How to host a car-themed birthday party

If you’ve got a birthday party to plan and the idea of all that cooking, decorating and cake making fills you with fear, this is the guide for you. If there’s one thing that car-crazy kids love more than a birthday party, it is, of course, a car-themed birthday party. Izzy from PassSmart.com knows this for a fact: she recently threw her 3-year-old son an unforgettable party and she’s here to share a few tips to help you to do the same.

Invitations

Get all their friends excited by getting the car theme out there from the get-go. You can buy car-themed invitations from any stationery or card shop, but if you have a bit of spare time, making your own is simple. Cut out a car shape using some card and a simple template, and stick on some black card wheels and a little driver. Write on your message, and they’re ready for handing out in the playground.

Get the kids involved by asking them to draw and stick the drivers on. They’ll have fun trying to draw their friends, and it’ll add a nice personal touch!

Decorations

There are so many different ways to decorate your house or party venue for a car-themed party. Use red, black and white if it’s a racing theme you’re going for, and consider hanging some flags from your front gate or draping them over the doors.

You could turn your table into a race track by using a white table cloth and placing strips of black material across the top. Paint some white or yellow lines to complete the look. Give each child their own toy car at their seat with a little name card next to it. This is a great, simple way to complete the look, and – as an added bonus – won’t cause any problems when it comes to where they want to sit!

If your child loves Disney Pixar’s Cars, there’s no shortage of Cars merchandise available. Buy some Cars paper plates, cups and napkins or let the kids choose their own character; let the birthday boy or girl choose who they want to be first of course!

Food

No party is complete without a selection of tasty treats. Make or buy some simple party classics like sausage rolls, mini pizzas and finger sandwiches. Inject your party spread with your car theme by making some wheels out of crackers, or steering wheels out of strawberry laces.

You can get really inventive with your car-themed foods, and if they don’t quite turn out how you expected, the kids won’t mind!

The cake

It’s up to you whether you want to take on the challenge of making a car-themed cake yourself, or whether you want to buy one in.

If you’re taking on the car cake challenge, however, you can be as creative as you like. You can use a mould to bake a car-shaped cake, or bake a regular round or square cake, and add the car decorations afterwards.

You could also get a photo of your little one, their favourite car, or – even better – them in their favourite car printed onto your cake. A quick search on the internet will help you find a company which does this near you.

Games

Coming up with ideas for car-themed party games is easy. In fact, pretty much every regular party game can be tailored to suit a car theme.

Try games such as pass the parcel with a brand new car toy as a gift, or change pin the tail on the donkey into pin the wheel on the car. Play musical chairs to the Cars soundtrack, or have a remote-controlled car race in the garden.

There really are so many inventive ways to turn your child’s birthday into a car-themed extravaganza. It doesn’t have to cost any more than a regular birthday, and you can be as creative as you like! Get the kids to help you with the decorating, and you’ll be ready to throw the perfect party in no time!

This guest post was written for Mummy Matters by Izzy Guarella from PassSmart.com; the company matching learner drivers with instructors in their area.