Train and Thomas The Train Party Supplies http://trainpartysupplies.net Helping your party get on the right track! Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:05:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Train Party Gifts http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-gifts/ http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-gifts/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:02:33 +0000 Train Conductor http://trainpartysupplies.net/?p=30 train When attending or hosting a Train Birthday party a gift that makes a lot of sense is anything Train related. They obviously love the big red engines or Thomas the Train. Which means that any train gift that you can find they will love. Also remember to take into consideration their age. If they are young than be sure to get something durable and if they're older than something more electronic might be a good idea.

Logical gift ideas for the young train fanatic include things like a train set; Brio Toy trains, GEO Trax, Thomas the Tank Engine products, including toys, games, puzzles, videos, books, play sets, and videos. Thomas the Train Great Race Game might be one of the items that your birthday star does not have, but more than likely – he or she has these train sets and toys already. Chances are, if the birthday child likes trains, he or she will also like other types of transportation, so vehicles, planes, pretend play houses and people will make a nice addition to an existing train set.

Storybook classics, like The Little Engine that Could, and newer stories like The Polar Express book or movie, as well as products featuring The Busy Little Engine are a few more gift ideas. For an advanced train enthusiast, you might want to purchase an electric model train set or a difficult train puzzle. Finally, introduce your birthday boy or girl to Mexican Train Dominos with a special boxed set, or give the gift of a real ticket for a real trip on a real train. There’s a ton of train stuff out there, you just have to find the perfect gift for your special train lover!

]]> http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-gifts/feed/ 0 Train Birthday Cake http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-birthday-cake/ http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-birthday-cake/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:01:33 +0000 Train Conductor http://trainpartysupplies.net/?p=28 train cake pan

Traditional Train Cake
A traditional cake with several train cars or one large engine is an easy way to capitalize on the train theme; there are plenty of train-shaped cake pans available. Simply bake the cake in one of the cake pans and ice according to your favorite train color. If you're doing a Thomas The Train theme then a blue engine or green engine would be good choices. If you're doing a traditional train theme the red might be the best color.

Brownie Train Cake
train cake
But, if you are looking for a different approach, you might surprise your guests with a brownie train cake. Make the brownies or cereal treats, cut them into rectangles, stack them, and frost or ice them with your favorite train car colors. Build a Twizzler train track on a piece of poster board, arrange the train cars on the tracks and add a few toy people, some Lego structures, a few fake trees, or a blue Jello lake. With a little creativity, you have a fabulous, original train cake!

Train Cupcake
An altenative to a Train cake is to create train themed cupcakes. Simply get bake a batch of cupcakes and ice according to your normal recipe. Then apply cupcake image toppers which are placed on the cupcakes quite simply. Then each cupcake will be specifically tailored to your train theme! We have listed a few cupcake toppers below.

]]> http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-birthday-cake/feed/ 0 Train Party Food http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-food/ http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-food/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:01:09 +0000 Train Conductor http://trainpartysupplies.net/?p=26 train plates
An important part of any party is the food. What you serve really depends upon what time the party is on till. Are you serving lunch or dinner? Either way, don’t forget to provide your guests with some fabulous train party food at this celebration. Remember, that you will want to use paper plates and napkins to save on the clean-up time later. If you really want to make an impression on the theme then get Train themed paper plates and napkins. You can often save money by buying a Train Party Pack which includes decorations and tableware!

Sandwich Train
Build a sub sandwich train with a sub sandwich bun and favorite cold cut toppings like meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato. Cut the sub into slider sized sandwiches, add a few Ritz cracker wheels and display the sandwich on a platter; use some toothpicks to link the train cars together. For a variation, build a pizza sub with sauce, cheese and pepperoni and display it the same way. Be sure to offer a variety of meat and non-meat selections for your vegetarian guests and finicky eaters.

Choo-choo Cheese Dish
For a hot food choice, make your own choo-choo and cheese dish (like macaroni and cheese, but with choo choo wheel pasta). Cook the pasta according to the package, mix with Velveeta cheese and any other kind of shredded cheese you like. Add some hot dog circle slices to make it wheely fun for young guests. Choo-choo wheels can be used in any type of cold pasta salad as well – just add grape tomatoes, cheese chunks, diced cucumber, and your favorite salad dressing.

