How to Create a Cute Construction Birthday Party

I can't believe our last first birthday party is all over; cue the mom tears!!!  I had the best time planning Jack Jack's party and even daddy had input.  Kevin has never said two words about any party but when I was still pregnant and we found out we were having a boy he declared the first birthday would be a construction theme.  Kevin has been in construction (demolition specifically) his entire life and it was cute to see how much this meant to him.  It was a good thing he was invested this time around because my request list was pretty great including an excavator and dump truck. First order of business in planning a party is picking a theme and since we had that all tied up the next step was invitations.  I worked with Swanky Party Box to design the invitations as well as ALL the party printables.  Debbie was one of the best vendors I've ever worked with.  She put up with all my questions, requests and was super attentive.  She had a construction party set already but she customized several pieces for me and I couldn't be happier with everything.  After the invitations were designed I went to my go-to Postable to print the invitations.  I elected to make them postcards this time because invitations don't need to be as formal as Christmas cards.  This also is a way for you to save a little bit of money.  If you haven't heard me talk about Postable before then let me just tell you that it is the absolute best for all things cards!  I'm so obsessed for Christmas cards, invitations, thank you's and more.  You do everything online and then never touch them again.  They print, stuff, address and mail for you.  It saves me so much time and is one of my greatest finds.  Not only did I use Postable for the invitations but also for thank you notes.  Using Postable for both items saved me so much time in stuffing, sealing and stamping.  Use code FRESNO for 20% off your order; you can thank me later:)

Once the invitations were mailed I started working on my vision.  I knew that I wanted Kevin to bring home a tractor from work as well a dump truck and sand.  Since the equipment needed to be in the driveway I decided I wanted to host all of the party in our driveway which was a first for us.  Luckily our driveway is super long and the perfect spot to hold everything.  Now I want to hold all parties outside because my gosh clean up was so much easier than cleaning the house all over again, lol!

We set up the dump truck and excavator and put a sand pile underneath the bucket for the kids to play in.  We used Kevin's truck toys from when he was a boy in the sand pile and the kids acted like they've never played in sand.  They all had so much fun getting down and dirty.

Since we were hosting the party in our driveway we needed to rent tables and chairs.  I've used Expo Events for several parties and love their selection and ease of drop-off/pickup.  I loved not having to do any of the leg work; anything I can take off my plate is a win.  They also provided me with black linens for all of the tables which were the perfect base to start decorating.  I decorated the tables with orange cones, tableware from Geese & Ganders and printables from Swanky Party Box.  I then had a food table, dessert bar and drink bar.  I decided to keep food crazy simple for this party since I was serving so many people.  Pizza, salad and "Wrecking Ball" grapes were served for lunch.  The "Fueling Station" included infused water, a signature cocktail and beer.  The dessert bar was the center of the party and where I focused my creative energy.  I LOVED putting this all together and couldn't have done it without some major help.

The centerpiece of the dessert bar was Jackson's cake created by Kaja's Kreations.  Kaja has done cakes and cookies for me for years and has always gone above and beyond to execute my visions.  The bottom tier was a tire and the top tier was a construction sign.  Not only are the cakes extraordinary they taste delicious as well.  She has so many flavor options but our favorite is cookies & cream!  If you need any desserts Kaja's talent is nearly unmatched; you must check her out. In addition I served "Spare Tire" chocolate donuts in a dump truck, "Dirt Cup" chocolate pudding, "Gravel" Reese's Pieces, "Wet Paint" rice crispy treats and "Crew Cookies."  Further decoration included plates, napkins and banners from Geese & Ganders.  I love that you can find not just the norm from Geese & Ganders.  You can really add personality and a twist to any party with their amazing selections.

The backdrop for the dessert bar was a peg board where I hung some of Kevin's tools, a caution tape wreath and the best balloon arch you've ever seen.  Balloon Concepts by Alex was the artist behind the arch and it was crazy to see how much goes into a balloon arch.  Alex arrived with the balloons all blown up but she constructed it on site.  She and her husband have it down to a science to make sure the balloons are secure and safe (from popping).  The final touch to the dessert bar was a large  milestone chalkboard sign created by Swanky Party Box.

I don't think a first birthday is complete without a customized high chair for the birthday boy or girl.  I found our wood high chair right before Emily's first birthday and it has been repainted at least 5 times for the girls first two birthdays and for friend's parties.  I painted it yellow to match the party and then created a fabric garland to attach to the tray.  Making a fabric garland is super easy.  I cut fabric into 22" x 2" strips and needed about 45 strips to wrap around the high chair.  You then fold the strips in half and knot them around a ribbon.  To attach to the high chair I used hot glue.

Another item I made was Jack's party hat that he didn't wear from longer than 2 miliseconds!  Again it is quite easy to make.  Buy a party hat at the Dollar Store for a template and wrap it with paper of your choice.  I attached a large pom pom to the top with hot glue and then cut ribbon to attach to the middle front of the hat.  On top of the ribbon was a personalized round cut out.

I originally bought Jack a shirt with a tractor on it but I just wasn't in love.  For the girls I had outfits made for them and so I eventually decided to have a personalized shirt made for Jack.  We've always loved Zoey's Attic for personalized items and so I ordered a shirt from them that was just perfect for the party.  It had a tractor on it and read, "Can you dig it? I'm the birthday boy."  As well as having his name and a 1 on the shirt.

The final piece to the party were the favors.  I filled cello party bags with Reese's Pieces "gravel," topped them with a toy tractor and put a Swanky Party Box favor tag that read, "Thanks for making my party loads of fun!".  I just kept it quite simple; I don't ever feel like favors have to be big, just a little something to say thank you for coming.

Thank you to all our friends and family for coming to celebrate our little monkey man; it was such a fun day.  To my little guy, thank you for completing our family and adding so much excitement to all of our days.  I hope you keep your wild spirit and spunky personality.  It wasn't an easy year but every moment was worth it.  I hope that the world treats you kindly and that you find your perfect place in it.  Remember that success doesn't equal money or power but inner happiness.  Always put your faith and your family first and everything else will fall into place.  God bless you my son and cheers to a lifetime of birthdays to come.

Thank you to all the vendors who made this party just perfect: Kaja's Kreations Swanky Party Box Geese & Ganders Postable Zoey's Attic Balloon Concepts by Alex Expo Events Jessica Gomez Photography