Twin Boy Party: Lightning Vs. Thomas

Twin Boy Party

6 years home from the NICU. No re-admittance. Normal development. Time to celebrate with a Twin Boy Party…or as we like to call it a NICUversary!

Since the twins birth was traumatic for me, I’m more in the mood to celebrate their homecoming than their actual birth. The twins certainly don’t mind, since they get double the presents each year.

This was the first year the boys really had their own ideas about what they wanted their NICUversary to be all about. In the past, I’ve planned a Hungry Caterpillar party, a Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 party, a Superman Party, and a Zoo-themed party.

So, what do you do when you have two 6-year-olds with very different opinions on how they want to celebrate?

You just go with it!

I combined Mr. P’s love of trains with Mr. C’s love of cars for a twin boy party to remember. These ideas are not specific for twins, but can be used for anyone that loves both trains and cars.

Lightning Vs. Thomas

In case you don’t have little boys of your own, the most loved and played with toys in our house are cars and trains.

For trains, it’s all about Thomas the Train. He’s that little blue engine with tons of friends and a catchy theme song. There are Thomas shows, toys, clothing, bedding, etc. You want it, they make it.

Our house is filled with motorized trains, plastic tracks, wooden trains, and wooden tracks.

Then, there are the cars.

Sure, Matchbox or Hot Wheels are OK. The real deal is Lightning McQueen and his crew.

With three big-screen movies made by Disney, you can imagine the amount of Cars products available just about everywhere.

The Decor

So, with no shortage of both Thomas and Lightning products already in our house to decorate our backyard, I got to work on some of my own creations for the finishing touches.

I found both red and blue beach balls, and used sticky foam paper to make faces on them. Balloons make me too nervous at kids’ parties. I then decorated each party hat with the guests’ names in stickers. I also made a few signs. One had the Thomas theme song, with a few changes, and the other was just traffic signs.

There were some adorable mini inflatable tires, and we set up traffic cones to direct people to the party. I didn’t manage to get pictures, but I’ve included my Amazon affiliate links, so you can get the idea. Simply click-through the pictures, and you’ll be taken to the product. There is no additional cost to you, and I may make a small commission if you make a purchase.

I also made a sign with each boys’ name for behind the food table.

While some may think it’s too much work, I can’t let a party go by without making some of my own craft/art projects. It’s something I enjoy doing, and I think it makes the party a little more personal.

We used the individual pictures that I made as autograph boards that the boys can keep as memories from the party.

The Gift Bags

While not everyone enjoys getting/giving gift bags at parties, I think all kids enjoy them. I try to get a few nice or useful things that don’t just go right into the trash after the party.

In the past, I’ve also made the actual bags useful or reusable. One year I used sand buckets, and another year I used canvas tote bags.

This year, I just used small paper bags that I then decorated.

This years’ bag included crayons, sunglasses, and a car.

Here are some supplies to make your own bags (Amazon Affiliate links):

Some super cute items you can add to your gift bags:

The Events

The signature event at every birthday or NICUversary at our house is the breaking of the pinata. This year, we went with a string pinata, so we didn’t have to worry about anyone getting hit with a large stick.

Originally, I planned on getting 2 pinatas, but:

1. It was too expensive
2. They ran out of the Thomas one before I could order (I’ve linked it for you just in case)
   

We also had a “make your own race car” station, followed by some races down a homemade ramp.

In addition to painting or coloring their own car with markers, they also decorated their own flags to cheer on the cars.

Buy your own here:

Again, we just did race cars, but I think it would also be super fun to paint train cars. (Good thing I couldn’t find these at the time, or we probably would have been doing both!)

Keeping kids busy and entertained at a party is hard work, but so worth it. Less time to find trouble or make a mess!

The Food

We keep food simple at all of our parties. Pizza, veggie tray, cheese/sausage tray, chips/salsa/hummus, and drinks. In the past I’ve got creative with naming our food or making food like out theme, but not this year.

Lazy? Maybe. Less stress? Definitely.

Plus, there was cake. That’s really all the kids care about anyways.

The End

And that was it!

We saved gifts for after the guest left. It gives the boys something to look forward to once the fun of the party is over.

Overall, the twins had a great time, I was able to celebrate them without being sad, and since we had beautiful weather and had the party in the backyard, clean-up was easy.

A twin boy party success!

So, tell me….do you do a themed party for your kids? Have you ever had a combined birthday party for more than one child?