DIY Race Car Party

My two youngest boys just turned three and five, and they celebrated with a joint DIY Race Car party.  The boys had a great time, and the party was full of easy and fun DIY details.  I am so excited to share it all with you!

Here are some of my favourite race car party details:

The Pit Passes:

As the guests arrived, the birthday boys passed out personalized "pit crew" passes.  I used a photo of the boys and added the names using a free photo editing software (picmonkey.com).  I had the pictures printed (for $.15 each), punched a couple of holes in the top, and added some inexpensive ribbon.  Cute, right? 

The Decor:

To get the "race car" feel, I used a lot of black and white "checks"... with some red accents.  I accented a dollar store frame with "duck tape", and I used foam core {from the dollar store} accented with "duck tape" to make signage.

The Games:

To keep the guest entertained, we had a variety of activities:

1. There were lots of race cars and a large mat I made from "duck tape" and a sheet of plastic {used to cover tablecloths}.
2. There was a box "car" covered in brown paper for the kids to decorate with crayons and stickers.
3. There was a tattoo station.
4. There was a homemade bean bag toss... which was a box covered in race car wrapping paper and embellished with a dollar store decal of Lightening McQueen.  :-)
5. There were plenty of car-shaped race car cookies for the guests to decorate.

The Food:

I created a table of "Grand Stand Snacks", and it was a definite highlight for the kids.  I made a backdrop using dollar store foam core and decals, some "duck tape", and letters printed on my computer.

I served fun snacks named after characters from the movie "Cars".  We had:

• Luigi's Tires - chocolate cookies
• Mater's Dipsticks - chocolate covered lady fingers
• McQueen Sandwiches - sandwiches cut out with a car-shaped cookie cutter
• Grand Stand Popcorn
• Fillmore's Fuel - juice
• Sally's Specialties - fruit tray and cheese and crackers
• Finn's Finest - licorice
• Doc's Pops - marshmallow pops {dipped in red chocolate with black and white sprinkles}

The Cake:

Isn't the cake one of the best parts of a kid's party?  I started with two 8" rounds.  Then, I made a track using chocolate icing tinted with black food coloring.  I filled in the "grass" with green icing, and added some yellow jelly beans for the lines in the road.  I finished with two race car dinkies and a small checkered flag taped to the top of a toothpick.

The Loot Bags:

Each guest received a bag full of goodies from the "Souvenir Stand" as they were leaving.  They were also given their very own "Driver's Licence" (which they all thought was pretty cool).

Do you have a race fan in your house?  I think this a great party theme for boys and girls.  Everyone left smiling and I was exhausted -- both signs that a fantastic time was had by all!

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)