Drinks
To drink, children might enjoy a themed drink like toot-toot beer (rootbeer) floats, or toot-toot fruit drink boxes. For a healthier option, try milk Chug individual sized shakes. Chug-a-chug-a, choo-choo - Yum!

]]> http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-food/feed/ 0 Train Party Decorations http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-decorations/ http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-decorations/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:00:43 +0000 Train Conductor http://trainpartysupplies.net/?p=24 train mylar balloons
To host any sort of party, you will need the basic party supplies and decorations to set the stage. You’ll need plates, cups, napkins, and silverware, and finding train-themed party supplies will not be difficult. There are a variety of party stores and online sites that carry train supplies, including Thomas the Tank Engine supplies, or any color or pattern you might want. We recommend Celebrate Express as they have the largest selection of party themes online for a reasonable price.

For a clever variation on the traditional, consider using various colored bandannas in place of party napkins, or display the bandanas as your tablecloth. If you choose a plain colored tablecloth rather than a train themed tablecloth, decorate it with some train stickers, or let guests draw on the tablecloth with crayons or markers.

Train Station Ticket Counter
For a bit of themed fun, decorate the front door of your house like a train station ticket counter, where your birthday host will collect each guest’s ticket upon entry which you could include in the invitations. Show guests the pathway to the party inside with train tracks on the floor made from black electrical tape.

Train Photo Booth
Set up a train photo opportunity in your home or yard. Let children get in a look-alike train car, put on an engineer’s cap, and take a digital picture. Send the picture memory to your guest with your thank-you card. Whatever you decide to use for your train party, don’t forget some mylar balloons, regular balloons and streamers!

]]> http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-decorations/feed/ 0 Train Party Favors http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-favors/ http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-favors/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:00:05 +0000 Train Conductor http://trainpartysupplies.net/?p=22 thomas the engine party favors Choo Choo! Train party favors can be tasty, loud, fun, or fast. Whistles, bandanas, and engineer hats are classic choices for train party favors, but if you want to get a bit more creative, think about a few other ways to carry on your train theme. We have listed a pre-made easy party favor and a few ideas for homemade party favors.

Ready-made Party Favors
A ready-made party favor is much less work and time-consuming then building your own party favors. As well, if your child loves Thomas the train then you will be able to get specific Thomas the train party favors. The train party favors listed here include Thomas the Tank Engine sticker sheet and Thomas the Tank Engine blowout, plus flashing train keychain, mini train whistle, mini activity book and box of 4 crayons. In addition this all comes in a cool cardboard caboose. People who have bought this train party favors have said, "The kids at the party loved the cabbose thank yous....what a hit." and "The contents were perfect for the 4-year-olds. No candy, which I liked. Cute presentation."

Homemade Party Favors
If you are creating your own homemade party favors have no worries they can be easy too! You will need a bag or box to put the favors in. We recommend the empty train boxes as the kids really enjoy those. Then simply find items that you think the kids will like, which is rather simple. You could pack them with train sounding treats of your own with a bag of Toot-sie rolls or Toot-sie pops, some bubble gum for a choo-choo (chew-chew) treat, or a train car box of animal crackers. Cookies, cupcakes, and fruit snacks are always a hit with younger children, too.
For non-edible options, you can find trains on just about anything, including stickers, pencils, pencil toppers, erasers, blowouts, mini train books, train whistle, folders, books, and even a conductors hat!

Remember, the most important thing is to plan ahead with your party favors whether you're buying a pre-made kit or making them yourself. You don't want to get stuck in a situation where you're at Walmart picking out party favors for a party the next day. We recommend planning a ways in advance and make it a project for you and the birthday boy or girl.

]]> http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-favors/feed/ 0 Train Party Games http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-games/ http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-games/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:59:44 +0000 Train Conductor http://trainpartysupplies.net/?p=19 train activity door sign
Keep your party guests moving on the right track with a few easy and fun games that can be customized to fit any age. Plan ahead and have everything ready so your games begin and end smoothly. Try these games or think of your own.

