How to Throw an Awesome Kids Truck Party

Caution. Party Ahead! Truck themed parties are ideal for little ones who enjoy playing outdoors and getting their hands dirty with sand, rocks, dirt and even mud. When planning a kids vehicle party, the toys your child enjoys the most can be a great source of inspiration for the event from beginning to end.

Consider these easy, fun and festive truck party ideas, especially if you have a toddler at home. We promise everybody will dump everything to attend.

Dump Truck Invitation

Set the tone for the occasion with a dump truck invitation. The invitation should reflect the style of your party, so be sure to use it as inspiration to develop a unique party concept with a playful table for the kids, eye-catching decor ideas and a creative food menu for your guests.

Colorful Balloon Backdrop

Creating a balloon backdrop will instantly transform your space into a party zone. Incorporating solid and polka dot balloons in different colors can be a great departure from the usual yellow and black color palette that you may see at truck parties. A Party Ahead banner, as well as truck and caution sign decorations that can be hung from the balloon garland are great additions to establish the theme.

Kids Tablescape

Mix and match colorful tableware to create a festive table for the kids. To bring the theme to life, layer themed party supplies in different sizes and colors such as fun napkins and straws, decorative caution tape, and more.

Birthday Cake

Spruce up a store bought cake using rock candies (pebbles), cookie crumbs (dirt) and cereal balls (boulders) to recreate a construction site. Add fun printable toppers to complete the look.

Dig In Snack Station

Display chocolate donuts (spare tires), pretzel sticks (nails), Whoppers (boulders), Cheerios (nuts and bolts), wafers (timber), and potato chips (wood chips) in separate bowls to create a “dig in” snack station for your little truck lovers.

Temporary Tattoos

Assign an adult to be in charge of a Tattoo Station and treat the kids to truck inspired temporary tattoos. All you need to do is add water. Don’t forget to add a few extra tattoos to their goodie bags for them to take home too.

Construction Dirt Cups

Turn ordinary snack pudding cups into something more appealing. Simply top pudding cups with cookie crumbs, chocolate covered raisins and colorful chocolate coated pieces for an effortless dessert idea.

Toy Truck Play Time

Keep the little guests entertained by inviting them to an interactive toy truck play time. The VTech® Drop & Go Dump Truck™ will keep the fun going as the kids practice their numbers, colors, and shapes, all while improving their motor skills in a fun way.

Safety Hat Popcorn Bowl

Take your popcorn to the next level by serving it in plastic safety hats. Before serving, make sure the hats have been washed with soap and hot water, and make snack cups, napkins and scoops available for easy serving.

DIY Traffic Cone Party Hats

Create traffic cone party hats the kids will love.

Supplies Needed:

• Orange cardstock

• Party hat template

• Hot glue or tape

• Elastic or cord

• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Trace the party hat template onto orange cardstock. Cut out the hat template.

2. Glue the party hat ends using the hot glue or tape to form a cone.

3. Cut cardstock in to a 6x6 square. Attach the square to the party hat using the hot glue.

4. Punch a hole on each side of the 6x6 square. Insert the elastic and tie a knot on both ends of the elastic.

Truck Tire Tracks Craft

Attach small rectangular pieces of adhesive foam paper to a lint roller. Have a “tire” made out of black cardstock for the kids to create truck tracks using washable paint. It’s the perfect easy craft for active toddlers who could use some quiet time.

Loads of Fun Party Favors

Send the special guests home with sweet party favors. Simply print this truck thank you card, attach two mini chocolate donuts to the tires using decorating icing, allow the icing to dry, and then place the cards into a clear goodie bag.

I hope you enjoyed these vehicle party ideas!

Happy Planning!

Concept and Styling: Andressa Hara of Twinkle Twinkle Little Party

Andressa is the founder and creative force behind Twinkle Twinkle Little Party, a place for all things DIY and party related. Andressa loves inspiring other moms to celebrate at home and create special memories with their kids through crafting, baking and planning the sweetest parties. Connect with Andressa on Instagram.

VALENTINE’S DAY Gifts for Kids

If you’re shopping for some little Valentines this year, check out this educational, yet playful, gift guide! I pulled together 5 really cool VTech toy ideas to make this Valentine’s Day extra special.

For us, Valentine’s Day is celebrated by the whole family! We typically start off the day with a Valentine’s themed breakfast and present the kids with a “Love Gift” to enjoy! These VTech® toy ideas also serve as fun winter boredom busters and will help to entertain the kiddos through the next few months of winter (I need all the advantages I can get living in Wisconsin where the winters are long). VTech® is a world leader in age-appropriate and developmental stage-based electronic learning products for kiddos. I love toys that are both educational and fun! Let’s check out these VDay gift ideas.

