A Boy Turns 2 & We Throw a Themed Birthday Party

Constuction Themed Birthday Party – Intentional By Grace

I’ve decided that I love themed birthday parties. Seriously? I think it’s a total perk of being a mom. When Samuel turned one, we threw an UNO themed birthday party. Totally cute!

This year we brainstormed what Samuel might find fun (because he understands far more than he did last year), and we came up with trucks. This boy loves anything with wheels! What better birthday party than a construction theme with lots of dump trucks for a little boy turning two?

The Invitation

I really wanted to design the invitation on my own, but with buying a house and finding out number 2 was on the way, I just did not have the time or energy. So I did what any mom would do, I turned to Etsy of course! Gigi from PerfectPartys was great to work with, and the invitations were, well, perfect! I printed them off on card stock instead of sending them to the photo printer and it worked just fine!

The Decorations

We kept the decorations very simple. We didn’t do balloons, streamers, etc. We had the party in our home only a couple weeks after moving in. We had boxes hiding behind every door. It was crazy, but worth it. Anyway, back to the decorations!

I found orange cones in the sports section at Wal-Mart, along with shovels, pails, and smaller dump trucks.

The big dump truck I found on Amazon along with the construction hats for party favors (more on them later).

The “toolboxes” were made from Cuties boxes we snagged for free from the local grocery store. My mom got creative and covered them in card stock to hold our utensils and cuties (aka, wrecking balls).

The little arrows were swiped from Samuel’s birthday present from his grandparents. He didn’t seem to mind.

The small pails I found at Target in the dollar section. Oh how I love thee, Target my friend.

Finally, the table “cloth” and utensils came from the Dollar Tree before it closed down. Shew! Glad I didn’t procrastinate picking those up!

The Food

The food was the highlight of the party (besides the birthday boy of course!). I had loads of fun re-naming the foods to reflect something more construction-y.

Our birthday cake was dirt cake with lots of gummy worms (donated from our local candy store!). We piled it into a dirt pail for singing Happy Birthday! He loved it, and he surprisingly loved being sung to. Blowing out the candles was a hoot!

The following are some close ups of the food with the actual food name below (just in case it isn’t obvious).

{Reese Pieces Bites}

{Grapes}

{Baby Carrots}

{Pretzels}

{Honey}

{Plain Yogurt}

{Raisins}

{Cuties}

{Popcorn}

The Games

With a bunch of toddlers running around, we decided to keep the games and activities to a minimum. I pulled out a bin of Megabloks and a bin of Magneatos to keep with the construction theme. They were a huge hit! The kids built towers all over the living room floor, and it was fun watching them learn to share.

In addition, we had a Stop Sign Bean Bag Toss. How many people does it take to come up with the idea and bring it to fruition? Three! I wanted a bean bag toss, and my mom came up with the stop sign idea.

My husband constructed the set out of leftover moving boxes while my mom and I sewed the bean bags together out of the material the guest room sheets came in. We filled them with the rice I bought in bulk only to discover we totally despised this kind. I knew it’d come in handy later! Glad I saved the nasty rice.

The red background is just red poster board (two actually) and the letters are cut out of white poster board. My hubby anchored it to the wall because we were out of time and we own the house, so why not? But the question is, did the kids even like it?

They totally loved it! It was so fun watching little two and three year olds throwing bean bags. Not a single one hit another human being! My little one made sure everyone in the room got a turn, “Wanna do it?” It’s still up in our living room, and we play with it everyday! 🙂

The Party Favors

I kept it very simple. With the very inexpensive construction hats I got in bulk from Amazon, I created first name initial stickers for each of the little party goers. When they arrived, they were given a hat with their initial to wear during the party and then to take home.

The kids loved them, and one kid in particular might still be wearing his. He totally loved it!

We had such a fun construction themed birthday party for our little two year old. I can hardly believe he’s two already! It was so sweet watching him get excited as he saw each one of his friends walk through the door. He’s a total extravert, and he was on cloud nine running around saying, “Hi!”

Now we enter what we’ve heard are the “terrible twos.” I’m learning how difficult this stage of parenting is, but I’m also learning the tremendous joy that this little bundle of humor brings to our days. Right now, the days are hard and often long, but I know and believe that the years fly by far too fast. May this year be a year of grace and growth in perseverance. This little boy is a joy to parent (most days), and he’s full of hugs and smiles every day! Happy Birthday, Samuel! I’m glad I got ya’!

Are you a themed birthday party thrower?