Hod Rod Birthday Party- Handmade Ideas

Many of you already know my family loves anything with big wheels and a big engine- so it's no surprise that my son S wanted to celebrate his 6th birthday with in hot rodding fashion. We held the party at our local Gatti's Pizza (think arcade/buffet) and everyone had a great time! There weren't a whole lot of hot rod/drag strip birthday ideas so I wanted to share some of the little handmade accents that helped make our party a success.

all applique designs are my own- © TrashN2Tees

Here we are in the planning stages of S's special birthday tshirt- I really wanted to give it a funky edge and liked the striped grill. I run pretty much any new car or truck designs by Mr. TNT... even though I don't always like what he has to say he helps me to keep the designs authentic. He liked the car but made the suggestion to remove the bumper and black out the grill. Many times muscle cars and dragsters black out the grill for various reason- some believe it makes the car more intimidating. I think it probably had something to do with running from the cops after a race and camouflaging into a dark alley when you make your great escape.

The table had been set up to let the kids play and explore different types of fast cars and muscle cars from the 1960's as they arrived. We brought along Hotwheels cars from our own personal collection and I picked up a few packages of little pit crew (think green army men with gas cans & wrenches) sprinkled through out the room. A few books were set out as well including Cars of the 1970's- they were intended for the kids but I found the grown up guys hogging them.

The room was decorated using a simple checkered flag pennants and the handmade cupcakes sat on our lazy susan that had a spiffy make over. (You can see it in the background of the previous picture) The car gummies and cupcake flag were ordered from Oriental Trading Company.

Upon arrival all we handed out "Pit Passes" that were personalized for each of our guests who RSVP'd using a photograph that their mom or dads sent to me via email. The passes were placed in plastic sleeves and hung on checkered flag lanyards. After the party each everyone got a $5 'credit card' to enjoy games in the arcade- and it was really important to me that they get a unique and practical party favor- alas the checkered flag wallets! They're perfect for Yu-gi-oh cards, a few hard earned allowance dollars, and business cards from the local RC hobby shop (ask me how I know?) If you're looking for a simple boys wallet tutorial- I found this one from Noodlehead.

Of course we didn't want to leave out the little brother- he got a special race themed personalized Trashn2Tees tshirt and hot rod necklace from 3VsKidsJewels on Etsy. It was fun to take a theme we really enjoy and run with it- from designing the cupcakes and tshirts to sewing over 10 wallets in the middle of my holiday rush. Next year birthday crafting will take place in September! Everything came together really well and I know his birthday party was a success. Please let me know if you have any questions- I would be happy to answer them.

All applique designs are Trashn2Tees original work made using reclaimed materials, if you are interested in placing a custom order with TNT you can find more information right here Past designs can be found on my Flickr- Please read content & disclaimers