Welcome to my Thomas the Tank Pages! Many people have asked me for ideas on a Thomas the Tank or Train themed birthday party. I asked my Mommy to write about some of the things we have done at my Thomas the Tank birthday parties. I hope that these ideas will help you and if you have any ideas or pictures you would like to share, please send me an email! I would love to post your pictures and would be happy to give you credit for any train party ideas! Grab Your ticket and hop aboard for this fun filled busy party! Invitations: All Aboard... to celebrate ___'s Birthday! Inside: Name of "Station" (Your Name) Please meet at Track # "street address" Date: Time: RSVP: To the Station Master Decorations: Red and Black balloons and streamers Draw tracks (with Chalk) up to the front door or entrance. If you don't have a sidewalk leading up to your front door you can use flour to make the tracks. Destination signs can be placed along your driveway directing your guests to the "Train Station."(All aboard the Birthday Train express" Track "5" (age) straight ahead) Assemble a ticket booth from a large card board box and hand guests a "boarding pass" as they arrive (You can use the boarding passes for door prizes later on) Sign on front door: "________" Station, Track #--- through the entrance. Cover your table with a white sheet or table cloth. Make train tracks with black construction paper or streamers running down the middle of the table. Place a toy train on the track. Make a train place card for each child. You can use index cards and either use train stamps (they even make Thomas the Tank ones now!) or stickers to decorate the place cards. Construct a large railroad crossing sign out of cardboard and add some flashing red lights. Create trains for each party guest out of Life Saver candy rolls, mints, packs of gum, minature chocolate bars, and Starburst fruit chews. (as pictured below) Use a hot glue gun to put on the wheels, cab, and smoke stack. The Menu Cut out sandwiches with a train shaped cookie cutter. You can serve these with chips, some fresh fruit and veggies. Make train cutout cookies ahead of time and let the guests decorate them with icing and sprinkles. They can take them home at the end of the party when the icing dries! Party Favors: Select any of these or a combination! Decorate paper bags with train stamps to hold the goodies! You may wish to have the children decorate the bags themselves with train stamps and washable paint! A Golden book of "The Little Engine that Could" or any "Thomas the Tank" book or coloring book. Dover Publications Inc. sells little activity books featuring Train Stickers and Stencils for only $1.00 each. Here is the link to the Train Sticker Book that you can order from Dover Publications Train Sticker Book Some train stickers A choo- choo- train whistle A red bandana A pencil decorated with trains Games and Activity options... "Hot Train"- Pass around a Thomas the Tank train (or a wooden Brio type train) in a circle while playing some train music. Whoever is left holding the train when the music stops is out. Repeat this until there is a winner! "Pin the Bell on the Steam Train" - Draw a picture of a steam engine on poster board and take turns trying to pin the whistle on the train while wearing blindfolds. See the picture below.....my Daddy drew a GREAT steam train, didn't he?? We used this game for my 5th birthday party. Pin the Red Nose on James" - (based on the Thomas the Tank story when James was stung by a bee) We used this game for my sixth birthday party! A train pinata is lots of fun! You can order one from www.BirthdayExpress.com "Box Car Fun"- Go to a local appliance store and get some really big boxes. Have everybody at the party decorate these boxes with markers, crayons, and stickers. With just a little imagination, they will become fun trains for everyone to "ride"! (you need at least three....one for the engine, one for passengers, and one for the caboose) "Train Bean Bag Toss"- Make a Thomas the Tank train out of shoe boxes. The children take turns with three bean bags trying to get them into the Thomas boxes. -Musical "Train" Cars- Play train music (We have used the Soundtrack from "Thomas and The Magic Railroad") and have the kids climb into a car when the music stops. Continue to take away "cars" each time you play the music. Whoever is not in a car when the music stops is out. "The Conductor Says" or "Sir Topham Hatt says" instead of "Simon Says" "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo" - divide the guests into two teams and then divide again. The first child on one side "chugs" like a train to the other side where the next child links on like a train. The game continues until the train is completed! "Box Car Relay" - You will need two teams. On your command, two children will push a box up to a pile of "cargo items." Once there, they will place one item in the box and push it back to their team. The next child will repeat. First team to complete the relay, wins. "Thomas the Tank Lost Cargo Treasure Hunt" - Hide clues all over the birthday location. The clues should lead the entire party to the lost cargo. Older children will read the clues but all children will help solve the riddles and can run to the next clues. Make sure to have some special "lost cargo" goodies at the end of the game! End the Party with quiet story time. Any "Thomas the Tank" story would be great! Click here to return to my index pageClick here for my day out with Thomas in Kutztown, PAClick here for My day out with Thomas at the Strasburg Rail Road, September 1999Click here for My day out with Thomas at the Strasburg Rail Road, September 2000Click here to join in the fun of my Thomas the Tank birthday parties!