A Fireman Party

For Patrick's Third Birthday, it was obvious that we would be having a Fire Fighter's Party!
Like most events in our house, I start planning at least six months in advance, as we never know what is going to pop up on our lives. Also, as I am learning & using more of eBay & online shopping, prior planning means we are not panicking about our packages arriving in time for the party!
So the biggest decisions we always have to make in regards to the boys birthday parties is WHO to invite and WHERE will we have the party. We decided on a rough number of 20 little fire fighters. The event would take place at our home, as we realised that a lot of the kids (2-4 year olds) would be toilet training. Easy decisions!!!

My first big purchase for the party was the "lolly bags". I absolutely fell in love with these Fire Truck Goody Boxes. I filled them with appropriately themed mini-books, red watches & 3-packs of vehicles, all $1 each from Big W. I also bought Fire Truck temporary tattoos and a few lollypops for each box.
Since my boys are constantly wearing their costumes at home, I decided that they could have a new Fireman's Costume each for party day, which I ordered online.

Remembering that we were inviting young families, we planned the party for 10.00am on a Saturday morning. This would give the kids a chance to head home for an afternoon nap. However, I know the mums would all want a coffee on arrival so my first priority was setting up the "Mummy Station". I am glad my everyday kitchen items matched the colour scheme. The small urn is a purchase I made about 18 months ago. It was about $40 from K-Mart... and we use it at least six times a year, maybe more! Great buy!!!

Although Patrick's first love is Fire Trucks, his second love is for Penguins, so I made sure they were represented at his party. This part of the party is all set up in our double garage. I bought a roll of red plastic table cloth to decorate one corner of the garage. I then had three molded tressel tables with black plastic tablecloths for all the food, presents, goody boxes, etc. The "Stick the Hat on the Fire Dog" poster was from Spotlight. 

I borrowed the Kids Molded Plastic Bench Sets from a friend. I thought these would be great for the kids to get in and out of, and sturdy enough to avoid accidents. As I ended up only having 18 kids invited, I was able to fit the places perfectly onto three tables. The plates, bowls, cups & cutlery were from Ikea. These were sets of six different colours for $1.95. SO CHEAP!!! I separated all the sets as I didn't need the blue, green & purple ones for the party. As you can see I only set the table with plates as we served finger food, with juice boxes & water bottles (in the esky). The cups were on standby, while the bowls and cutlery were waiting for cake!

Our entertainment for the day was provided by Fireman Kevin from Fire Engine Fun. He came out in his 1960 Bedford Fire Engine. The kids (and parents) all loved going for rides on the truck and shooting the fire hose at the target, and Patrick received a certificate!!! I would totally recommend booking Fireman Kevin for your own party!

As soon as we waved goodbye to the Fire Truck, it was time to eat! We had lots of red lollies, jelly and toffees, as well as red fruit kebabs with cherries, watermelon & strawberries. Below are the toffee apples I made. I spooned the apple balls with a melon baller. This meant that kids could try toffee without having to eat an entire toffee apple!

We also ate "fire hoses" which were mini Vegemite scrolls and "fire dogs" which were dinner rolls with little red sausages. There was also party pies, sausage rolls and ham & cheese sandwiches. But all this eating was interrupted by a very unexpected surprise visit from...

... a bush fire truck and a little normal fire truck and a big normal fire truck... from MALAGA FIRE STATION!!! AMAZING!

I had previously written a letter to our three local fire stations and told them that we were having a party... but as I was organised so far in advance... I had completely forgotten about the letters. Well, then firemen didn't... and the crews on duty that day worked it all out and sent a fabulous bunch of firemen & women... lights flashing, sirens blaring!!!

The whole day was a HUGE success... obviously Patrick's feet were sore after his big morning as a fire fighter... but he didn't sleep that afternoon... he had to open all his presents!!!