Lets train

Luke's 2nd Birthday Party was on Saturday.

I knew that I wanted to throw him a train party.

First, I can't resist a cute rhyming slogan like  "Choo Choo Luke is Two"

Secondly, Luke loves trains. Loves them. He loves Chuggington, he loves playing with trains & he loves saying "choo choo" 

His actual birthday was the 9th, but our families were out of town, so we had his party this past weekend. On his actual birthday we took him to ride the steam trains. It was a blast, he loved it.

Here is the invite that I made for his party:

Since Luke is only 2 & doesn't have that many friends,  I promised Kevin that I would keep his party small, so his party was just family...but that was still almost 30 people since everyone is local....Both sets of grandparents, Aunts, Uncles & Cousins. And, we also invited a family that we are best friends with and they are basically like family.

This was a fun party to decorate for. I have had lots of ideas swirling in my head for the past few months.

As you walked up to our house, I had a "train track" that I made out of black electrical tape.

It was time consuming to make, but I loved how it turned out :)

I made a sign on our porch that said "The Larson Station"

I also made 2 signs for my flower pots, instead of putting RR for the Railroad sign, I put LL for Luke Larson

And, instead of Railroad Crossing, I put 2 year old crossing.

 The front entrance:

For appetizers, I had Veggies & Hummus and I made a train out of the containers:

I had one of these old school Fisher Price Trains as a kid, loved it! I got one on ebay a few months ago for Luke & it worked out perfectly for my Veggie Train :)

I added black wheels with construction paper to the containers.

 Other appetizers I had were Onion Dip:

And Corn Dip {Recipe HERE}:

The appetizers set up on our island:

I hung up some paper lanterns:

 I also made an "All Aboard sign:

I loved using red, blue, yellow & lime green for his party, such a fun color combo!

For drinks, I set up the "Fueling Station" outside:

 Chugga Chugga....get it?

 I set up the dinner food where I had the appetizers:

 

My tortelini salad is one of my go-to's for parties:

 {Recipe HERE}

Yum!

And, of course....I always have a Dessert/Sweets Table at my Parties!

 Close up of this cute banner I bought {HERE}

 Again, I had LL instead of RR.

 I made the cupcake toppers as well.

A dessert table always needs some candy!

 We love licorice!

 If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that my mother in law makes amazing cakes for my kids birthdays.

 The train one might be one of my favorites! She made the cake look like the train I used for the invites/cupcake toppers/food labels. She is amazing!

Her cakes not only look good, they are also delicious!

For the favors, I set up "Baggage Claim" .  

The red "L" is from Luke's bedroom and the clock (like Grand Central Station) is from my Family Room.

 I made a bunting out of train conductor hats (Oriental Trading) and I had leftover bandanas from Claire's Cowgirl Party.

 I get all my favor cookies made from a local bakery.

Close up of the cookies:

  I made the tags....."Thank Choo for celebrating Luke"

  I also bought a nice version of "The Little Engine that Could" and had the guests sign it:

 Luke loves books, especially Choo Choo books.

I was happy with how the Baggage Claim turned out. It was a last minute idea.

  Party Activities:

 Since Luke has a summer birthday, I am pretty sure most of his parties will include swimming. 

Gotta love a Train themed swim party :)

Final event of the party....Cake Time!

 I used the vintage high chair that I spray painted red for his One year old Nautical Party last year.

{Banner made by my friend Heather}

 Close up of his shirt:

 

  Me & the Birthday Boy! {Please excuse my top bun & no makeup. It was a swim party after all!}

 Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!

I hope you had as much fun at your party as I did!

Can't believe you are TWO!