A Construction Party for our digger loving little man

Gabriel loves diggers and trucks.  It wasn't hard to think that a Construction themed birthday party would be perfect for his second birthday.  The main feature for his birthday really just needed to be the sand pit in our back yard and there was plenty of stuff that we had. I made some construction signs with a black pen and orange paper, got orange balloons and yellow ribbon and we got out our orange construction fencing from our renovations. We also got out heaps of cars and trucks for the kids to play with.  I also made some fake boulders out of newspaper and stockings.  It was an incomplete idea I think but the kids actually had a ball with them and Gabriel used them with his new digger.

Same as with Ebonii's party I sent out invites on Facebook, sending out photos of Gabriel dressed up in his construction clothes. I asked people to come dressed in their best construction clothes.

One of the great finds were construction plastic party hats that I found down at Kmart for $2 each.  We needed about 18 of them, so it was a bit of an expense but was the one extravagance.  I also hunted in cheap shops for a workers top or work vest for all of us, we found one at Vinnies for Kelly and I got one from Kmart.  Ebonii just wore a flannelette shirt and singlet and shorts and Gabriel put on his own dress up gear with his Blunstone boots, India put her own spin on a workers outfit in a shirt and skirt with Docs.  Others got into the spirit wearing work clothes, boots and hard hats.

Me with the kids cutting the cake

Kelly looking very much like the foreman

Mia in her flanny jacket

I never planned on blogging this party so my photo's are limited as I was very busy on the day. For the food table we used a black plastic table cloth and white tape to mark out a cross road.  The little construction signs say "Dig In".  The signs were made from little pieces of orange paper glued to ice cream sticks and made to stand up by cutting a small hole in the top of a lid off a milk carton and pushing the stick through.

The cupcakes had yellow icing and I used a black icing writing pen to make construction signs.  I wrote things like "caution" and "stop"and drew arrows.

The chips for the party where in the back of a couple of toy trucks that I borrowed.  We found orange plates and the cups for the party had construction stickers put on them.  I also made homemade sausage rolls and as a special treat a friend brought along her fairy floss machine which was a hit with the kids.

The cake was a truck.  By no means my finest moment but still it looks like a truck and Gabriel was happy.

My mum made a truck out of a watermelon which was a big hit and a friend made the "Tiny Teddy Cars"that are always a favorite of the kids.

We had two games, pin the wheels on the truck.  I drew a picture of a truck on a large piece of paper.  And the next game was a treasure hunt in the sand pit.  India hid Freddo frogs in the sand pit and the children one at a time got to find one each. One of the best things we ever brought as a Christmas present for the kids was the jumping castle and it is always great entertainment for the kids at Birthday Parties.

The party bags were just paper bags with a construction sticker on them and a thank you message written on them.  They had lollies and some little toys in them.

Hard to tell with a two year old but I think he loved his party.  He is already asking for a Dinosaur Party for his third birthday party which is going to be a whole new challenge.

Gabriel on his new digger from Grandma

Money saving tips for theme parties

• Use what you have.  If you need cardboard, save it from boxes and packages, especially as so many presents that you buy come in great boxes that would otherwise be thrown away.  Milk carton lids made great stands for the little signs for the food table but they have a million other uses. I have a craft cupboard and I buy craft stuff cheap when I see it but also I will use anything that I find, old t shirts, sheets, tiles, wood, toilet rolls, the list could be endless.
• Research ideas online and then look for cheap alternatives.  You don't need to buy specific party plates with your theme design, quite often a color will do and if you want, a sheet of stickers in you theme is a great alternative and cheaper.  
• Stick to certain colors as they can add to the theme.  Gabriel's party had an orange and yellow theme and with Ebonii I used a Rainbow theme.  For Kelly's 40th I used black and gold as the theme.  Makes it easy to decorate and adds to the look. Don't underestimate balloons for decorations, they are cheap and adds loads of color.
• Friends are a great resource.  It is great to pool resources for parties, we regularly lend other people our jumping castle and have been lucky to borrow things for our parties.  Anything like large toys are great for younger kids, bubble machines, ice cream machines, popcorn machines, hot dog machines, fairy floss machines, props like the trucks on our tables, and even things like folding tables would be great for some people to borrow rather than buy yourself.  
• The cheap shops like Shiploads, Chickenfeed, the Reject Shop and Spotlight (that's just in Tasmania) are your friend.  . They are great for stickers and paper and craft things, plates, serviettes, and other party needs.  Once you know your theme and what you would like to do just keep your eyes and ears open you will find what you need.  Also don't forget the supermarkets, I was able to pick up a packet of orange balloons at Coles for 50c for Gabriel's party and that was what started the orange and yellow theme.
• Costumes add to a theme but it only has to be one thing like a unicorn horn or a construction hat or a pirate patch for a pirate party. Also OP shops are great for costumes.  You don't need to spend a fortune, with a needle and cotton you can transform many things into what you want.  If adults and hosts get involved I think it adds to the theme and the kids love it.
• You can't do everything. This is often my problem. I have too many ideas and not a enough time or money to do them.  It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be fun.  Better to do a couple thing well than heaps of things and have no time to enjoy every thing.
• Get the kids involved. Part of the fun is getting them to help, it keeps them entertained and in the end they can also be proud of their efforts.
• Asking friends to help out with food is a great way for the size of the food bill to decrease, but you have to be prepared to do the same when they have a party as well.
• My number one tip for saving money is to not go and look at the expensive stuff.  You can avoid temptation by not looking and then your party will still look great in your eyes.