All Aboard the Riggins Express!

We had so much fun celebrating Riggins' third birthday last weekend with our family and friends.  Months ago, I asked Riggs what kind of birthday party he wanted; he had been to enough parties for friends that he understood the concept of a birthday party and a theme.  He said he wanted a choo choo party, he never once changed his mind or suggested anything else.  As the party neared, he talked about his "choo choo pahwtee" constantly and was so excited about it!  He is in a season of childhood where the anticipation of something is half the fun!  And of course, he is still talking about it a week later.  

He looks like such a big boy here.  Definitely a pre-schooler now and not a toddler!  

"Welcome!  Get some gear for your engineer!"

I hit a major score back in January.  Target put all of its Thomas birthday party stuff on clearance.  I snagged all the hats, decorations and goodies they had, all for just cents each.  Is a plastic Thomas tablecloth my personal taste?  No.  Did Riggins flip out when he saw obnoxious, brightly-colored Thomas everything? Yes.  Is that what matters?  Heck, yes!  

My mother-in-law found the Thomas basket at Hobby Lobby during the Easter season.  It was stocked with Thomas fruit snacks.  If you know anything about children, you know that not one kid wore a hat or bandana at the party, but every kid was walking around clutching fist-fulls of "choo choo snacks." Typical!   

I only served cake and juice boxes at the party to keep it simple, but I figured the grown ups deserved a reward for spending their Saturday morning at a kiddie party.  Mexican Cokes were the cure!  (If you haven't had a Mexican coke, add it to your bucket list.  I could care less about regular coke, but this stuff is good.  I found it at Sam's Club.)

I found inspiration for the cake on Pinterest, and after talking with a friend who decorates cakes for a living I mustered up the confidence to try my hand at making my own.  It was easier than I thought, but definitely took a bit of time.  There's a reason there was only cake and drinks at this party!  I'll do a separate post on the cake some time to share a few of the good tips that helped.

The effort was worth it when Riggins saw it for the first time.  His jaw dropped and he gasped so loud before bursting into a huge grin.  As soon as he blew out his candles, his little friends started grabbing the candles, the trains, and the tracks off the cake in excitement, and poor Riggins burst into tears!  He loved his cake, and it was so fun to make it for him.  I'm not going to go into business any time soon, but it was fun to work on a new skill that I can use in the future for special occasions like these.  

Train signs made out of craft foam, bunting out of scrapbook paper, and train tracks on the floor out of masking tape.  

We had the party at the youth building of my in-laws church, and they own their own bounce house that you can use for free if you have a party.  I also set up Riggins' train set on the floor.  So basically the kids bounced, played trains, and ate fruit snacks all morning.  

Not to let Baby Brother steal the birthday thunder, but does he make a cute little junior engineer or what?  

The brothers finished off the morning by raiding the stash of leftover fruit snacks.  Score!  

Thanks to all of the family members and friends who made the effort to celebrate with us!