Today I am featuring a guest post from my real life friend and college roommate Jodi.
Jodi always jokes about how the second-born child gets the short end of the stick, but I don’t think she’s giving herself enough credit. She put together this fantastic construction-themed party for her son’s second birthday with loads of creative handmade details. Everything was so cute I asked if I could share it with you.
Jodi doesn’t have a public blog, so please leave your love or questions in the comments below!
Without further ado, let’s get to the photos! I’ll let Jodi do the talking from here.
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Thanks Erin! Being the second-born and having an early January birthday myself, I know how much it stinks to have your birthday and Christmas so close together. That is why I felt terrible when my own second-born child’s birthday ended up falling just five days after Christmas. My goal was to throw him a great party without a single Christmas decoration in sight!
Like most 2 year old boys, my son, Henry, loves anything with wheels, but he has a particular fondness of construction vehicles. So, that seemed like a logical party theme. I printed up the invites on white cardstock and them mounted on a heavier brown piece using some cute construction vehicle clip art I found online.
Unlike my daughter who has a summer birthday, we don’t typically spend much time outside during my son’s winter parties. Therefore, I like the idea of setting the theme at the front door using a few outside decorations.
I borrowed the large Tonka truck and the cones from a friend.
I came across this idea for the wreath, but wrapping the extension cord was a little trickier and more time consuming than I thought it would be. So, I only used one cord and let some of the straw wreath ($4 at Hobby Lobby) show through. I cut the number 2 from foam core board and then used Mod Podge to adhere scrapbooking paper to it. The painted dump truck came from Jo-Ann Fabrics and is hot glued onto the 2.
The decorations inside were much more fun! I followed Erin’s directionsto make the streamers to hang above the table.
I really wanted to stick with the brown, yellow, orange and black colors as much as possible to tie the party together, and this made a big impact! I got a huge roll of caution tape from Home Depot for about $7 to use as the base streamer.
The birthday boy’s attire consisted of this appliquéd dump truck t-shirt found on Etsy ($13.50), a construction worker vest (Oriental Trading, $4), and borrowed safety goggles.
A few of the guests even came in construction attire as well!
I’m a sucker for Oreo Balls and thought they would look cute in one of my son’s dump trucks loaded in the back like rocks. I talked my husband into making some for the party, and they were gone in a flash.
The cake was made by my husband’s aunt and it turned out great! She was the one who originally shared this cakewith me, and I knew I wanted to have something similar for Henry’s party.
She graciously offered to make it, and I was thrilled to pass on the task to her. She even created the black and yellow slanted striped inside!
I think this name banner may have been my favorite part of the party, although it got a little lost in the mix given its somewhat more muted colors. I used scrapbooking paper in the yellow, orange, brown, and black hues to cut out the triangles for the banner. The letters in his name were cut from white cardstock.
Then, I raided my dad’s stash of odds and ends and glued a variety of nuts, bolts, screws, washers and the like to the banner. The triangles are attached with washers and twine.
I was able to get some copies of old plans from a commercial real estate agent for free to use on some of the surfaces where I set out the food and where the guests ate. It was a great addition for no cost at all!
I was able to find little sticker sheets and construction scenes (Oriental Trading $10 per dozen) to use as favors and decided they would look great rolled up with the leftover plans and tied with raffia.
The little partygoers also received a personalized construction hat (Oriental Trading, $4 per dozen) and aprons from Home Depot (77 cents each).
See? I told you it was fantastic! Thanks for sharing it with us, Jodi!
Corinne says
Wow! Super cute Jodi- tons of great ideas!
I must know- what are Oreo Balls?
Sounds like something I may need to make.
jodi says
Hi Cori! Thanks for the nice words. I think that Oreo Balls are, in fact, something you need to make. Here’s the recipe, only 3 ingredients! http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-oreo-truffles/detail.aspx
Corinne says
Thanks Jodi! They sound delicious- how have I gone so long without them in my life?
Anonymous says
I was so excited to come across this! I really loved your ideas. My little one is turning 3 in February and we are also doing a construction theme. I was wondering if you had the children play any construction theme games or had theme related activites? I am trying to come up with age appropriate games/activities. Thanks!
Dan says
This was a great party with a cool theme. There were lots of fun details throughout the house. The porta potty sign was a nice touch. Excellent job!
jodi says
I’m so glad you liked the post and happy early birthday to your little one. I did not end up doing any activity or games for a couple reasons. First, the party was a brunch on New Year’s Eve, so I wanted to keep things short and sweet since people usually have other places to be that day. Second, most of the kids invited were 2 or under (and 2 of them were infants), so I relied on the new Christmas and birthday presents in our house to keep the kids entertained. There are tons of ideas, though, for great construction themed games and activities all over the internet if you google it. Good Luck!
jodi says
Thanks Dan! The porta potty sign was my personal favorite 🙂
Katie says
Happy Birthday Henry and FABULOUS job mom!
Anonymous says
Jodi,
Fantastic party down to the last detail! If you told us you hired a professional party planner to put on the party, I would have believed you! My favorite items were the wreath on the door and the Henry banner! Bet the cake was a real hit with the kids and the parents too.
Thanks for sharing!
Edie
Anonymous says
Great ideas! I’m planning a construction themed 2nd birthday party for my grandson. His birthday is December 22nd and I’m with you I want his birthday to be totally separate from anything Christmas so I’m making sure there is no overlap and that his birthday party is all about construction. 🙂
Erin @ Lansdowne Life says
I’m sure he will love it! (And I’m sure he will appreciate the separation from Christmas when he gets older!)