My son will be turning three at the end of July and really loves tractors.
My husband and I shopped around to find the perfect way to bring tractors into his party this year. This will be his first REAL party since we just adopted him this year and we wanted to make his birthday really special. Upon looking through websites, shopping at party stores, and talking to friends, we decided to give the party a John Deere theme. There are two great websites that helped us get what we needed. jdsales.com sells John Deere plates, napkins, cups, balloons, along with toys, etc. and deerefun.com sells a lot of John Deere toys. We decided to use the John Deere plates, napkins, and balloons from jdsales.com. I designed cups, goodie bags, and party hats by using a tractor print from Microsoft Windows 2000 clipart and gluing them on clear cups, and yellow party hats and gift bags after coloring them in to match the John Deere colors. I also am using some of the napkins as invitations. I am using gel pens (green to incorporate the John Deere colors) and am writing a small verse: "It's a John Deere kind of day... So tractor yourselves on over our way." then including: event, day, time, place, etc.. on the napkin invitation. I think that this will go over well with our family since some of them own John Deere tractors plus it'll be something different from the store bought invitations. Goodie bags will include a small John Deere tractor, balloon, and a larger cooshie tractor found on sale on one of the websites which will help incorporate the theme also. Being that our son is an only child and has only been in the country a few months, only a few children (cousins) will attend the party. These all range in age so the party games will mainly consist of playing in the yard using other toy tractors, sandbox, wagons, and building blocks to simulate tractors working in their natural environment. The children can race (one-on-one or in teams) to see who can create a garden area in the sandbox or create construction sites that we all see on a daily basis. I found a cake at Publix supermarket that is designed like a construction site and includes tractors which will fit the theme also. I will sit small toy tractors on the food table which will be covered in either a yellow or green table cloth while the other color will be used at the table where the children can eat - still incorporating the John Deere green and yellow colors. As a side note: I have been playing with the idea of trying to cut out a tractor design from cardboard to incorporate into the party somewhere - I just haven't decided yet whether I will or not. But can be another idea for others planning a party along these lines.