Caboose Balloon PopAll you need for this game is a balloon for each player. Have guests race to pop their own balloon - the last player to pop his or her balloon is the “caboose on the loose.” There is one trick to the game though - each player must only use his or her “caboose” (rear end) to pop the balloon. Guests can sit on it, smash it against the wall, or pop it any other way they choose. This game is sure to generate giggles! Maybe the winner gets to hit the pinata first!

Train Pinata
train pinata
A pinata is a sure way to get the kids excited. The idea of hitting something and candy falls out is a great idea to any kid (or the author of of this website!). There are plenty of different pinata's but a perfect pinata for a train party is a Train Pinata.

Follow the Engine
For a simple train version of the popular Follow the Leader, play this game at any time during the party. Choose a guest as the engine, and encourage other guests to follow the engine and mimic what the engine does. The engine can jump up and down; make noise, turn and spin, or whatever he or she chooses. Allow each guest to be the engine for a short time, and encourage each engine to move in silly and different ways.

What’s in My Train Car?
Play this guessing game periodically throughout the party – guests can win prizes if they guess correctly.

  • Purchase a few small gift boxes or collect a few different sized boxes (e.g., from toothpaste, crackers, small shoes, or cookies) from around your home. It is ideal to have one prize per guest so that everyone wins, but it is not necessary.
  • Place a prize inside each box (e.g., an engineer’s hat, silly putty, a candy bar, a small toy, or a bag of fruit snacks), then cover the boxes with decorative paper and glue on some construction paper train wheels.
  • Write a list of clues for the game, using popular items that children will recognize (see some clue suggestions below).
  • At various times throughout the party, pick a wrapped train car and read a clue. The child who guesses the answer correctly first wins that wrapped train car prize.

A few easy clue suggestions for younger children:
What’s in My Train Car? It’s a kind of animal that’s big and gray with a long, long trunk. What is it? (elephant)
What’s in My Train Car? It’s something that you can eat, it’s a favorite snack, it’s white, it’s buttery, it’s salty, and it goes “POP”. What is it? (popcorn)
What’s in My Train Car? It’s something round and orange, and you can throw it thorough a hoop to make two points! What is it? (basketball)

Other train activity ideas could include pin the whistle on the engine or a Train Activity Doorsign.

]]> http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-games/feed/ 0 Train Party Music and Games http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-music/ http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-music/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:59:12 +0000 Train Conductor http://trainpartysupplies.net/?p=17 train whistle
You can hear a train a mile away! Trains make loud sounds – whistles, horns, clacking on the track - so building sound activities and games into your party is a must. Children love to make noise, so provide several different musical items for guests to have their own train band. You can include shakers (maracas), whistles, drums, tambourines, bells, and anything else you choose. If you don’t want to purchase musical instruments make your own.

Homemade Music-makers
Create your own homemade music-makers:
Drum: make a drum with a cardboard box and a wooden spoon;
Shaker: put some popcorn kernels in an empty water bottle for a shaker;
Bell:or tap an empty soup can with a spoon for a bell.

Give each child some type of noise-maker (or encourage children to make woo-woo and chug-chug sounds). Then get ready, get set, go - the louder, the better!

Thomas the Train DVD
If the theme of the party is all about Thomas the Train then putting on a DVD of the show playing in the background is always a good idea. The kids might like to sit and watch the show or just know it's on in the background.

Musical Train Cars
Or, play a game of Musical Train Cars with some train themed music. There are a few different ways to set up this game, depending on your space and the weather: Use sidewalk chalk to draw some rectangle train cars on the driveway; use colored construction paper covered with contact paper to make train cars on a wood or tile surface; or use colorful tape to make rectangles on a carpeted surface. When the music starts, children walk or jump to the next train car. When the music stops, the person without a train car is out. Remove a train car, and continue play until the last engineer standing is the winner!

Try these train songs for Musical Train Cars or for your own train dance party:
C’mon ‘N Ride the Train - Quad City DJ’s
Trans-Europe Express - Kraftwerk
Locomotion - Kylie Minogue or Grand Funk Railroad
Love Train - The O’Jays
Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller
Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight & the Pips
Last Train to Clarkesville - The Monkees
Downtown Train - Rod Stewart
I’ve Been Working on the Railroad - Various artists

Crank it up and get those guests moving!

]]> http://trainpartysupplies.net/train-party-music/feed/ 0