Friday, March 19, 2010

Radio Flyer Birthday Party

Hi, all. I'm Amy and the newest guest on Lemon Tree Creations. Like these other amazing ladies, I wear many hats: wife, mother, speech therapist, organizer, planner, sometimes creating-but always dreaming of what to create. I am a novice when it comes to blogging, so bare with me while I ease into this world. I love to plan parties and see how many of my ideas I can create on a budget. My sweet husband always laughs as I'm typically planning the next birthday party at least a year in advance!

On that note, my first post is my son Will's 1st birthday a few years back. I chose Radio Flyer wagons because, to me, they represent all that little boys are about: fun, fast, and classic. Plus, I found a wagon sweater at Gymboree that would fit him at his first birthday, so I knew I had to use it!


Being on a budget, I was on a mission to find inexpensive items that I could transform into party decorations. I borrowed several wagons to prop around our backyard. I used one larger wagon with a sign saying "Thank You" to hold Will's gifts. This made it easy to pull the gift wagon out into the yard for him to open his presents. Before the gift opening, we took a picture of Will inside the wagon filled with presents to print out later as part of his thank you note. I found various sizes of red and white Chinese lanterns online for about $1.00-$4.00 each. I hung them at varying lengths from white canopy tents that I borrowed from our church. For the silverware, I wrapped the knife, fork, and spoon in a red napkin and tied with a gingham ribbon, so each person could just grab a set along with his/her plate. The centerpiece was a small Radio Flyer wagon that held 2 potted pansies. Each table had a glass cylinder with red apples (since his birthday was in September), but you could very easily use other seasonal red items (cherries, holly berries, Christmas ball ornaments, pomegranates, small red toy cars/trucks, red blocks, red toy balls). As for the goodie bags, I filled them with the following: a drink coaster with a picture of Will and his party guest sitting in a wooden wagon that I ordered from a photo printing company, a "W" shaped cookie with red royal icing that I made and placed in clear cellophane bags tied with gingham ribbon, a Radio Flyer coloring page, and a box of crayons.


For the sign, I was inspired by Tiffany's happy birthday sign for her daughter's 1st birthday. I chose 4 designs of scrapbook paper that were versatile enough to coordinate with the wagon party as well as could be used for other future parties. I used my friend's Cricut machine (love that machine!) to cut out 4 inch letters in red and the bold-faced version in white as a background. I laminated each rectangle so little fingers wouldn't tear the sign! Then I strung the rectangles together using twine and hung it on the gate of our fence. You could also use fishing wire, ribbon, Christmas lights, or pretty much anything you having lying around.


Since I knew there would be lots of little ones running around, I wanted to make sure we had age-appropriate activities. As I mentioned, we had several wagons around. Many thanks to the dads who took the kids on rides around our yard. Will received a Radio Flyer tricycle which was a hit with the older kids since his feet couldn't quite touch the ground at that point. We also put out mini tunnels which I had found at a garage sale (don't you love the treasures you can find!) along with the standard hula hoops and balls. I'm pretty sure most of the kids slept well that night!


This party was truly one of my favorites. You could easily use Radio Flyer wagons for a baby shower as well. I'm linking to these fun parties this week so you can check out other amazing ideas. Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back in 2 weeks with another fun project.

31 comments:

Unknown March 19, 2010 at 5:55 AM  

Now THAT'S an adorable and fun party theme! LOVE it!

TBonesMom March 19, 2010 at 8:15 AM  

So cute! Radio Flyer wagons are the absolute best...nice job Amy!!

Sandra March 19, 2010 at 8:35 AM  

Love Radio Flyer wagons! I have 2 for the grandkids (hehehe). Love your ideas, thanks for sharing.

TidyMom March 19, 2010 at 8:42 AM  

What a GREAT theme and so many great ideas!!

What a little cutie you have there!!

Thanks for linking up! Have a GREAT weekend!

Erin A March 19, 2010 at 9:55 AM  

What an ADORABLE party!! I love all of the details, and that sign hanging on your fence is incredibly cute! Really great job!!!

Patrice March 19, 2010 at 10:11 AM  

So inspiring! Love the idea.

Alyssa March 19, 2010 at 10:21 AM  

Yay Amy! Great first post - welcome to the blogging world. I am completely coming to you for help with the next birthday party I am planning. What an adorable party. I get excited if I get balloons and store bought streamers up for a party.

