Ian's Tool Party!

 For the past six months or so, Ian has been obsessed with tools -- especially Daddy's tape measure! "Tools" seemed like the perfect theme for Ian's four-year-old party. Since he was turning four, we told him he could invite four friends to come over. He chose Caleb B., Caleb L, Carson, and Christopher.

I found quite a few ideas for the party on Pinterest, though my BEST resource was my creative cousin, Becky. She emailed me a whole list of ideas for both Ian's and Ryan's parties. Her four-year-old twins had had a construction party for their birthday in February, so I was able to steal some of those ideas plus use many of the other ideas she shared. (Seriously, you'll have to check out some of her fabulous ideas sometime on her blog ....) "Tools" ended up being a really fun theme!

Decorations/Preparations

For the cake, Ian requested chocolate cake in the shape of a hammer! My mom found a coloring page of a hammer on line. Matt enlarged the image, and it was easy to use a knife to cut the frozen cake in the shape of a hammer. We iced the cake with icing dyed gray and blue and used green Twizzler Pull-and-Peels to be the "grips" on the hammer. So easy!

 It was fun to decorate according to the tools theme. We taped up inflatable hammers,

 balloons, a fun happy birthday sign Aunt Sarah made for us a few years ago, and the oversized tools that Grammy and Ian painted.

 Momma made a sign welcoming everyone to Ian's Fix-It Shop,

 and we set up the "fix-it shop" garage with tables, tools, and balloons.

 Home Depot was kind enough to donate some kids' projects to us, including these adorable bird houses. Grammy found mini hammers at Lowe's for each child, and we also put a square of sandpaper by each boy's work space.

 Here's the adorable birthday boy in an adorable shirt from Grammy and Papa. We were planning to cut off the long sleeves, but after hearing the weather forecast, we kept them. Who would've guessed that Texas would be chilly in May?!?

 Matt did an awesome job thinking through an obstacle course for the boys to complete.

 Matt was also in charge of hiding the toy tools in the front yard. He took Kim's suggestion to not be too easy very seriously. He found some really creative hiding spots for the tools, like this screwdriver right by the sprinkler head.

We were done with preparations in enough time for Ian to just stand by the window, eagerly anticipating his friends' arrival!

Activities

The first thing the boys did was build their bird houses. Kim had used wood glue to hold the pieces together so the boys didn't have to worry about that while hammering. They all took their task VERY seriously, and their looks of complete concentration while working were priceless! Though they each needed some assistance (mainly with removing nails that were hammered in crooked), the boys completed most of the project on their own. (On a side note: the really great pictures are taken by our friend, Martha, with her new camera! Thanks, Martha, for being our photographer!)

Caleb L. and Christopher

Caleb B.

I love this one of Ian and Daddy! So precious!

Carson

Grammy was a GREAT helper throughout the party!

 After the birdhouses were together, the boys gathered for some books -- I Love Tools by Philemon Sturges and Tools by Gail Gibbons. In I Love Tools, the main character builds a bird house. The boys were SO excited that they had just done the same thing! (What a coincidence! Ha!) We were able to talk about the names of various tools, and the boys acted out "using" each tool. They were VERY engaged in the books and were proud that they knew the names of most tools.
 

Then, Grammy explained the rules of the scavenger hunt. The boys were supposed to work together to find 10 plastic tools that Matt had hidden in the front yard and then place the plastic tool on top of its picture on the posterboard. Even working together, the boys needed hints to find some of the tools. Each boy was super excited to find at least one tool.

I love this picture. Do you see the plastic nail that Matt hid on the hibiscus plant? (It's right below Carson's ear.) It took the boys quite a while to find this one.

The boys worked really hard!

 Then, we came back into the backyard for some more activities. Kim led the boys through a memory game where they had to look at a tray of plastic tools, then close their eyes while Kim removed a tool, and finally open their eyes and try to determine which tool was removed. We started with just four tools and worked our way up to eight. Each boy had a turn to be the one to remove a tool while the others hid their eyes. They boy figured out the missing tool each time!

covering their eyes!

 Then, we played guess-the-tool. We placed a sheet over the boys' laps and had the boys pass a tool from one to the other underneath the sheet. They liked this game but (even after a few reminders) t was VERY hard for them to not shout out the name of the tool as soon as they felt it. We only played two rounds of this. :)

 Next we moved into an obstacle course. The boys put on a tool belt, touched a series of cones, hammered golf pegs into a styrofoam block, put a cone through a hula hoop, made sawing noises on the workbench, crawled through another hula hoop, climbed up the playscape ladder, slid down the slide, jumped between placemats, touched more cones, and came back to the beginning to give everyone a high five. The boys liked doing each activity with Matt during the teaching stage, but they had a VERY hard time waiting patiently when it wasn't their turn and/or cheering for the boy completing the course. We may have to revisit the obstacle course when the boys are five .... :)

 

Snack time was next! We served Ian's special requests ... pretzel rods, strawberries, squeezable applesauce, cheese slices, and juice boxes. And, of course, chocolate hammer cake with Rocky Road Blue Bell ice cream.

Next, presents and some group pictures!

The final part of the party was what Ian said was his absolute favorite part ... "when Daddy showed us all of his tools." After a don't-try-this-dangerous-stuff-without-an-adult disclaimer, Matt let the boys touch and try out many of his tools.

 

At the end of the party, we handed out the favors (a tool belt for each boy filled with fruit snacks, a mini tape measure, a flashlight, and an inflatable hammer). We also gave each boy another project that Home Depot had given us (a turkey napkin holder).


 Our littlest carpenter (again, thanks for the adorable shirt, Grammy!) woke up from his nap just in time to get in on the last few minutes of the party. :)

What a fun party! Ian is truly blessed to have wonderful friends (who come from amazing families!). We're so thankful our sweet boy gets to grow up in the company of these precious boys!

 We are SO thankful that Grammy was here to help make this party so much fun for Ian.

 Most of all, we thank our Lord for blessing our family with an amazing gift four years ago ... Ian Matthew brings joy, curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm to our days! We can't wait to see how Jesus will continue to use you in His Kingdom, Ian!  We love you, little man!