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the Cars party

the Cars party

Ah, the last installment of the Cars party – and the last one of {what turned into being} the series!

Cars themed birthday party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed birthday party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed birthday party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed birthday party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed birthday party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed birthday party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed birthday party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed birthday party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed birthday party on the Path Less Traveled

It was such a fun, relaxed type of party. We kept it pretty low key {as far as three-year-old’s parties go} and kept the guests to just family. Ian loved showing his cousin how to use the car track that John made and “do racin’!” We listened to the Beach Boys channel on Pandora, and the younger guests played “pass the Parcel” and had a small water fight {it happened to be raining during part of the party, so why not get wetter, right?}. Ian absolutely adored the Cars cake, and it was the sweetest thing ever to see how excited he was to stand in the middle of us all, soaking up the love and attention as we sang “Happy Birthday” to him! :)

He received some of the sweetest things – and even got his very first tool bag {with real tools!}. Isn’t it amazing how much delight kids can get out of a simple gift?

Here’s the sneak peek, part one and part two of the party {since I have apparently made it into a mini series :)} The balloon garland tutorial is here, and the party supplies that I didn’t already have, make or use from my shop are from the Dollar Tree.

And that wraps up Ian’s Cars themed birthday! There are so many other things that I could add, but I think I might have said enough :) Do you have any tips for throwing a kid’s birthday party? What are some of your favorite games?

I’m hoping to have a sweet party-themed How Tuesday for you tomorrow. In other news … the Facebook fan page is getting close to 200 fans!  As soon as we reach 200 I’ll have a giveaway {hint: the prize is going to be sparkly!} for a brand new, yet to be released shop item. Share the fun with your friends to get us there even faster :D

 

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the Cars party! {part two}

the Cars party! {part two}

Ah, the best laid plans! I started out the week planning to share all sorts of birthday ideas with you lovelies, and then … a {most precious and adorable} teething baby {who wanted to be held all night}, kids with colds who needed their mama and somehow my {sleep deprived, foggy and semi incoherent} thoughts just didn’t make onto the blog. But now, the little are better, I’m more rested and ready to share!

Anyone ready for part two of the Cars party? {looking for part one? or the sneak peek? You can find them here and here}

Cars themed party on the Path Less Traveled I had seen a super fun pool-noodle turned car race track on Pinterest, and picked up a noodle at the Dollar store when I was getting the a few other things for the party {side note – the Dollar Tree is an excellent source for streamers, cake plates, napkins, mylar balloons and plastic tables cloths!}, and it turned out to be a bit too small for the cars {but perfect for marbles}. John improvised and made a track using a large piece of cardboard, and it turned out even better for Ian, since most of cars are bigger than Matchbox size :) The kiddos loved hurling the cars down the “track”, racing to catch them at the bottom and then running back to the top to do it again.Cars themed party on the Path Less Traveled Ian was soooo tickled with his Cars cake from Sam’s Club! And with the stickers and temporary tattoos that we used as party favors :)Cars themed party on the Path Less Traveledthe indoor eating area – at lunch time {the birthday boy requested corn dogs for lunch}

The balloon garland was so fun – and easy! – to make! You can find the tutorial that I made for it here. And do you see the “road” style table cloth? It was another thing that I had found on Pinterest, and super simple to make happen. Just cut a black plastic cloth in half the long way and then attach 1″ x 6″ strips of yellow construction paper down the middle using double sided tape.Cars themed party on the Path Less Traveledview of our dining room from the front of our house – I love the added dimension and pop of color that the red and blue paper stars added!Cars themed party on the Path Less TraveledCars themed party on the Path Less Traveledfrom the kitchen toward the dining room – there were fire engines on the shelf under the photo wall and presents on the piano
Cars themed party on the Path Less Traveledanother one of the Lightning McQueen printouts Cars themed party on the Path Less Traveled

The outdoor eating area, with another “road” style table cloth. I used a bunch of red and white streamers and red and white paper stars to bring a party feel to the tent, and they were so lovely as they swayed in the evening breeze :)

So there you have part two – I’ll be sharing the rest of the party soon!

xoxo

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the Cars party!

the Cars party!