Melissa March 19, 2010 at 11:02 AM  

Oh great job! I think I will put this on my list for b-day parties!

Cindi March 19, 2010 at 12:34 PM  

Nothing says kids more to me than a Radio Flyer wagon! My daughter is 8 now but for her first birthday, I got her the same Radio Flyer wagon I had when I was a kid!

Great job and thanks for sharing!

Amy@TheLemonCottage March 19, 2010 at 11:51 PM  

Wonderful idea! I completely agree about radio flyer wagons... they do represent little boys! I have a RF calendar from a few years ago, because I just love the pictures.
I love your blog!
~Amy

Jessica March 20, 2010 at 7:42 AM  

What a great theme for such a cute little man!

Kelli W March 20, 2010 at 8:41 AM  

I love a good party theme! That looks like an adorable party! I love the cake:)

Krissy March 20, 2010 at 9:43 AM  

The party looks fantastic and I love the banner!

Cindy Sue March 20, 2010 at 8:43 PM  

How adorable! Very creative and what fun! We gave our grandson a Radio Flyer wagon for his first birthday... and then a rocking horse, and then the little rocket car... and then a sled, see a pattern here...

Kaysi March 22, 2010 at 3:06 PM  

What a fun birthday party!

DeeAnna March 23, 2010 at 9:50 AM  

Great Theme! I love the attention to detail. Sweet boys!

Andy Porter March 23, 2010 at 10:40 AM  

I love that idea!! That's just so cute to hold the presents in them and take pics. LOVE IT!! Thanks for linking to Creative Cats!

Andy
Poppies at Play

Shelley @ Divine Party Concepts March 23, 2010 at 1:19 PM  

What a great party! I will be linking!

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming March 23, 2010 at 5:28 PM  

How adorable is this party! The theme is so unique and fabulous! I love that line from Gymboree {I had to buy it when it came out becasue of the red wagon} I would love for you to link up to the Celebration Inspiration party April 6th. I think this party would be a huge hit! Thanks for sharing - you did a wonderful job! ~ Stephanie Lynn

Julie March 24, 2010 at 5:00 PM  

What a fun way to celebrate. Thanks for sharing with Made it Monday! Jules

Lize March 25, 2010 at 9:57 AM  

What a wonderful idea. I love that the theme item can also be used as an activity and a storage item.

Helena March 25, 2010 at 1:12 PM  

Awesome party idea! And it turned out so cute.

Thank you for linking this to A Little Craft Therapy!

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans March 25, 2010 at 6:07 PM  

Very cute ideas! We gave our son a Radio Flyer wagon for his 1st b-day too!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden March 28, 2010 at 7:24 PM  

What a great idea! It looks like everyone had a great time!

Thanks for linking up to Make it Yours Day at My Backyard Eden!

Lana April 7, 2010 at 3:32 AM  

This is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute and my son would LOVE it!
Hugs, Lana

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming April 7, 2010 at 12:38 PM  

Thanks so much for joining the Celebration Party! This is such an adorable all-american theme - I love it! There is just something nostalic about a little red wagon! We are huge Radio Flyer lovers. The cake looks super cute too! Great job!

Bird April 8, 2010 at 3:50 AM  

Adorable little boys! What a fun theme! :)

Trés Chic!!! And very original!

I'm having a PARTY Link Party over at BirdCrafts.blogspot.com and this would be a perfect post to link up!

Hope to see you there? It's going until Friday with a "Show off" of the favourites this Sunday!

Hugs,
Bird

seven thirty three May 1, 2010 at 7:19 PM  

Such an original idea!

Thanks for linking up with What are little boys made of?

Ed @ Pedal Cars NZ May 12, 2010 at 5:56 PM  

Great ideas and what a lovely boy you have! It looks like the wagon needs an upgrade soon... lol

alovesk June 7, 2010 at 9:40 PM  

This has been very helpful to me. My sons first birthday is in September, and I have gained a lot of ideas from your blog, thanks!

Mandy July 18, 2010 at 8:08 PM  

Love this idea! I am actually having my sons first birthday in a month and I also have gained a lot of great ideas! Where did you find the radio flyer coloring pages? I have searched, but have not been able to locate any.
Thank you!

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