Thursday, April 1, 2010

hot wheels birthday party

luke is absolutely in love with anything with wheels!  he has a hot wheels car(s) in hand at almost any given time.  choosing his birthday party theme was very easy to say the least! ;)  it was so fun to see his excitement as we prepared for his big day.  he was in car, truck, airplane, etc. heaven! haha!

the entrance..
i love using chalkboards to welcome guests


i can still hardly believe my little boy is 2!! 
i thought this was an appropriate shirt for him ;)  little pockets for all of his cars and i loved that i could personalize it!  perfect!  i found it on chasing fireflies (love that website!!)

visors for all the kiddos!
i set up "pit stops" throughout the party for the kids to stop at...this one was race time..basically just have fun playing with cars ;)  i know it's a little hard to see but i even tied an airplane to the ceiling fan above so it was circling the area ;)

the unloading zone...
which ended up looking like this.  luke was one lucky boy! ;)
i love to set up birthday pictures around the house in honor of them
for several of the tables i made roads out of black butcher paper..and then i just cut yellow strips and taped them to it.  this was just an activity area of books and puzzles.



i made his banner to reflect street sign shapes
i took these pics before i actually set everything out..but you get the idea.  i did a grandstand snack area...nachos, popcorn, cotton candy..you know all the fun stuff you would buy if you were actually at the races? ;)
i labeled everything and then stuck it in a cone.


the nachos were an absolute hit.  i found these containers online and they worked perfectly.  guests filled the little part with nacho cheese or salsa and then the bigger part with chips.  another way to give it that snack stand effect.
i made chocolate pretzel molds...it was my first time, and i was surprised at how easy it really was!  i bought the molds and red candy melts at michaels and used chocolate chips for the chocolate ones.
i used sno-cone cups to serve the cotton candy
ella was so excited to pop the popcorn..i put out popcorn butter and salt
i made regular candy melts too..these included several different types of cars and a fire engine.  i found the mold online..but can't remember the site off hand!
i set this up so the kids could take their pic as a racecar driver ;)  i found it on oriental trading.
of course i had to use gas cans (new and thoroughly cleaned..haha) for some of the drinks.  it was funny to watch guests try and work them! haha!

i made rice krispy treats out of different shaped cookie cutters...truck, race car, helicopter, train, boat, plane...
oreos were used for tires
i made signs and put them up all around


craft table pit stop...

i put out a bucket of tools and a bunch of luke's trucks, etc so they could "work" on them.  

of course we had to have a speedway jumpy ;)
i tried the bounce house/slide combo this time around and it was a hit!!  the kids loved it!

centerpieces to race the cars on






i found the inflatable tires on oriental trading as well and created a toss game by labeling the tires with different point amounts...whoever had the highest points won..i had 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.
this was the final pit stop..souvenirs! :)

the kids created their own goody bag by picking out a sun catcher to paint..a hot wheel car...stickers..gummy race cars and a chocolate car



sarah (itsybitsyphotgraphy.com) did luke's birthday photo shoot and created the collage for me. it turned out so cute!! :)



ella painted some of the wooden cars for decoration ;)
the craft was a make your own license plate.  foam squares, foam letter stickers, different car/sign stickers and of course glitter ;)  simple and fun!
i had a couple other treat tables set up (which i forgot to take pics of)
in lieu of a cake..the kids got chocolate sprinkle donuts (aka tires) we ordered from a local donut shop ;)
my mom and sister, melissa, made these delicious chocolate bundt cakes (aka monster tires) ;) we served up with some ice cream!

we bbq'd for food (lunch)...i figured that fit the theme the best
the kiddos got their own little basket for their meals
the birthday boy!
the kids made their license plates whenever they pleased
of course we had to have a pinata ;)


i've never done this before..but i thought it would be fun to show you the aftermath of the party.  i love looking at the details of everyone's parties..but seldomly do you see pictures of the end of the party..haha!!  you know the part where you look at the clean up and think to yourself, "why do i do this again?" hahaha!  j/k  i think it is worth every bit!  i love planning, decorating, and most of all watching the kids have so much fun!  so, to go along with the before pics..here are the after ones too.


oh, and i found all the plastic car license plates displayed around on ebay







gotta love it. ;)
happy 2nd birthday luke!  hope you enjoyed your party!! :)

30 comments:

Cammi at Cammi Lee Events said...

way too cute! I love all the little details you incorporated throughout - you're little man's one lucky boy! :) Great job!

Shelley @ Divine Party Concepts said...

What a great party!! You see so many cute girls parties but I LOVE this party!! Great job!

Kathy said...

You did such a fabulous job! Looks like it was a great party. I'm wondering what size tshirt you bought Luke? How did they run? Did you have to size up?
Thanks!!

jessica said...

