What kid isn't mesmerized by construction sites? The crazy equipment, the big piles of dirt, the huge trucks.... It's all something they'd love to explore but are almost never allowed to. And that's exactly why throwing a construction-themed birthday bash is so much fun! Don't believe me? Just take a look at these fabulous fetes.
First up is the amazing party Jessica of
Juicy Bits threw for her son, Theo. The invitation from
Tiny Prints established the color scheme (brown, orange and yellow) and theme from the start. I love the coordinating thank you notes and address labels!
The day of the party, a wooden sawhorse barricade in the driveway pointed guests to the celebration site.
Inside the house, balloons were anchored by traffic cones, and toy trucks, construction signs, nuts and bolts and food in tin buckets and bowls were displayed on the table.
And of course there were sweet treats, including cupcakes with construction-themed toppers....
And these terrific tool cookies Jessica made herself.
The deck, where the kids' table was located, was festooned with huge balloons anchored again by cones.
And each child's seat was designated by a personalized hard hat.
They were perfect for the crew to wear while playing in the sand table.
Other activities including coloring.
And a ride on this cool piece of equipment that a friend brought over as a surprise.
Guests left with goodie buckets that were displayed below this fantastic fabric banner Jessica made for the occasion.
The pails included a matchbox car, a sticker book and a construction puzzle.
Along with a dump truck cookie.
It's no wonder that Theo's birthday bash was one of the winners in the Most Adorable Kids Party of 2009 on
Creative Hostess! For more pictures and design details, visit
Juicy Bits.
Creative Hostess recently featured another amazing construction celebration thrown by
Christina for her son, Austin's first birthday. She used the same invitations Jessica did and created matching signs to welcome guests.
The fun birthday banner from
Earmark Gatherings featured pictures of the birthday boy's first year.
A huge dessert table included lots of yumminess, all in orange, yellow and brown.
And the cupcakes had toppers from
Party Box Design, who designed a really fun logo for the bash.
Centerpieces were vases of flowers with construction hats and toy trucks.
Along with buckets of candy.
The construction crew played in a sand pit until the rain forced them inside.
But the goodie pails, topped with favor tags that matched the cupcake toppers, surely made up for it!
For more pictures and details, visit the
Dann Family Chronicles.
A different Austin, this one the son of Heidi from
Blue Eyed Blessings, had a construction celebration of his very own. How cute are these invitations?
Cones and caution tape pointed arriving party goers in the right direction.
Toward the party area!
The food table was highlighted by a Yield sign.
And each worker got a "sack lunch."
Heidi decorated the cupcakes by dying the frosting green, crumbling up Oreos for the dirt and then adding cones and trees she got from a cheap toy construction set.
And outside, there were four activity stations - Creating, which featured Play Doh; Building, where kids could use foam blocks to construct whatever they desired:
Digging, where they played in pea gravel and sand:
And Break Time, where they bounced in a bouncy house. After that, the crew grabbed one of the goodie belts (just 77 cents each at Home Depot!):
Now at Alan's "work" party, there was no break time. The active four year old loves to build so his mom. Nancy, from the fab blog
CohabiTOT, "built" a birthday bash that I'm sure he'll never forget.
See all those cardboard houses back there? That's what they looked like before Alan's construction crew got their hands on them. First, they donned their personalized hard hats and grabbed a laminated ruler.
And then they got to work!
They painted.
And painted.
Until they created the ultimate party shack.
And then they ate cake.
Does it get any more fun than that? I don't think so! For more details, including
Nancy's amazing party prep list, visit
CohabiTOT. {All pictures by
Dian Lofton}
The Smiths threw their son Wyatt a construction party too and the creative DIY details are incredible. Check out the extension cord wreath on the front door!
There was a sign in table with a construction book where guests could write messages to the birthday boy.
The crew got personalized hard hats (love the titles on them!):
And tool belts.
And then they headed for the construction trailer.
Inside, the ping pong table was wrapped in houndstooth paper and covered in lots of treats.
Like wrecking balls:
Chocolate debris:
And paint cans filled with candy.
The bathroom was labeled appropriately.
And the kid's table featured traffic cone cups (I have to figure out how she made them!), along with a blueprint "tablecloth" the guests could color in.
Wyatt's grandmother made the phenomenal cake which trucks were already "digging" into.
And outside, the crew got to do some digging too.
They also did some nailing (using golf tees and spray painted Styrofoam "bricks"):
Some mugging:
And lots of painting!
Are you inspired to start constructing a party of your own now? Well, here are some more ideas to add to your blueprints.
Family Fun has a whole slew of great building basics. Instead of traditional invitations, why not create scrap wood invites instead?
You can buy wooden craft rectangles at any craft supply store and use a ballpoint pen or carpenters' pencil to add the details like the where (or "Construction Site") and the host (or "Site Boss").
Let the kids re-fuel from tool boxes filled with snacks.
Make a cone-struction Pinata where instead of whacking it with a stick, the kids pull caution tape until the candy falls. {
get the how to here}
And let the crew compete in a demolition game where they knock down a tower box-by-box using a wrecking ball (aka a tennis ball painted black). {
find the instructions here}
When it comes to the cake, what construction worker wouldn't love this Edible Excavator? {
the recipe and details are here}
Are you less of a DIY-er and more of a shopper? Then visit
Dimpleprints for their Loads of Fun printable party package. Just $10 gets you the PDF files for more than 20 different party supplies.
Everything from water bottle labels to food signs are included. Just look at what
Dimpleprints customers have done with their printables!
Another great option is the
Paper & Cake Under Construction printable party pack. For $14, you'll get customizable PDF files for everything you need to print and cut your way to a builder's bash - invitations, thank you notes, a birthday banner, cupcake picks and so much more, like these yard posts:
Party hats:
Snack boxes and hamburger sleeves:
Cup wraps:
And a pin the nail on the hammer game:
Your party foreman will need something to wear, so why not visit
AFOMFT fave
Ashley Alexander Boutique for a personalized dump truck shirt?
And when it comes to favors, add the Dig It mini crayon rolls from
My Sunshine Designs to the crew's tool belts.
I hope I've given you some great tools to build the perfect party. Before you head off to start, though, be sure to visit the
Goodies Page for great giveaways including one from
My Sunshine Designs, who you read about in this post, as well as some terrific discounts!
Images: Juicy Bits, The Dann Family Chronicles, Blue Eyed Blessings, CohabiTOT, The Smith Team, Family Fun, Dimpleprints, Paper & Cake, Ashley Alexander Boutique & My Sunshine Designs
Amy Ludwig Vanderwater
Thanks for the inspiration, Mary Lee! 
