How to Plan a Thomas the Tank Engine-Themed Birthday Party

Blue and red are the colors associated with Thomas the Tank Engine.

Treat your favorite conductor to a Thomas-themed birthday party. Thomas and Friends are characters that appeal to preschoolers. The book, movie and TV series offer many opportunities to create a show-stopping experience for your child's next birthday.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Red, blue and white decorations and tableware
• Engineer hats & whistles
• Word processing package
• Train-shaped cookie cutters
• Craft materials
• Creativity

1. Create invitations to your child's party on a computer graphics or word processing program. The theme of the party is trains, so have your invitations take the form of train tickets.

2. Transform your home into the Island of Sodor for the party to allow your guests to feel the magic of Thomas. Using chalk, create this magical railroad by drawing tracks up the path to your door. Alternatively, offer children sachets of gold glitter to sprinkle before entering your home so they can reach this wondrous place.

3. Construct railway signs out of craft materials to decorate your party area. Stations mentioned in the series include Knapford, Vicarstown, Wellsworth, Tidmouth, Harwick and Hackenbeck.

4. Decorate your table and home using Thomas' colors of blue, white and red.

5. Provide the children engineer's hats or even top hats, worn by some of the characters in the story.

6. Set up a Thomas train set to allow the children to explore and play together.

7. Provide activities related to Thomas. Download free printables of Thomas for kids to color, or provide a large box and craft materials so the children can make their own train car.

8. Invent variations of familiar party games to entertain the youngsters. Instead of Simon Says, play “The Fat Controller Says.” Follow the leader is ideal as the children can pretend they are a locomotives, carriages and cabooses.

9. Create games based on Thomas stories. For example, one character, Henry, was bricked into a tunnel after refusing to leave it as he worried the rain would spoil his lovely paint job. Use cardboard bricks and create a two-team game where children have to try to brick Henry up in a doorway.

   Another game takes place in the quarry. Essentially a bean-bag toss using black beanbags (or stuffed socks), this game involves the children cleaning up the tracks after the Troublesome Trucks have spilled coal.

10. Create a “dining car” where food is served to give the children the feel of being on a real train. Your food offerings, such as cookies or sandwiches, can reflect your theme by using train-shaped cookie cutters. They are ideal for creating loco sandwiches and caboose cookies.

11. Modify a sheet cake with the train theme. Use black licorice for track, Oreos for the train wheels and real trains as your cake toppers. If you aren't feeling quite so adventurous, many bakeries offer ready-made cakes with a train theme.

Tips & Warnings

• If your budget allows, why not schedule a trip for your guests to visit a local steam train? The children will enjoy this once in a lifetime experience! Some lines even offer Thomas & Friends days out, so be on the lookout.

Resources

• Thomas The Tank Engine: Printables
• Thomas the Tank Engine Cake Tutorial
• Nick Jr: Thomas Activities