Do you have a future conductor in your family? Lay the tracks for an incredible party with our Train Party Ideas! We have ideas from everything from invitations to party games, to get all your guests on board!
Invitations
Decorations
Food
Party Favors
Games & Activities
Planning & Invitations
One of your first decisions will be where to hold your Train Party. Hosting a party at home is a great option, as you have a little more freedom with your decorating and food choices. However, many parents prefer to host the party elsewhere, so for a Train theme, you may want to consider a park, playground, or attending a dinner theater on an actual train. For additional ideas, see our article on When and Where to Have the Party.
What do I need for the Party?
Basic party supplies include paper tableware, such as plates, napkins, cups, and cutlery, as well as a tablecloth, streamers, and balloons. If you would like to use themed tableware, instead of solids, consider our Train Party Supplies.
You can stick with the basics, or add other items to fit your theme. For example, for a Train Party, you may also want to consider renting or purchasing the following:
- Conductor Hats and Bandanas
- A Toy Train on Tracks
- A Train Cake Pan and Cookie Cutter
- A Train-Themed Movie, such as “Thomas and the Magic Railroad” (Rated G)
- A Train Pinata
For additional help with your shopping, take a look at our Suggested Party Supply List. You may not need everything on the list, but you can use it as a guide.
Train Party Invitations
As you think about supplies for your child’s party, pay special attention to the invitations. If you have the time to make your own invitations, here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Design your invitations to look like train tickets, with a perforated line on one end. Tear that end off of each guest’s ticket when they arrive at the party. Use words like “All Aboard the Party Train” and include seat assignments for fun.
- Fold a piece of white cardstock in half and cut out the shape of an “X”, leaving the top of each line in the “X” attached, to create a top-fold card. On the front, write “Birthday” along one diagonal, and “Crossing” along the other. Write your party details inside.
- If you child is a fan of Thomas the Engine, scan a picture of the character onto one half of a piece of cardstock, so when folded, the image is on the front of the card. Add a bubble that reads “All Aboard for [child’s name]’s Birthday Party!”. Write your party details inside.
- Write your party details on a bandana that you can fold up and mail to your guests.
- Include creative wording for your party details, such as:
All aboard [child’s name]’s birthday party train!
It’s going to be fun – not at all plain!
Come in your favorite engineer outfit,
We’ll sing happy birthday when the candles are lit!
If you would rather not make your own invitations, but would still like a personalized touch, consider our Personalized Train Invitations, which include all the party details for you!
Whichever invitation option you choose, seal your envelopes with Train Stickers to add a final festive touch!
History
Children, especially little boys, love the sights and sounds of trains. This fascination with trains is further reinforced by children's books and shows about trains, such as Thomas the Tank Engine. (Thomas, a train engine, is the main character in a series of books written in the 1940's by the Reverend Awdry.) Read on for a very brief history of trains and some fun facts that you can share with the birthday child, and even with your guests during the party.
Trains have been a part of our transportation history for far longer than the engine has been around. A train is defined as one or more vehicles that ride on wheels which travel along a track. While most of us think that a train must be pulled by a locomotive, railroads were actually used for more than 150 years before the steam engine was invented. The first railroads were used to haul loads of earth and minerals out of European mines in the mid 1500's. The trains that mounted these railroads were pulled by people or horses. The first steam engines were successfully built and operated in England in the late 1700's and early 1800's. They did not appear in the United States until the 1820's.
Decorating & Food Ideas
Train Party Decorations
To keep the party train chugging along, use decorations that fit your theme! Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Cut train tracks out of butcher paper and run them up the pathway to the main party entrance, and around the perimeter of the party room.
- Stop by a local appliance or department store, and ask for large, empty boxes. Use several to set up a big cardboard train in your front yard or in the middle of the party area. Paint the boxes various bright colors, and cut out windows and doors. Attach cardboard wheels, painted black, to complete the effect.
- Hang a banner on your front door that says “All Aboard [child’s name]’s Party Train!”. See our Personalized Train Banner for inspiration!
- Cut out different kinds of railroad crossing signs from cardboard or poster board. Use a variety of colors and styles, and then hang the signs throughout the party area.
- Create railroad barriers (i.e. the type that keep cars from crossing a track when a train is coming) out of cardboard and tack them across doorways your guests will not need to pass through. Make a sign that says “Do Not Cross When Barriers Are Down” to hang next to the door.
- Balloons are a must at every party! Fill the party area with groups of balloons, and secure them with balloon weights. Add Train Mylar Balloons for an added touch.
- Hang a Train Pinata in the party area that can be used as a decoration before the activity begins. Remember, any piñata can be transformed into a pull-string with our easy instructions.
Train Party Food Ideas
Get creative with your party food by serving theme-specific treats. For a Train Party, consider the following ideas:
- Use train-shaped cookie cutters to cut out cookies, sandwiches, and cheese slices.
- Use a butter knife or an X-shaped cookie cutter to cut out railroad crossing-shaped cookies. Once the cookies have cooled, ice them in white frosting and write “Railroad Crossing” on each with black decorator icing.
- Turn fruit into train cars by cutting melon into rectangular strips for the body of each car, and then using a melon baller to make wheels. Attach the wheels to the cars with toothpicks, crossing them to look like wheel axles.
- Serve chips and popcorn in new, clean engineer hats.
- Make train-car sandwiches. Make a triple-decker sandwich and cut off the crusts. Slide a pretzel stick through the front and back of the sandwich for the wheel axles and slide half an olive or gumdrop on each pretzel end for wheels.
- Serve a pasta salad made from rotelle pasta, which resemble wheels.
- Make a train-themed cake by using black decorator icing to draw a railroad track around the outer edge of a 9”x13” cake. Place several miniature toy trains on the tracks. Or, simply use our Train Cake Pan!
Train Party Favors
Send your little conductors home with a smile by offering party favors that fit your theme. You can give one large favor, such as a train-themed DVD, or combine smaller favors such as a train whistle, a toy train, train stickers, and candy in a nice favor bag. For added fun, wrap your party favors in a bandana instead of using a favor bag.
To save time, you may want to consider our complete Train Favor Sets, which include matching favor bags. Or, consider our popular Personalized Train Favors. Choose from bag tags, zipper pulls, magnets, and more, all personalized with your guests’ names or a special message from you!
Train Party Games & Activities
To get your guests in the right spirit for a train party, try calling them to all the activities by blowing a train whistle and shouting, “All aboard!” while wearing a conductor’s cap. For additional ideas, see the Games & Activities section below.
For other party planning tips, our Party Planning 101 Guide includes cake ideas, party etiquette tips, a printable guest list, and more.
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