VALENTINE’S DAY GIFTS FOR KIDS

These 5 VTech® gift ideas will make your little one smile this Valentine’s Day (Levi couldn’t wait for me to get his VTech® Drill & Learn Toolbox™ out of the package!). Go ahead and check off “entertainment for the kids” from your holiday to-do list.

Bonus: you’ll now have time to double check those dinner reservations or order that heart-shaped pizza for you and your significant other – because let’s be real, Valentine’s Day isn’t allll about the kiddos ;)

1. VTech® Sort & Recycle Ride-On Truck™ (ages 1.5 – 3 years old) – My favorite thing about this toy is that it’s made using 90% reclaimed plastic. Yay, for our landfills! Of course, I also love that it teaches the importance of recycling while reinforcing shape recognition, sorting, and clean-up! The kids can even practice the concept of recycling by inserting a block into a bin to add different sound effects that make the included melodies sound new! How creative is that?

2. VTech® Stroll & Discover Activity Walker™ (ages 9 - 36 months) – With a baby on the way, I’m tucking away this activity walker for my little love bug. As a mama of two, I know how fast those first few months fly by! The easy-to-remove activity panel will be great for floor play. There are light-up piano keys that introduce colors and numbers, spinning gears, friendly animals, and shape sorting pieces. As she grows, I can attach the activity panel to the 2-speed walker… She’ll be cruising before I know it. For now though, I’m soaking in all the baby kicks inside my growing belly.

3. VTech® Drill & Learn Toolbox™ (ages 2 - 5 years old) – Levi couldn’t wait to get his hands on this learning toolbox! I added some ribbon and a Valentine’s name tag to make it extra special for his Valentine’s Day gift. This toddler-friendly toolbox is perfect for role-play fun with the included electronic fix-it tray, working toy drill (his favorite part), hammer, wrench, nails and screws. He loves watching his daddy fix things around the house, and now he can “help” too. With cheerful songs, light-up buttons, and real tool sounds this toy is a winner!

4. VTech® Write & Learn Creative Center™ (ages 3- 6 years old) – Both my kids have been enjoying this super cool VTech® Write & Learn Creative Center™. Upon turning it on, it prompts parents to enter the child’s name. It then goes on to show your kiddo how to write their name on the board! The animated demonstrations shown on the screen help preschoolers follow along to learn how to write uppercase and lowercase letters. There are even drawing activities, cheerful music, and stencils and stamps for extra creativity! Highly recommend this one as a Love Gift for your little Valentine.

5. VTech® Drop & Go Dump Truck™ - (ages 6 - 36 months) – The final educational Valentine’s Day gift for kids I want to highlight is this interactive VTech® Drop & Go Dump Truck™. It includes three special buttons that play melodies, phrases and teach tools and colors. I love that the truck counts the rocks as your kiddo drops each one into the dump bucket. Learning numbers and counting from the very beginning is an awesome way to play.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! I hope you were inspired by this VTech® educational gift guide for kids. For other motherhood ideas follow along at SUGAR MAPLE notes or on Instagram @SUGARMAPLEnotes. Let’s be friends! - xoxo Sarah

Sarah is the creator behind SUGAR MAPLE notes – a lifestyle blog about home, family and motherhood. She’s a mom of two imaginative kiddos, Levi and Evelyn (And a baby girl on the way!). Grab a cup of coffee because Sarah is sure to have one in her hands and come feel at home with her and her family as they make everyday moments into something special!

Tips on how to teach children about the importance of recycling and our environment

We can no longer pretend to ignore the situation that the earth is in anymore. Environmental risks have made it harder for the earth to survive and now it's time for us to start taking care of the planet. As we raise the next generation, we need to understand why it's so essential to teach our kids to take careof the environment. A healthy planet is after all going to make their future brighter, better and happier. It's time for each one of us to stop simply trying to do something and instead take necessary steps to help our kids learn about how to protect the environment. In this article, let's talk about some tips that will help you teach your kids to recycle and save the environment. 1. Kids learn quickly by watching what you do. You can't teach your kids about anything unless you, yourself, are passionate about that topic or want to learn more about it. Your kids will find it easier to learn about the importance of the environment once they see their parents doing the same. Whether you make an effort to recycle as much as possible, or you plant more trees around the house, your kids are going to notice every little thing. Your constant behavior is going to help them feel motivated or at least curious about saving the planet through their actions. Thus, it's definitely a step in the right direction if you start caring for nature first.

