathes, it's beautiful, ma! (he's taken to calling me "ma' now)
for the party activity, i kept it very low key. the party started around 4pm, shortly after ozzy wakes from his nap. we had trains and other toys set out for the kids to play with while the adults chatted. my mom prepared stuff for vietnamese rolls and we ordered tons of pizzas. (i felt like i ate all evening!!!)
after too much food, ozzy blew out his birthday candles (after several attempts!), and opened his presents...he loved everything, of course. it was all of his favorite things, Thomas, Thomas, Thomas, construction vehicles, Thomas, dinosaur, Thomas, and Thomas.
it was a fun little party. ozzy had a hard time going to sleep after all that excitement (and sugar and company staying the night). he ended up hanging out with me on the couch, late into the evening. whenever i'd ask him if he was ready to go to bed, he'd say, "No. I dont want to go to bed." and "I cant sleep." eventually i got him to sleep, but he woke up several times through out the night. the price to pay for heavy partying!
it was a tiring, but fun filled weekend. i loved having so many family members spend the weekend with us. they braved the 4th of july traffic to make it up here, and i'm so thankful for their support, love, and friendship. we are so lucky to have such a wonderful family.
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we celebrated ozzy's birthday on the fourth of july weekend, two weeks early, since we'd be out of town on his real birthday. the birthday theme was a no brainer given his obsession with trains. we kept the party small, just family and one little boy (neighbor).
i didnt really plan much by way of entertainment...the boys were under 2 yrs old, so i figured just having lots of trains and toys to play with suffice. i really wanted to rent a trackless train, but i could only find one vendor that had one in our area and the cost would run close to $1000 for a minimum of two hours. (and yes, there's a train at the mall and one at a local park, but i wanted to keep the party at home, so i ruled those out).
for the invitations, i had a plan to do a pop up train card, but never got enough time to begin production on them, so instead it was an Evite that got sent out to everyone in the party colors and an image of Thomas and Friends. for the responses, i customized the wording. for yes: welcome to the island of sodor, for maybe: stalled at the station and for no: derailed. i felt bad not making ozzy's invitations like i did for mimi every year...but, well, you know, the second kid and all that.
also, did not put a lot of effort into the cake...instead i was inspired to do a designer dessert table with a simple cake. because the party happened on fourth of july weekend, i decided to keep with the red, white, blue colors, which worked out well since Thomas the tank engine is red and blue anyway. i labeled the drinks "Chugga Chugga" and the candy "Chew Chew" which i thought was a cute thematic touch.
for the cake topper i made a simple train out of fondant and some fondant ribbons.
around the room we hung up stars that mimi cut out of red, white, and blue paper. then she used some thread and taped the stars onto the thread and i hung them up around the room. (she was such a great helper! she also helped cut out cookies, ice them, put sprinkles on the cupcakes, straighten up the house, and help keep ozzy entertained. while it's not the same as having an adult help, she did a pretty darn good job for a six year old!).
mimi painted two train pictures to decorate the dining room. they turned out so cute! i am going frame them and hang them up in ozzy's bedroom. the paintings work well w/his bedroom colors too.
i did buy up a bunch of thomas partyware as well as some fourth of july party supplies. at first i didnt want to go the route of all that cartoony Thomas character party supplies, but ozzy kept grabbing everything off the shelves, hugging it to himself, and refusing to leave the store without them, so i caved and bought them. on the day of the party, when i spread out the table cloth with all the Thomas and Friends trains on it, he breathes, it's beautiful, ma! (he's taken to calling me "ma' now)
for the party activity, i kept it very low key. the party started around 4pm, shortly after ozzy wakes from his nap. we had trains and other toys set out for the kids to play with while the adults chatted. my mom prepared stuff for vietnamese rolls and we ordered tons of pizzas. (i felt like i ate all evening!!!)
after too much food, ozzy blew out his birthday candles (after several attempts!), and opened his presents...he loved everything, of course. it was all of his favorite things, Thomas, Thomas, Thomas, construction vehicles, Thomas, dinosaur, Thomas, and Thomas.
it was a fun little party. ozzy had a hard time going to sleep after all that excitement (and sugar and company staying the night). he ended up hanging out with me on the couch, late into the evening. whenever i'd ask him if he was ready to go to bed, he'd say, "No. I dont want to go to bed." and "I cant sleep." eventually i got him to sleep, but he woke up several times through out the night. the price to pay for heavy partying!
it was a tiring, but fun filled weekend. i loved having so many family members spend the weekend with us. they braved the 4th of july traffic to make it up here, and i'm so thankful for their support, love, and friendship. we are so lucky to have such a wonderful family.
I love your son's train paintings! Cute party!
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