Grab your ticket and hop aboard for this fun-filled Thomas the Tank Engine birthday party, including party games, crafts, activities and party ideas for children who love Thomas and and all his friends from the Island of Sodor!

Train Party Invitations: 
Make a train ticket by hand or use your computer.
Text:
All Aboard...to celebrate ___'s Birthday!
Inside:
Name of "Station" Your Name
Please meet at Track # "street address"
Date:
Time:
RSVP: To the Station Master



Personalize It !
Personalized invitations, stickers and favors, make a great addition to every party theme and can be personalized with your child's name, the names of each of your guests, or a message!  personalize it here >>

Decorations: 
Bright blue and red will be your color scheme for balloons and streamers.
Draw tracks (with Chalk) up to the front door or entrance.
Place a sign on front door that says Welcome to The Island of Sodor!
Then add..."Birthday Station" or you can use the birthday child's name for the station and their age for the track number.

I love these Thomas wall decorations because you can easily use them for your party and then add them to your child's room when the party id over...
find them at Birthday In a Box >>

Cover your table with a white sheet or table cloth. 
Make train tracks with black construction paper or streamers running down the middle of the table. Place a toy Thomas on the track with a bouquet of balloons attached.

The Fun Begins...

Dress the birthday boy/girl like an Engineer and welcome each guest
with an engineers hat, bandana or whistle.

Thomas the Tank Engine Birthday Party Games and Activities
Select two or three activities.
Young children there should always have free play activities to start with.
This keeps them focused while all of the guests arrive. We call these Party Stations.  Examples are...A mat with wooden Brio type trains, Coo-choo coloring books and crayons Play-dough, Duplo Blocks and puzzles work well. You may want to have an adult at each station. Station time should last about 15-20 minutes and then on to the group games.

TRAIN CRAFTS FOR YOUR PARTY
Making Train Tracks
This is a painting project, so be sure you provide smocks and cover your work space. 

You'll Need:
Kids safe Paint
Construction paper - clue, green, red
Inexpensive toy trains (wood or plastic)
Empty and clean meat trays or baking sheets
Optional - cotton and glue

To make the project place a few trains in each paint color. Give the children their paper. Show them how to 
"drive" the train in the paint to get the wheels covered with paint. then "drive the train on the paper to make 
the tracks. Variation: Cut the paper into the shape of trains prior to painting to make a special train picture.
Glue the trains onto another piece of paper and add some steam using cotton and glue.

Train Cookies
Before the party make sugar cookies with a train cookie cutter. Provide bright colored frosting, M&M's and 
wood craft sticks for spreading. The children will enjoy 
designing their own train cookies.
TIP: place the frosting into muffin tins or small cups
so that there is enough for everyone to share.

PARTY GAMES
Travel the Tracks with Thomas and Friends
Use several packing boxes, one per child and decorate them to look like train cars. Play train music and have the kids line up to the command, "All Aboard". 
They will play follow the leader pretending to be a train. The leader will put on a special "Conductor" hat and be the leader or Sir Topham Hat (change leaders often). Make train noises and movements. 
Have obstacles set up for them to go around, through and under. Variation: An even simpler version of this games is to allow the children to use their train cars to go around the course without a leader.
When the game is over say 
"EVERYONE BACK TO THE STATION HOUSE!"
TIP: Use this method, help the children move from one area of the party to another...i.e. activities, presents/goodie bags and cake

Bean Bag Toss:
Make a train out of shoe boxes painted in various colors. Use cardboard or black paper for the train wheels.
Make a small 1-2 foot set of train tracks on the floor with tape. Set the box trains an appropriate distance from the train track. The children will take turns trying to toss three bean bags into the train boxes while standing on the train tracks. Remember with little ones
you should give a sticker or small reward to every player. Lots of clapping and cheering!

Musical "Train Cars": Play train music and have the kids climb into a car when the music stops. We don't recommend traditional competitive play for young train lovers...there should be enough boxes for all of the children.

Mr. Conductor Says 
Play like Simon Says - 
only switch to "Mr. Conductor Says"

Find Thomas and Friends
You need a lot of string or colored yarn and enough small trains for everyone. Fasten a string to each of the toy trains. Hide them in various places in a room, winding the string around furniture and banisters as you go. Each person is given the end of a string and must untangle it to find her prize. Each child who finishes can help the others find their prizes.

Piñata Time
A Thomas pull-string piñata is perfect for younger children. Fill with candy, stickers and plastic toy trains.

Story Time
End the party with a quiet story time, by reading a short
Thomas the Tank Engine Book.

Thomas the Tank Engine Party Favors:
Fill a bright blue bag or conductor's hat with a Golden or miniature book of the Thomas the Tank Engine Book, train  stickers, playdoh and a train cookie cutter and a choo- choo- whistle as well.

Thomas Party Supplies, decorations and favors from Birthday in a Box >>

Related links:
Kids Birthday Party Ideas
Party Supply Store
Party Games
Birthday Party Tips
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