2. Books are the best helpers. Books about the environment might seem boring sometimes, but they are one of the best resources to learn about how to take care of nature as part of your daily routine. Plus, most kids tend to love books in general. You can find several kid-friendly books online as well as in-stores that can help you teach your kids about the environment. These books are sometimes filled with images as kids often learn quickly through visual tools. You can also find several online videos and classes that help them learn about recycling with practical examples and situations. Books can make your task a lot less difficult by helping you teach your kids about the importance of the environment in a way that they will surely understand a bit quicker.

3. Educational toys make the entire process a lot more funfor kids of any age.

If you have toddlers or young kids, you might be worried about them not really grasping difficult concepts, like specific environmental issues. But you don't have to start them with difficult topics to learn about the importance of the environment. And that is exactly when buying educational toys can come in handy - these days, you can find toys that teach your kids to care about the environment and animals in a subtle way. These toys can also help thembecome more interested in saving the planet and help them find ways to become friendlier with nature and its other components. Therefore, you can also try to find educational toys that will help your kids learn about the environment.

Your kids are never too young to start learning about recycling. The VTech® Sort & Recycle Ride-On Truck™ is a great way to teach kids ages 1.5 to 3 years old about the importance of recycling in a funway. This will help to establish good lifelong habits while they are still young. Here are some fun facts about this VTech® Ride-On Truck:

• This recycling truck is made from plastic that is 90% reclaimed; using reclaimed plastic means less waste goes into landfills. Not only are kids able to play with this toy, but they are also already doing their part by using a toy that is good for the environment.

• Beginner recyclers will love hopping on this lean, green recycling machine and driving around while learning about recycling things like plastic and reusing everyday objects. There are so many fun facts that teach them all about recycling.
  

• Load up the red heart, yellow hexagon and blue circle play pieces that represent plastic, metal andpaper. Practice makes perfect. They can learn from a young age how to correctly recycle.
  

• Sort items into the correct bins, just like at home. Kids love being like mom and dad and learning to sort helps them to follow your example.
  

• Kids can also explore ways to repurpose everyday items or take a quiz to reinforce what they’re learning. My kids loved taking the quizzes and learning about new ways to recycle that they never thought of.
  

• Reuse and remix the included melodies by inserting a block into a bin, to add sound effects thatmake each melody sound new. The music and melodies make it so much fun for kids to play along. You can learn more about VTech®’s eco-friendly products here:https://www.vtechkids.com/cares

4. Start meaningful conversations about this with your children. Talking about things will help you understand how easy or difficult it's going to be for you to make your child interested in a topic, like taking care of the environment. Plus, it also makes it easier for kids to come and ask you a question in case there is something they don't really understand on their own. Make sure that you talk to your kids regularly about the importance of the environment and why you are sopassionate about this topic. Ask them what else you can do to help them so that they can also find interest in the same topic. Solve their doubts frequently and involve them when you are doing something that can potentially help nature. This continuous conversation will bring you all closer, and together, you can learn about the environment.

5. Set goals that are doable for both you and your children.

Setting goals is another proven way to encourage your child to help the environment. But you have to ensure that you set goals your kids can actually achieve with constant hard work. These goals don't have to be anything extraordinary - they can be something simple like wasting less foodaround the house, making use of the dry and wet waste cans wisely, or anything like that. These goals are easy for kids to understand and achieve with a little bit of help and guidance from their parents. 6. Find fun games to make this process exciting for children. Kids adore playing games with their parents - they are always trying get their parents to play with them throughout the day. Games can thus be one of the ways in which you can teach your kids to respect and care for the environment. You can always create your own games based on what you think your kids will enjoy. Otherwise, theinternet is there to help you find games that teach about the environment with age-appropriate activities.You can play these games once in a while instead of letting your kids use electronics, and therefore practice caring for the environment around the house. 7. The more you practice, the better your kids will learn to carefor nature.

There is no denying that this is not a one-day task for you or your kids - it will probably take months to getinto the habit of protecting the environment in any way possible. And at times, your small efforts might feel like they are not making any impact. But you and your children have to believe that it's all for the future - if you learn about the importance of the environment now and start caring for it, the future will benefit from it. With a lot of practice, you will surely start to see the impacts of your daily efforts and know that you are doing something right. So, keep practicing and teaching your kids to help the environment.

Conclusion:

In this article, we talked about some ways to help your kids understand the importance of caring for the environment and recycling process. Right now, is probably the best time for you to start your family’s journey towards becoming more sustainable and more loving towards mother nature.

We hope that these tips help you get your kids on-board with this journey Then you can also start becoming more environmentally friendly along with your kids as well!