Locke’s Construction Party

I got a Mac computer awhile back and have yet to feel comfortable with loading pictures on my blog with the new programs. I’ve got 120 posts in my cue, but don’t post often because of that picture roadblock.  I’ve got to face and tackle my lack of skills. So this post is an exercise in me learning to crop, edit, resize and load pictures to my blog.  Let’s just say the photos won’t be homogenous because I wanted to try different techniques.

I decided to learn on Locke’s 4th Birthday Party because the post is mostly photo based.

Locke turned 4 in August and wanted a Construction Birthday Party.

The Inspiration

I think Locke’s choice stemmed from the fact that the vacant lot across from our house was under construction all summer.  We were living right in the middle of a construction zone and the perfect party backdrop.  Once we decided to go with the construction theme, my mom found these little dump trucks on clearance at ShopKo.  They set the inspiration for the color scheme.

The Decor

I went with the traditional yellow, orange and black colors but threw in some pops of blue to soften the look a bit and to match the trucks.  I also threw in construction motifs when I could.

I added some party decor to the outside as well.   We borrowed the orange barrier from down the street, and the door wreath is electrical cord wrapped around a wreath form.  You can find the inspiration and tutorial for the door wreath here.

My go- to decorating tactic is using wrapping paper as a table runner.  The wrapping paper adds color and patterns you are not likely to find in a tablecloth.  Just cover your table with a plastic tablecloth and then roll the wrapping paper roll down the middle of the table.

Duct tape also proved to be my friend.  It was cheap, simple, appropriate, and it fit my color scheme.  What more could a party planner want?  I used the tape to label the water bottles and the guests hard hats.

The Guest of Honor

I bought Locke a little construction vest to set him apart as the guest of honor, and he got a hard hat like everyone else.  I got the hats at Oriental Trading and the vest here.

Mom and Dad had to dress up too.  My mom had some real hard hats for us to wear. My husband is such a good sport.

 The Guests

As a general rule, I let my kids invite as many kids as they are old — give or take one or two. But I don’t make them count cousins since they are always invited.

 

The Cake

The cake was the low-point of the party.  I decided just to have a local super-market make it to save some time.  I relayed my vision and color scheme to the baker, and she assured me it would be cute.   I went to pick it up, and I was really disappointed.  There was no blue color and too much green.  It was supposed to be a construction site not a back yard or grass field! Then as I was taking the cat out to my car, it slid off the bottom of my cart and got messed up.  I swear it was an accident 🙂

I went into problem solving mode. I patched and refrosted what I could. I crushed Oreos to add dirt hills and piles and to cover up some of the botched areas and to subdue the green.  Then I added my own little construction vehicles.  It turned out okay in the end.

 

The Games

I care about the decor, but the kids care about the games.  We played a Wrecking Ball game where we knocked over empty oatmeal containers, and then we spent most of the time playing with our dump trucks in dirt piles.

The Party Favor

After getting dirty, we sent the kids them home with their dump truck, chocolate candy, and a little thank you.  I try to avoid lots of treats as much as possible.  The trucks and the hard hats were the main favors.

So there you go.  I did it!  I figured out how to load lots of photos. It took much longer than the length of this post implies.  But now I am excited to get some other posts out there that I have been holding back on.

And Happy Late Birthday to my favorite 4 year old!