While Cars and Lightning McQueen still hold the number one spot in G’s heart, he also loves, loves, loves Thomas the Tank Engine. Doesn’t every kid go through a Thomas the train phase at some point? He decided he wanted a Thomas the train birthday this year, so we did some simple DIY projects to pull the theme together for an intimate Thomas and Friends birthday party. Click here to see my inspiration board for the party planning on Pinterest, and pin this post for when you need these Thomas the train party ideas for your own train themed kid’s birthday party. I also have links to free Thomas birthday party printables at the end of this post.
After Sawyer’s big Rock n Roll Themed Birthday Party in April, and the huge Disney Cars Themed Birthday Party we did for Grayson last year, I needed to keep it simple for G this year (especially with his birthday falling right before Christmas and right in the smack of all the holiday madness). The solution was to keep it to a small number of kids (just close friends) and hold the party somewhere besides my house (less to clean and prep). So, per G’s request, we held the party at a local indoor playground that G and his friends love.
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Here are some of the party details!
Thomas the train birthday party décor
DIY Thomas the train Happy Birthday banner made using some Thomas images I found online, and a font similar to the font used in the Thomas & Friends logo (the font is called Flange (R) Bold – download it for free here).
Thomas and Friends party food ideas
Using a trick I learned for Sawyer’s Rock n Roll Themed Birthday Party, I made my own water bottle labels using duct tape (I purchased this one from Amazon here), a Thomas and Friends party-themed label and circle punch.
I printed cards with the cloud graphic from the Thomas & Friends logo for food and beverage identification.
Cupcakes with simple DIY toppers using Thomas or “4” (for Grayson’s 4th birthday). These just require the Thomas the train birthday party printables, a computer and printer, red paper, toothpicks and a glue gun.
Close-up of the cupcake toppers (sorry for the poor photo quality – I didn’t use my good camera).
Easy Thomas the train party idea: Inspired by something I saw on Pinterest, we displayed the food and snacks in disposable baking pans with construction paper “wheels” and set them out like trains. This couln’t be easier, and was also really cost-effective!
We went with kid-friendly but on-theme Thomas and Friends party food. We cut out ham and cheese and turkey and cheese sandwiches using train-shaped sandwich cutters (found on Amazon here), which were super easy to make. And who doesn’t love quick and easy party ideas?
Train cookie cutters also come in handy for a Thomas and Friends birthday party. I made these train-shaped sugar cookies using this cookie cutter from Amazon.
Thomas and Friends birthday party favors
Keeping the party to under a dozen kids was helpful in the coordination and cost of favors too! To keep with the train theme birthday party, we had conductor hats (found on Amazon here), red bandanas (purchased for $1 each at our local Hobby Lobby), and train whistles (found on Amazon here). Perfect for a trip to Sodor.
Party activities for a Thomas the train birthday
A simple (and cheap) activity idea for our Thomas the train birthday party were printing some free Thomas coloring pages found online (just do a Google search and you will finds tons), and providing small boxes of crayons for each child (found by the dozen on Amazon). So, there you have it! A simple Thomas the train party with some easy personal DIY touches, that was a lot of fun for the kiddos. Let me know if you have any questions, and check out my Thomas party pinboard on Pinterest here.
Thomas and Friends party printables
All printables for the party are available in this post here. These printables are free, but I would appreciate a follow for @fabeveryday on social media (you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram) in return. If you post pictures of your parties, tag @fabeveryday in them so we can see what you do! Finally, if you blog about your party, please link back to fabeveryday.com in your blog posts to credit the printables and Thomas the train party ideas and inspiration.
More kid’s birthday party themes:
- Anime-Themed Birthday Party
- Bendy and the Ink Machine-Themed Birthday Party
- Classic Nintendo Birthday Party (Mario Bros., Zelda, Kirby and More)
- Clifford the Big Red Dog Birthday Party
- Construction-Themed Birthday Party
- Despicable Me / Minion Birthday Party
- Dinosaur-Themed Birthday Party
- Disney Cars Birthday Party
- DIY Escape Room Kid’s Birthday Party (with lots of escape room puzzle ideas)
- Emoji-Themed Birthday Party
- Kid’s Ice Cream Social Birthday Party
- Safari Themed 1st Birthday Party
- LEGO Movie-Themed Birthday Party
- Minecraft-Themed Birthday Party
- PAW Patrol Party Ideas
- Pokémon-Themed Birthday Party
- Power Rangers-Themed Birthday Party
- Rock and Roll Birthday Party
- Silent Disco Party (Fun 13th Birthday Party Theme)
- The Legend of Korra and Avatar: The Last Airbender Party
- Thomas the Train Birthday Party (with Free Thomas and Friends Birthday Printables)
- Tiger-Themed Birthday Party Planning Ideas
J. says
Everything looks so wonderful! I am planning a Thomas party for my two year old and the Thomas shaped sandwiches and cookies are perfect for little fingers!
ramonaruby says
Thanks, J! The kids loved the snacks, and the families took the rest of the sandwiches home for lunches.
Amma Alexander says
How did you get to personalize the birthday banner with the name? Trying to have it say happy birthday Anthony
ramonaruby says
@Amma – sorry for the delayed response. I made the original banner file in Word myself using Flange (R) Bold font (you should be able to find and download it for free – I have a link in this post to download the font). The printable is a PDF and not editable so that people can download the generic, un-personalized version that just says "Happy Birthday" without worrying about having the right font or not. If you still need to do a personalized banner you should download and install the font, then email me at [email protected]. Then I can send you my original Word doc for you to customize (changing "Grayson" to "Anthony"). Hope this helps!