How to Plan a "Thomas and Friends" Party
For the little boy fascinated with all things train, or who adores Thomas the Tank Engine, a "Thomas and Friends" theme would be ideal for his next birthday party. An educational children's show, "Thomas and Friends" centers around Thomas and his other train friends on the fictional Island of Sodor. Because of the popularity of the show, there are many "Thomas and Friends" ready-made party goods available, making this theme easy to pull off. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Train-themed invitations
- Streamers (red, blue, gray)
- Balloons (red, blue, gray)
- "Thomas and Friends" toys
- "Thomas and Friends" posters
- Red tablecloth
- "Thomas and Friends" paper plates and utensils
Instructions
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Send out train-themed invitations. You can create your own, or you can purchase ready-made "Thomas and Friends" invitations at a party store and online. If you choose to make your invitations, use train-themed wording such as, "All Aboard the Thomas Express straight to Matthew's 5th Birthday!" Include the party details such as time, date and location. Encourage parents to dress their children to look like little conductors or train workers for the party. Another idea is to make the invitation look like a train ticket or boarding pass, which guests must present to the party host to get in.
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Turn the party room into Thomas' world. Tape large posters of Thomas and the other trains on the walls. Stretch blue, gray and red streamers across the room. Tie blue, red and gray balloons in various places around the room, or on the backs of chairs. Use a red tablecloth and "Thomas and Friends" paper plates and plastic utensils. Create a train track look on the walkway leading up to your house or to the party area with black duct tape. If possible, have someone dress up in a top hat and a fancy suit to play Sir Topham Hatt, the controller for Thomas and the other engines, to greet guests at the door. He should use his best British accent to play the part as well.
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Set up Thomas-themed games and activities by station. You can name the stations after the ones on the show or you could come up with your own. One station could be for toy play, with tracks and "Thomas and Friends" trains for the children to enjoy at their leisure. In another station, have a life-size poster of Thomas that the children can pose next to for a keepsake picture. Set up a group activity station for games such as "Name that Train!" in which an adult holds up a miniature toy version of the "Thomas and Friends" characters, and the children call out their names. Allow everyone a turn at guessing, giving each child the toy he or she correctly guessed. You could also have a piñata made in the shape of Thomas and have the children try to hit it while blindfolded. For the arts and crafts area, have pictures of Thomas and the other engines to color, or help them create paper conductor hats.
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Set up a food station. After all of the activities, have the children head to the "refilling station" for refreshments. Keep food simple for young children; pizza, hot dogs and sandwiches will do. Cut the sandwiches into train-car shapes if you would like. Include red and blue cupcakes and, of course, a "Thomas and Friends"-themed birthday cake. Ask the bakery section of any supermarket that has cake ordering if it can make a Thomas-themed cake. If you want to make it yourself, an easy version would be to make a round cake, cover it with gray icing and use black and white gel icing to create Thomas' face.
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Tips & Warnings
Help the guests look like train workers by giving them a red bandanna to put around their necks upon arrival.
Place life-size cardboard cutouts of Thomas and the other engines in the front yard if possible.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Tim Whitby/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