Part one of the Cars party, here we come! Do you remember the sneak peak of Ian’s party that I shared? Here’s the {beginning of} the rest of it :)

If you remember, here’s the Pinterest board that I used to brainstorm party ideas for the Cars/fire engine/mechanic/Americana birthday that Ian asked for. There were sooo many amazing ideas that would have been fun to make happen, and John and I managed to pull off a few … and Ian was more than thrilled with the result!

the Cars party on the Path Less Traveleda pre-party shot of the snack/dessert table that was one of the focal points of our indoor decor {note the absence of the drinks and other cold items :)}
the Cars party on the Path Less TraveledI used a piece of burlap from my fabric stash {stashes of goodies like this come in super handy when pulling together parties on a budget!} to cover the table and rounded up all the galvanized bins that I could find to hold snacks and add some height to the spread.the Cars party on the Path Less TraveledThe wall signs were inspired by this Radiator Springs party and this “Route 3” party – all done free hand by moi while the birthday boy was taking his pre-party nap :)the Cars party on the Path Less TraveledThe Red, White and Blue Stars Garland added the perfect bit of color and texture to the front of the table, don’t you think?the Cars party on the Path Less Traveledthe snacks and goodies included watermelon, nuts, chips and salsa, pretzels, carrot sticks and dip, Chex mix, S’mores {the vintage blue Ball jars are perfect for serving and displaying goodies like this!}, and a variety of cold drinks {including this punch which is delicious and really easy!}.the Cars party on the Path Less TraveledDo you see the little cars and tools scattered across the table? Ian got quite a kick when he realized that I had used some of his favorite toys for his party decorations {he’s such a sweetheart!!!}
the Cars party on the Path Less Traveledthe Tow Mater sign – Ian is still holding onto this! He has it in his room now next to his bed. From a distance you can hardly tell that I whipped it out using a sheet of cardboard, a foam brush and some white acrylic paint. ;)the Cars party on the Path Less TraveledI made the Lightning McQueen sign using a free printable that I found here and some red construction paper – it turned out so cute that I ended up making several to scatter around the party!

So, there you have it – part one of the Cars party!

 

This is going to be a birthday themed week here on the blog! Today the world is welcoming a new royal baby {congratulations, William and Kate! And blessings upon the newest successor the British throne! <3 } and later this week my husband and three of his brothers will be having birthdays. Imagine the amount of cake that we’ll be eating! {not that I’m complaining at all!} How do you and your family celebrate birthdays? Do you have any special traditions?

<3

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a little boy Cars party {sneak peek}

a little boy Cars party {sneak peek}

Well, as you’ve heard, our little boy had a birthday {he’s 3!} which, of course, means that we had a party :)

Emma Grace loves parties, and being the awesome big sister that she is, she took on helping Ian “plan” his party months in advance – “So, Ian, you like cars? Hm, you want a Cars party?!” To which he {of course} replied, “YES!!!” So we’ve been talking about the Cars party for months.

For planning purposes I had been putting the ideas I’d found all over the interwebs onto a Pinterest board, and then {just like for Em’s party} closer to the day I narrowed down what might be feasible. Here is a quick peek at how it turned out!

Cars themed party from the Path Less Traveled some DIY signage over the snack/dessert table – and lots of cars and stars!Cars themed party from the Path Less Traveleda view from the front room to the back of the house: we chose to have an evening party for family, so the kiddos needed to have a light dinner before everyone arrived – they really enjoyed waking up from their nap to a decorated home and eating dinner at the “road” table!Cars themed party from the Path Less Traveled

the back yard – we had a few showers, but all in all in was a beautiful evening for a party. I’ll be showing you a full tutorial tomorrow on how I made the balloon garland over the inside table – be sure to check back!

All in all, not too shabby for a 3rd birthday party! Especially considering that the mama had rolled in late the night before from the Hobnob Summer Market, and most of the prep happened on the morning of the party. :) I love it when a plan comes together!

Have you had a chance to enter the Red, White and Blue Giveaway yet? I hope your Monday has been lovely, and I’ll see you here tomorrow,

 

<3

our little buddy is three

our little buddy is three

oh my, our little buddy is three! I know it’s a bit cliche, but when I look at him I wonder, “how is it even possible?! Where did these few years fly to?” He’s such a sweet – and yet rambunctious – darling!DSC_0140 gah! his eyes slay me – full of the joy, enthusiasm and tenderness that are his trademarks, they, combined with his long lashes, will make your heart melt <3

DSC_0143Ian requested a car themed party, and I did my best to pull it off. Only a few of my ideas actually happened, but, as you can tell from his expression, he was thrilled!!!  I’ll be posting more about the party in the next few days :)

 

Happy Monday, Lovelies!

<3