Addison James 2nd Birthday Party: Construction Theme

2nd Birthday Party

Addison James 2nd birthday party couldn't have gone any better! He loved his construction theme party and the weather was beautiful. Plus, he wasn't sick like his 1st birthday party so that's a big parent win. With each year, I just can't help, but think of how fast it all goes by. Addison changes so frequently and within the last 6 months, it's been even more apparent of how much he's becoming his own little person. He's full of life, so dang smart and constantly yearning to do more, learn more and make sure were well aware of his opinion. Excited to share more on his construction theme 2nd birthday party!

Disclaimer: I am not the creative mind behind these amazing decorations! My mother-in-law is a party decor genius and I'm just the idea person who assists in set-up. I'll share as much as I can about what went into the decor, set-up and the dishes we shared for his 2nd birthday party!

Construction Themed Party

Decorations

My mother-in-law went all out for this party (every party!). The biggest advice I can give on making a construction theme party a hit: buying actual construction trucks to use as decor. They're fairly affordable and come in all different sizes. Using them in the middle of the table as center pieces was the perfect pop. One idea we didn't do, but could easily be done is making brownies and having them dump out of a dump truck like dirt! I usually loved using the mini trucks as cake decor!

The biggest decor pieces (in my eyes) we're the 40" crane & the crane illusion piece we hung on the wall/ceiling. The toy crane is awesome because it actually works. I would say its a bit advanced for a 2 year old, but something to grow into and it was the perfect party decor center piece. For the crane illusion piece with balloons I linked as much as I could for making it. My MIL created the box herself  by cutting it and spray painting it. We used ballon tape for sticking the balloons together BUT it didn't hold to the box as well as we hoped. So I recommend normal packaging tape to make it stay up. Such a statement!

Party Favors

Buckets filled with candy, mini trucks, bubbles, stickers and, of course, a hard hat made the perfect party favors for our little guests. For the adults, we had the cutest Orea and Hershey bar favors with personalized labels. My MIL made most things, but I found similar ones on Etsy!

Food

I am so so lucky to have so much family close by & willing to help! Many of the appetizer dishes and snacks were all provided by family members - highly recommend asking for help if you can. Saves a ton of money compared to ordering out + with a big family like mine it gives everyone a chance to lend a hand for Addison. I included a list below with links to whatever recipes I could.

Main Dish

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with coleslaw topping and Hawaiian Buns - Kirby smoked the pork!

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Crockpot Baked Beans - My step-moms famous recipe includes bacon and all!

Appetizers

Ham Pickled Roll-Ups - I recently found out these are a midwest thing. I included a quick recipe I found on Pinterest!

Mexican Corn Dip with Tortilla Chips

Spinach Artichoke Dip with Pita Bread

Pesto Pinwheels - My moms famous recipe that I'm addicted too! I shared the recipe here on the blog years ago. Super easy to make!

Cheese, Cracker & Meat Platter with Nuts

Desserts

Stoplight Brownies - My MIL simply bought pre-made brownies and put M&M's on them! You could also easily make my go-to homemade brownie recipe and do the same!

Dirt Cake Cups with Mini Truck Toppers - My MIL made a simple pudding mix and added food coloring to it to make it even more dirt like. Topped it with crumbled Oreo's and mini trucks

Dairy Free Chocolate Cake - this recipe was so easy to make and unreal good. I received multiple compliments on it! You would never, ever know it was dairy free. For milk, I used oat milk as it's a bit creamier than almond milk (+ my brother is allergic to nuts!). The cake was sweet & very chocolatey, but Addison was a big fan & so were the guests! Recipe found here - the recipe isn't made to be dairy free so you could easily just use regular milk too!