My two year is obsessed with school buses. This love was amplified after attending a local bus demolition derby. (He now believes all school buses bang into each other, stating "bus, BANG!", with coordinating hand gestures indicating a collision. We'll have to retrain his psyche but I digress...)
Photo Props: Starting with Levi's first birthday, I whipped up some fun cutouts that look like Polaroid pictures. I was able to reuse the ones I created for Lance's 4th birthday; he even helped in painting over the old creations
Balloons: A bus party needs a few bus balloons! I also picked up a large #2 to add to the mix. I scored these balloons off of Amazon:
- #2 Balloon
Bus Craft: I searched high and low for something that would be age appropriate for 2 year old kiddos to do as a craft. I thought it would be fun to make 3D buses. I didn't like any of the options online, so created my own. I used construction paper for the prototype but upgraded to cardstock for the party.
- FREE Silhouette 3D Bus Template, Windows & Tires Template
Bus Felt Board: I saw an idea on Pinterest for a Pin-the-Wheel on the bus activity. That may be great for an older kiddo, but a 2 year old may feel challenged enough to add a wheel to a board without a blindfold or being spun around. Here I used a large cardboard box (thank you Amazon!) and hot glued yellow felt to the bus cutout. I also hot glued the road to the board. All the other shapes have a small piece of sandpaper on the back to help the felt adhere. It only seemed fitting that the birthday boy should be the bus driver. I printed him on my colored printer then added contact paper to make his cutout sturdier.
- Yellow Felt: I lucked out and have a discount fabric store nearby. I picked up a yard and a half of 72" fabric for 1.99/yd
- Other felt: Some I just happened to have on hand, the white and black sparkly was from Joann's.
Bus Tunnel, Play Tent & Scooters: Again, this is a LARGE space and we had a bunch of busy 2 year olds. I was able to borrow a play tent from one of my son's buddies, added a bus scooter to his birthday wish list and purchased a bus tunnel! Here are links to where you can buy all three:
- Bus Tunnel (Various locations, I had Kohl's money to use, so that's where I purchased it!)
- Play Tent (Currently $24.95 on Amazon)
- Scooters (Currently $12.95 on Amazon)
Face paint: I randomly found a deal on face paint crayons a week before the party. Seemed like an easy addition. Kids sported everything from school buses from butterflies to lions!
Story Time: Since we were at a library and had access to all the books we could ever want. We previewed a few a month in advance and my kiddos loved them so much, we purchased them off of Ebay to share during the party.
Here are quick links to Amazon:
- "It's Your First Day of School Busy Bus!"
- "School Bus Saves the Day"
- "Caillou The School Bus"
Family Outfits:
My husband recently asked if he gets a say in what he gets to wear for any of our parties. The answer is no. 😊 I looked online for some funny bus related shirts and saw some that said "This is how I roll" or alluded to "Best Bus Driver". Nothing seemed perfect for this party. Playing on Chamillionaire's song Ridin', I created these party bus shirts for the birthday boy, his brother and dad. And of course, I needed something bus related too... I found this BellePointe Sweater Vest gem on eBay.
- Screen print image: Silhouette File PDF Version
Bus Ornaments: I stumbled across these fantastic laser wood cutouts on Etsy by InspirationCreated. Since Christmas is right around the corner, this was a great last minute add-on to the treat bags. I added yellow ribbon to finish these off and a thank you label on the back.
- Wood cutout Bus - they range in price by size and thickness but start at $0.30.
- FREE - Thank You Labels - Word Doc
Food:
I outsourced the menu coordination to my party planning fanatic mother. Her and my dad flew in a couple days to help and celebrate our big, almost 2 year old!
Cake: We ordered a bus cupcake-cake from our local Market Basket. It turned out fantastic and tasted just as great.
Other Food: Since the party was in the morning, we had a variety of breakfast worthy snacks: fruit, veggies, pretzels, chocolate donuts, danishes and drinks for both parents and kiddos.
- FREE Editable Food Labels in MS Publisher
Table Sign: This was a last minute creation for the food table created the night before by yours truly.
- FREE Editable Table Sign
This year we hosted his bus themed party at the local library. I saw other libraries have birthday packages including story time; ours only offers a large space for a small fee. But, hey, I can play librarian story-time reader for a party!
(Note the below contains some affiliated links, some FREEBIES, and other direct links to tools or service sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
(Note the below contains some affiliated links, some FREEBIES, and other direct links to tools or service sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Party Invites: I searched online and couldn't quite find exactly what I wanted, so I created my own on Silhouette. On pixlr.com, I photo-shopped a picture of my son and added him to the bus on the invite. I was going to print at home but the quality was mediocre, so I sent them off to Staples to be printed on card stock. From Silhouette, I "printed" them as a PDF and used that to upload to Staples.
Party Supplies:
Bus table: I saw another mom had created a bus via corrugated paper for her son's party (from MidwestBlonde) and I wanted to replicate with a roll of vinyl table cloth. We used the bin containing all the party supplies as the front. And of course the birthday boy had to be the driver!
- Plastic tablecloth roll (Amazon)
- Construction paper (Amazon)
Backdrops: The space we rented was HUGE and I wanted to give it the feel of being a bit more intimate with a more immersive experience. I found backdrops with bus images on many sites and ended up ordering from AliExpress.
Photo Props: Starting with Levi's first birthday, I whipped up some fun cutouts that look like Polaroid pictures. I was able to reuse the ones I created for Lance's 4th birthday; he even helped in painting over the old creations
Balloons: A bus party needs a few bus balloons! I also picked up a large #2 to add to the mix. I scored these balloons off of Amazon:
- #2 Balloon
Activities:
Floor mat: For an activity, I ordered a city map for the kiddos to drive their buses on. I especially liked this one as it is not super busy with lots of color.
