This transportation inspired birthday with Trains, Airplanes and Pancakes was originally hosted by Swish Designs.
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Everything is so well coordinated, from the boarding pass invitation to the adorable airplane cupcake wraps.
Enjoy the party….
My son’s 3rd birthday party was a huge success – all of the details came together beautifully and we had a great time.
You may remember that he wanted a pancake party…and a train party…and a fire truck party….and an airplane party…and ..and…and! 
I ended up going with a transportation theme and I think it turned out pretty darn good!
The sign that I created and printed through Vistaprint that greeted the guests as they walked to the house
The guest check in/itinerary pick up spot
The itineraries – after completing each station, the guest got a stamp.
The favor bags (at baggage claim)
Baggage Claim
The banner I created
Station 1: Make a fruit loop necklace. This worked great as it gave the kids something to do right when they got to the house…and the fruit loops doubled as a snack until breakfast was served.
Station 2: Make a door “hangar”. These were foam door hangars and stickers from the dollar store – super easy and a big hit. I think when it was all said and done Ryan made 3 of them and still asks to make one from time to time.
The train cake made with the train pan from Williams-Sonoma. The first time I used the pan, every.single.car.stuck to the pan. I was in tears and felt hopeless! I called my friend that I borrowed the pan from to see what I did wrong and she gave me a few suggestions (umm – can you say “Pam baking spray”? Best.stuff.ever.seriously!). The next one turned out perfect. Thank goodness my mom was there to help me decorate it – being almost 7 months pregnant and getting ready for a birthday party can be exhausting (and emotional!)
Station 3: Stick the butter on the pancake – like pin the tail on the donkey. The kids had fun! I had Staples print this on their big plotter. I ended up doing black and white because they wanted $32 for the color version (the black and white version was $2). I printed “butters” out on my HP photojet.
My son making his necklace.
The eating area and the cupcakes that we also had.
The cupcake wraps – designed by moi
The kids playing the game.
I have to admit that although I stressed in the very beginning about how this was all going to come together, it worked out perfectly. The kids had fun…the stations were a hit…and it was probably one of the easiest parties I’ve hosted!
I spent the week before making pancakes: blueberry, buttermilk, and chocolate chip. I also had train-shaped pancake molds from Williams Sonoma that I used for some of the buttermilk pancakes. Everything was flash frozen and put in the freezer until 30 minutes before the party. I placed them all on cookie sheets for about 20 minutes at 250 and they were ready to go. I also cooked the sausages and muffins the day before and popped the sausages in the oven as well. After 30 minutes of partying, the food was set out and we were ready to eat. I didn’t remember to take any pics of the pancakes or the food but here’s the kitchen table all set and ready to go.
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The Zune concentrates on being a Portable Media Player. Not a web browser. Not a game machine. Maybe in the future it’ll do even better in those areas, but for now it’s a fantastic way to organize and listen to your music and videos, and is without peer in that regard. The iPod’s strengths are its web browsing and apps. If those sound more compelling, perhaps it is your best choice.
Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.
Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.
I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)
Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.
The new Zune browser is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPod’s. It works well, but isn’t as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you occasionally plan on using the web browser that’s not an issue, but if you’re planning to browse the web alot from your PMP then the iPod’s larger screen and better browser may be important.
Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.