Thomas the Tank Engine Birthday Party

Thomas & Friends

Capture your child's train fascination with a Thomas the Tank Engine party. You'll be able to "engineer" a great time by setting out toy trains and track or making cardboard trains with boxes and cardboard wheels.

Invitations:

For handmade invitations, why not make train tickets with the "boarding" information on it? Microsoft has plenty of free clip art to get you started.
If you like the real thing, buy invitations at Birthday Express
Use online Thomas the Tank Engine clipart to print your own invitations. You can also create decorations using clip this clipart site--think railroad crossings, stations signs, and tracks around the house.

Welcome Ideas:

Create a graffiti wall with butcher paper. Prepare ahead of time to draw train tracks. Let the kids draw trains, stations, cargo, etc. on it as they arrive. Have them sign their name or let an adult help, and this is a great poster for your child to remember his party by.
If you want another activity to do while guests trickle in, let them play with playdough to make their own Thomas the Tank Engine trains.

Games:

The Friendly Locomotive: Join in the fun with this silly activity! The first thing you need is music. Any children’s music will do. Choose an Engineer (the birthday child makes a great first Engineer), and have all the other party guests line up behind him/her. The creative moves are up to the Engineer, and the rest of the line follows. Suggest hopping, jumping, twirling, rolling on the ground, etc.
Train Track Relay: Run down the track in this fun relay game. In advance, cut four large rectangles from white poster board, or cardboard. The Birthday Express box will work well for this project. Color in railroad rails and cross ties. Each section of track should be approximately 12" x 15." Mark a start/finish line on the floor with masking tape. At the party, divide your guests into two teams and line them up. Give the first person in each line two railroad tracks. These become the only thing they can step on as they travel from the front of the line, around a chair, and back. Place one railroad track on the ground, step on it, place the next track in front, and step on it, etc. This relay game will keep them rolling in laughter as they race to the finish line.
Bobbing for Apples: Before the party, purchase a small apple for each child. Tie a string to the stem of each apple, then either hang them from a fixture in your home, a tree branch, or a swing set, making sure they are low enough so the children can reach them with their mouths. Have each child try to take a bite out of their apple without touching it with their hands. The children will have a challenging time keeping the apples still long enough to take a bite. This activity makes a wonderful photo opportunity so be sure to have your camera ready.
Caboose Message Mix-Up: Help the Engineer get a message to the Caboose. Seat your guests in a circle. The birthday child thinks of a message he thinks the Engineer would send to the caboose. He then whispers it to the person next to him. The message then travels all the way around the circle and the person next to the birthday child tells the final message out loud. Expect the unexpected when you learn the original vs. the final mixed-up message! Try again with another player starting the message and continue until your guests are ready for a new activity.

Food:

Misty Power Punch: You will need: 1 - 10oz package frozen strawberries (partially thawed); 1 - 10oz package frozen raspberries (partially thawed); 1 - 12oz can frozen lime juice concentrate; 1 - 32oz bottle of ginger ale (chilled); 1 - 32oz bottle of club soda (chilled); and 1 block of dry ice. Puree fruit in a blender and combine with lime juice concentrate. Refrigerate until party time. At party time, pour mixture into a punch bowl and add ginger ale and club soda. Add chunks of dry ice as guests arrive to create the mist.
Sandwich Train: You will need bread, your child’s favorite sandwich fillers, licorice strings, pretzel sticks, and olives or gum drops for the train wheels. Create train tracks out of licorice strings by circling them around the edge of a platter. Use pretzel sticks to make cross ties.

Prepare the train wheels beforehand. Use black olives if you’re making meat or cheese sandwiches, and use jelly beans if you’re making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. To make the train wheels, cut olives or gum drops into halves and spear one on each end of a pretzel stick. This makes the wheels for each "train car."

To make train cars, cut crusts off bread, add sandwich filler, and place a pretzel stick with wheels attached, across each end. Add another piece of bread and sandwich filler. Add a third piece of bread and hold all together with a toothpick.

For the engine, attach a fourth piece of bread and stick a carrot inside the sandwich to make a smokestack. Place your train cars behind the engine and display them on the train track platter.
Pigs in a Blanket: Your guests are sure to squeal over these delectable delights. Purchase your favorite brand of hot dogs, cheese, and refrigerator croissants. Slice hot dogs lengthwise and cut cheese into strips. Unroll croissants and stuff them with hot dogs and cheese. Roll croissants back up and bake as directed, or until golden brown.

These delicious treats are so good, your party guests will clean every last crumb from their plates. Don't be surprised if they make pigs of themselves and come back for more!
Thomas the Tank Engine Cake: check out this brilliant homemade cake!

Supplies:

For Thomas the Tank Engine birthday supplies, click on the link.