Floor mat: For an activity, I ordered a city map for the kiddos to drive their buses on. I especially liked this one as it is not super busy with lots of color.
- Floor Mat (I purchased for $5.96 + shipping and the little street signs to go with it)
Bus Craft: I searched high and low for something that would be age appropriate for 2 year old kiddos to do as a craft. I thought it would be fun to make 3D buses. I didn't like any of the options online, so created my own. I used construction paper for the prototype but upgraded to cardstock for the party.
- FREE Silhouette 3D Bus Template, Windows & Tires Template
Bus Felt Board: I saw an idea on Pinterest for a Pin-the-Wheel on the bus activity. That may be great for an older kiddo, but a 2 year old may feel challenged enough to add a wheel to a board without a blindfold or being spun around. Here I used a large cardboard box (thank you Amazon!) and hot glued yellow felt to the bus cutout. I also hot glued the road to the board. All the other shapes have a small piece of sandpaper on the back to help the felt adhere. It only seemed fitting that the birthday boy should be the bus driver. I printed him on my colored printer then added contact paper to make his cutout sturdier.
- Yellow Felt: I lucked out and have a discount fabric store nearby. I picked up a yard and a half of 72" fabric for 1.99/yd
- Other felt: Some I just happened to have on hand, the white and black sparkly was from Joann's.
Bus Tunnel, Play Tent & Scooters: Again, this is a LARGE space and we had a bunch of busy 2 year olds. I was able to borrow a play tent from one of my son's buddies, added a bus scooter to his birthday wish list and purchased a bus tunnel! Here are links to where you can buy all three:
- Bus Tunnel (Various locations, I had Kohl's money to use, so that's where I purchased it!)
- Play Tent (Currently $24.95 on Amazon)
- Scooters (Currently $12.95 on Amazon)
Story Time: Since we were at a library and had access to all the books we could ever want. We previewed a few a month in advance and my kiddos loved them so much, we purchased them off of Ebay to share during the party.
Here are quick links to Amazon:
- "It's Your First Day of School Busy Bus!"
- "School Bus Saves the Day"
- "Caillou The School Bus"
Family Outfits:
My husband recently asked if he gets a say in what he gets to wear for any of our parties. The answer is no. 😊 I looked online for some funny bus related shirts and saw some that said "This is how I roll" or alluded to "Best Bus Driver". Nothing seemed perfect for this party. Playing on Chamillionaire's song Ridin', I created these party bus shirts for the birthday boy, his brother and dad. And of course, I needed something bus related too... I found this BellePointe Sweater Vest gem on eBay.
Treat bags:
I kept coming up with fun ideas for the treat bags. Scope creep?, probably... but I couldn't hold myself back. They ended up being about $5/bag (not too shabby!).
I kept coming up with fun ideas for the treat bags. Scope creep?, probably... but I couldn't hold myself back. They ended up being about $5/bag (not too shabby!).
Bags: We enjoyed the screen printed shirts a lot, so we reused the image for all of the bags! From Alphabroder, I ordered 15 black cotton tote bags and screen printed on each:
- Bags
- FREE Screen print image: Silhouette File PDF Version
Pencil bags: AliExpress has these awesome bus pencil bags for super cheap! I paid $1.50/ bag. (Order at least a month+ in advance) I also included a handful of colored pencils in each bag.
- Pencil bags
- Pencil bags
Coloring book: I did a Google search for free bus coloring pages and consolidated them to a small little book with a small thank you message inside. These are free unlicensed images and should not be used for commercial use.
- Photo Editing to photoshop your kiddo in the bus: pixlr.com
- Create a coloring page from a photo: reallycolor.com
- Create a coloring page from a photo: reallycolor.com
Mini bus balloons: What 2 year old doesn't love a balloon?! Here is a link to mini bus balloons. (These were only $0.27/each when I ordered!)
Bus Ornaments: I stumbled across these fantastic laser wood cutouts on Etsy by InspirationCreated. Since Christmas is right around the corner, this was a great last minute add-on to the treat bags. I added yellow ribbon to finish these off and a thank you label on the back.
- Wood cutout Bus - they range in price by size and thickness but start at $0.30.
- FREE - Thank You Labels - Word Doc
Books: I happened to luck out and find an Ebay lot of new school bus books by Donald Crews. Each family took home one book.
-School Bus by Donald Crews (Amazon)
-School Bus by Donald Crews (Amazon)
Food:
I outsourced the menu coordination to my party planning fanatic mother. Her and my dad flew in a couple days to help and celebrate our big, almost 2 year old!
Cake: We ordered a bus cupcake-cake from our local Market Basket. It turned out fantastic and tasted just as great.
Other Food: Since the party was in the morning, we had a variety of breakfast worthy snacks: fruit, veggies, pretzels, chocolate donuts, danishes and drinks for both parents and kiddos.
- FREE Editable Food Labels in MS Publisher
Table Sign: This was a last minute creation for the food table created the night before by yours truly.
- FREE Editable Table Sign
Other ideas:
How fun would it to be to dress up like the Magic School Bus Character?! Here are some links to affordable costumes:
(Images from Amazon)
Or dress up like a bus! Kiddo costume
How did you keep the letters in place on the bus?
ReplyDeleteI used double stick tape to apply the letters and other decals. Thanks for stopping by.
Delete