A Semi-Homemade Birthday Party Brainstorm - the TRUCKER party!

I know, I know, I've been MIA.  We moved into the Summer House!  There's lots of things I should be doing.... brainstorming ideas for Big Sis and G-man's new bedrooms... unpacking... figuring out WHERE my pizza cutter is....

But there's one way I deal with anxiety.  Party planning.  So, instead I'm daydreaming brainstorming G's 2nd birthday party. 

The inspiration:  I knew the time would come when he would move on from pirates (boo hoo!)  His current obsession?  TRUCKS!  So here's my take on a "Trucker Party."  I initially started dreaming up ideas for this party a month ago.... At that point in time, I hadn't narrowed it down to a certain TRUCK type...  There's so many options - construction trucks, fire trucks, etc!  I have since decided on VINTAGE TRUCKS (which of course, is much harder to find - just means I have get to be more creative!)  But I'm hoping most these ideas can be adapted to vintage trucks!  In my mind, I've been picturing light blue and lime green... then I came across this print on ebay.  THIS is exactly what I'm working towards!

The invitations:  Not sure if I'll whip something up or go to Etsy to find something... but how cute are these  invites from Mr. Bean Cakes?!  Perfect (except the price!)

The location:  If we still lived in a house, we'd have it there, i.e. The Truck Stop  (okay, this is gonna take some thinking now...Maybe a pool or clubhouse?)

The activities will be low key - we do 2nd birthday parties with family and closest friends only (just The Everythings!), so it's more about G-man and his birthday... and less about planning lots of party activities.  We'll have food, drinks, and presents!

G-man's party attire:  Okay, with boys I'm a little iffy on the whole matchy-matchy with party attire.  BUT.  Then I saw this shirt.  Too cute to pass up!  And only $15?  How can I not?!  It's from Etsy (duh) from a seller called Elle's Attic. 

Now that I'm going with the Vintage Truck theme, I'm thinking I'll order this shirt from Gymbo while it's 30% off (and I have a 20% off coupon, too!)

And if we rent the clubhouse at the pool,  how perfect would this swimsuit be?

There's also this cute shirt from makrista baby on Etsy:

Favors:  Trucker hats, of course!  From this fun site called Zazzle!  They have a dozen or so colors of trucker hats... you pick the color, the design, the text - totally custom (squeal!)  Since we do low key birthdays for 2 and 3 (translation: small head count!), this could work, because I'd only have to buy a few hats.

Of course, I love this one for the birthday boy (I know, I said the pirate thing was coming to a close... but doesn't mean we can't still have an occasional pirate, right?):

And this one says Big Sis all over it... literally. ;)

I can see her wanting something PINK (even though I think it would be cute to get boys blue hats and girls green hats!)

I think Mr. fix-it would love it if I got G-man this one.

Need a cheaper idea?  Painters caps can be purchased at a hardware store for less than $1.00 - and you can use fabric paint pens to write the names, doodle designs, etc!

Wouldn't these tags be cute to use on favor bags?  Vintage truck tags from Lazy Day Cottage.

And I could totally do something like this cute truck goodie bag:

Mmmm... chocolate truck lollipops from Bryts Angels!

All kids love to color!  Check out these dump truck crayons from Lil Boo and Co!

Party decor and supplies:  I picked up this fun tent a few weeks ago at JCPenney and it's turning out to be perfect!  (Doesn't hurt that I had some coupons and got it for CHEAP!)  I bet I can personalize it a bit, too.....

Y'all know how much I love printable party stuff.  My sister used Parties by Hardie for her daughter's monkey party and it turned out so cute!  I'm thinking I could use some of the Truck Party supplies to set the stage at The Truck Stop!

Do you remember those cute pink, red and green nutcrackers from Paper Quick that I used to decorate for Big Sis's 4th birthday party?  (If you don't, check it out here.)  Well, she's all over it again this time!  Here's some fun vintage trucks she's working on for me to use decorating - I'm thinking I could put these on glass containers, balloons, tablecloths - the possibilities are endless!

I can totally see myself using these vintage tags to decorate (Maybe I add brown to the lt blue/lime theme with vintage trucks!)  I convo'ed her to see if she can do a vintage truck on here - that would rock!

And I could frame these with lime and lt blue mats to use on the cake and sweets table!  Vintage Vehicle cards from Medley Designs

The cake:
Y'all know I love cupcake toppers because cupcakes are easy and you can be so cusom!  Here's some cute ones from Design Favors.

Or these vintage cupcake toppers! Maybe 1/2 of them in solid lt blue, half in lime green.  I've contacted her, and already heard back.  She's reworking these toppers in the right colors for me.  :)

I've never tried fondant cupcake toppers - how cute are these from Two Sugar Babies?

And what better to eat cake on than your very own special birthday plate?  This one isn't "trucker" themed, but I am in love with it (esp because it would grow with him)!  From the Sillhouette Portrait Collection at Aedriel Originals.

The food: I'm thinking Truck Stop food... right? Maybe a build-your-own hot dog bar?? Concession stand nachos? ;) Popcorn in fun cones or bags? (If you have ideas, send them to me!)  I found these fun bags from Etsy seller Hey Yo Yo (they have the cutest vintage stuff - check 'em out!)

I could cover a table with white butcher paper.... Make a road down the center of the table with black construction paper and yellow lines with paint or paper. Then I could add a few toy vehicles on the road.  Like these:

truck from Etsy seller Brown Sugar 1

truck from Etsy seller Marc's Woodworking

Here is some inspiration for the food table from Pizzazzerie.  Love it!

......sigh........perfection

More to come on G-man's 2nd birthday as we get closer!  Happy weekend, y'all.... and Welcome Summer! :)