Thanks everyone! :) and kathy I got luke a 3t and it fit just right!

**Sweet Bites** said...

Your parties are always such an inspiration to me, so thank you for taking the time to post pictures. Just a quick question, what type of chalk do you use on the chalk boards? Mine never seems to be as bright as yours look. Thanks!

jessica said...

thank you! :) and i use chalkboard markers. you can get them at michaels or online (i have got them off of amazon before). they come in a variety of colors and definitely pop out more than regular chalk. then you just use water to wipe it off! they're great!! :) hope that helps!

jessica said...

kathy..i just rechecked the size of luke's shirt and it is a 4!! so they do run small!

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

Simply amazing! Your attention to details are incredible. The gas can drink holders...Love!! The oreo tires for the rice krispie treats so clever! Would love to have you join The Celebration Inspiration Party and link this up! So much inspiration here - You have done an amazing job on this! ~ www.bystephanielynn.com

Lena said...

Great party....very creative!

Just wondering, when did you start planning and what was the final cost?

Pax - Lena

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

Thanks so much for joing the Celebration Party! You are a girl after my own heart! This party is simply amazing down to every last detail. The shirt is ADORABLE! The gas can drinks are over the top - LOVE it! Your attention to details are incredible! What a fabulous party - so much inspiration! Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

awesome job! I love how much time you put into all the details! The kids must have had a blast!

Kim @ http://frostmeblog.blogspot.com
party inspiration

Kelli W said...

What a fun party! I think my favorite part is the drinks in the gas cans! Very clever:) And I love the donuts {tires} instead of a cake!

World Cup 2010 Wheel Trims | England Wheel Trims said...

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful post.cheers to all of you for the fantastic idea of party.

mom22 said...

This party is so fabulous. In fact, I am using a ton of your ideas for my son's party next weekend. I've posted a few things for the party already on my blog if you'd like to check it out. I love following your blog and look forward to your posts!
http://buckets-of-grace.blogspot.com/2010/09/adventures-in-novice-graphics-design.html

Kevyn Hagemann said...

My son loves cars, so I think the theme of his birthday is Hot Wheels too! Yesterday, I bought a gift for him. It is a car toy like a Viper Coupe from Dodge. Edmonton is one of the areas known for selling affordable cars. If you want to have a car like one of the models of Dodge and Chrysler, this town is the best option in finding those cars.

{CuTe CaRd QuEeN} said...

This is so stinking cute! I just linked to your blog from my Best of the Web Cars party! Thanks for sharing your great ideas!

Susan said...

Wow! Incredible... looks like an awesome party!!! You are so creative!

Anonymous said...

Wow!!!!!!!!I like the concept of the party. My son will turn 7 next month and he loves cars too. This will be a big help for me in preparing, the ideas are awesome. Wondering, if the one that you used to take picture as racer can be purchased online? Your advice is badly needed. Thanks a lot.

goldilocks said...

Thank you for sharing your Hot wheels party...this is so awesome & I love to go crazy with party themes like you do! I'm going to borrow many of these idea.. A big thanks again for sharing with other moms!

Anonymous said...

This is SO awesome. I can neither confirm nor deny that I'll be swiping more than a few of these creative ideas! Yay!!

XO

Megan Mc said...

What a fabulous party! I will be using some of these great ideas for my son's 5th birthday party! You are very talented. You should be a party planner!

Anonymous said...

Wow, super cute. I love the chocolate molded cars! Thanks so much for sharing your ideas. My son is turning 5 and loves Hot Wheels too!!

Anonymous said...

Such cute ideas!! Where did you find the 3 tiered silver snack stand??

Brittany said...

I love this party!! Do you have any kind of a source list? I'd love to know where you got the nacho holders and the plastic cones!

Anonymous said...

I just came across your site via Pinterest (I'm looking at doing a Hot Wheels party for my son's 2nd birthday)... Gotta ask, though... how much did you end up spending on Luke's party (ballpark/rough estimate) / how many children came? I'm just trying to plan ahead for my son's birthday.

-jenstamps @ hotmail

-jen-

Isang said...

great party! my son is requesting for a hot wheels party for his 5th birthday and i stumbled across your blog. i love the decors and the chocolate pretzel molds!

Anonymous said...

My son was looking at these pictures with me since his birthday is right around the corner:) He kept saying, "I want to go there." What wonderful ideas. Thank you so much for sharing.

madhu said...

Your blog is interesting to read .I have also read about buy hot wheels cars online
.

Anonymous said...

I I love your car pretzels! Can you please provide a tutorial asap!!

Unknown said...

So cute! How did you make your chalkboard sign at the entrance so neat? ease email me. Thanks Elizabeth