Sammy's Jammies Junction: A 3rd Birthday Party with Trains and Pajamas

My son's birthday is Dec. 27.  He turned 3 this past year!  However, planning a birthday party and Christmas all at the same time is a bit hectic.  Plus, folks are so wrapped up in the holidays and holiday parties I hate to add to that.  This year I decided to have his birthday party the first week in February.  It worked out well and Sammy was rather stoked to celebrate his party twice (we had a family party in December).
During the party planning period, Sam was really into Llama Llama Red Pajama and I thought that would be an awesome party.  Sammy, however, wanted a train party.  So we compromised and I planned a Sammy's Jammies Junction party. 

Invitation

I wanted the invitation to resemble a train ticket.  I actually Googled vintage train tickets.  It turns out vintage train tickets are pretty boring to look at and really look very little like my version.  Oh well, something the past needs re-invented.

Decorations

Pip Events made all the paper decorations.  However, we bought the digital paper and clipart from some wonderful Etsy shops (I'll post credits at the end).

Throughout the entire planning process I had this vision of Petticoat Junction with the water tower and little house/train station, very old west feeling.  I wanted to create that as the backdrop for the dessert buffet.  I also wanted a clothesline with pajamas.  I don't know why, but for some reason that just seemed to fit in with the vintagey Petticoat Junction pajama train theme I was shooting for.

I also really liked the idea of using yarn and those little tiny clothespins to pull it all together.

Sammy's Pap-Pap dressed as a conductor and punched guests' tickets as they
entered the party and his Pappy Caz made the crossing sign for him.

And, of course, everyone came in their jammies!

 
Food & Drinks

My mom, sister, and I made all the food.  Since we were having a pajama party we served brunch.



PB & Jammies Sandwiches shaped like trains

Chugger Oatmeal

Cheese Hog Strata (Cheese, Egg, & Sausage Strata with
maple syrup)

Bagel Train Wheels

Hand stamped Wooden Utensils

Various cereals: Conductor Crunch, Choo Choo Puffs, and Honey Nut Caboosies

For drinks we served regular and chocolate milk.  We also had old fashioned soda like Nu Grape and Coca-Cola in glass bottles.

Dessert Buffet

Chocolate Covered Rail Spikes - Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Blueberry Cheesecake Smokestacks w/ Cotton Candy Smoke

Locomotive Lollipops

Homemade Train-shaped Gummies

Over Easy Cinnamon Bun Cupcakes with Orange Frosting and
Oreo Cookie Salt & Pepper crumbs

Birthday Cake

For each kid we made a cupcake filled with candy and covered it with a hard chocolate shell.  After singing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy the kids used wooden hammers to smash open their cakes.

Activities

For starters, we set up a couple of trains.  As the guests arrived the kids played with the trains.

Next, I bought birdhouses that looked like little train stations at AC Moore and decorated each one with the kids' names.  We set out markers, paints, stickers, pom-poms, and glue, so each kid could decorate their very own train station.

Finally, the kids played Pin the Mustache on the Conductor.  I found this fabulous photo of a conductor on Etsy and I wanted to use it somehow at the party.  The kids each got a bottle of Huff and Puff Bubbles as a prize.

Favors

Each kids went home with a hobo pack made with a giant pixie stick and filled with a train whistle, train shaped crayons, and a matching game I made using various train photos.  The adults went home with a jar of local homemade Jammie.

You may notice that the fabric for the hobo packs is similar to the paper we used for the decorations.  We uploaded the digital paper to Spoonflower and had it made into fabric!

Fabric



Digital Paper



Digital Paper

Donation Station

One of my favorite parts about the party was our Donation Station.  Since Sammy's birthday is right after Christmas we always have too many toys during this time of year.  This was also the first year that we invited guests that are not family, but are friends from Sammy's daycare.  I know the holidays can stretch the budget for some, so I didn't want anyone to feel like they had to buy anything for Sam.  So this year we decided to forgo the presents and we asked guests to donate a pair of pajamas and/or a children's book to the Pajama Program.  The Pajama Program provides jammies and books to children in foster homes/orphanages.  I thought this would also be a nice way to start teaching Sammy that it's nice to give to others.

 

Credits
Paper Decorations/Printables/Party Styling - Pip Events
       Once our store re-opens in a couple of months this party will be available for purchase!
All Food/Cakes (unless otherwise noted) - Pip Events
Digital Paper - Piccadilly Lily
Train Clipart - Antique Graphique Aged
Clothesline Clipart - Graphique
Conductor Photo - magymai711
Wooden Utensils - Sucre Shop
Crayons - Red Elm Designs
Lollipops - Custom Candy Creations