I feel like every little boy loves dump trucks, loaders, and bull dozers, and making all of the sounds that go along with them ! My sweet Oliver is no exception! When it came time to plan his fourth birthday he excitedly shared with me that he wanted a heavy machinery theme, and I was happy to oblige!

With two little boys at home, and a love of all things Tonka, we already had plenty of items to use as decor for the party! We held Oliver’s birthday at our home in our yard in Leavenworth, Washington on a nice sunny afternoon in March.

When planning a party, I typically like to start with the invitations; however, this time around was not the case. After Oliver had mentioned the theme he wanted, I did a quick google search to see what party elements I could find and lo and behold the most darling sticker pack illustrated by Lindsey Balbierz for Daydream Society had popped up.

One look was all it took for me and that became the inspiration! Her sweet design set the tone for the colors and feel for the party.

I knew finding invitations would be a cinch - as I turned to my favorite website minted.com and found adorable bulldozer invites with envelope fronts displaying a cute crane holding a “Deliver to” sign for each person’s address . Fun envelope designs are always a win for me, because who doesn’t love receiving such happy mail in your mailbox?!

The invitation suite I chose also came with wrap around return address stickers that were customizable. I entered my address and then was able to add whatever wording I wanted that wrapped around the back of the envelope. I decided on “Dump’ doze, lift and pour, Oliver is turning four!”  I ended up carrying this quote throughout the rest of the party by having it added to the banner above the dessert table and on custom sugar cookies! With the invites and sticker packs set we were well on our way!

The day of the party guests were welcomed with a white pegboard wall that housed an adorable sign that read “Oliver is four” designed by my good friend Josie of Chalk Chic Mama and a sweet balloon arch nestled above.

Next to the welcome wall was an old, rustic wheelbarrow - the perfect place for guests to drop off their gifts for Oliver.

Oliver’s Papa has a large orange dump truck that we thought would be a perfect addition to the party. The children loved putting on their hats and vests and climbing all over the dump truck. It ended up being the perfect photo backdrop for the party!

My husband Aaron and I built a few backdrops out of sheets of white pegboard that sat behind the aforementioned welcome wall We also made a wall for a ring toss game, and the dessert table. The white colored backdrops were the perfect housing station for adorable balloon garlands made by my friend Maria of MGB Creations. Maria used white, gray, light blue, and brown balloons to create fantastic ballon arches that went over the welcome backdrop and the dessert table. Balloon arches are such a fun, colorful way to add a major impact to your party!

Daydream Society’s “Under Construction” theme has everything you’d need to host a heavy machinery party! I grabbed their large napkins, temporary tattoos, “Caution”washi tape, and of course, my original find of their sticker set! I also grabbed their Cobalt Blue Frenchie Striped Plates that paired nicely with everything.

Party favors are often one of my favorite details of any party I design. Each child received their own gable box with their name written on it by Josie. I chose gable boxes because they reminded me of a construction workers lunchbox.

Inside the boxes each child received their own Tonka loader, bulldozer, or dump truck, the Under Construction Sticker Sets designed by Lindsey Balbierz,  and chocolate rocks! Each child also received their own construction hat with their name written on it by Josie and a construction vest.

Near the favors, we set up a temporary tattoo station with darling dump truck tattoos by Daydream Society that each child got to put on as they arrived.

The children loved these bold colored tattoos with silver foil! They were so fun!

The first activity of the party was a fun ring toss game. The children competed throwing black and orange rings onto small construction cones.

The next activity was a “paint your own dump truck” cookie!

My friend Keri of Treat Custom Cookies made these adorable “paint your own” cookie sets. We have done these in years past and they are always a hit with the kids!

To help set the scene for the dessert table, I did a quick skim through eBay , had a few Amazon orders and made a quick trip to my local antique & hardware stores.

I found adorable vintage oil cans that I used to hold the flower arrangements.

I also found the cutest vintage metal Tonka Forklift that I used to hold yellow and orange French macarons made by my dear friend Olivia of Flour + Sugar!

Olivia also made the perfect concrete colored cake with a little chocolate ganache drip and cookie crumble to look like mud and dirt coming down the side. Her cake was the perfect platform for the adorable cookie cake toppers made by Keri of Treat Custom Cookies!

I had Keri create the crane cookie cake topper after Lindsey Balbierz’s illustrated sticker packs for Daydream Society, and she matched it perfectly!

Keri also made cookies that replicated the rest of the machinery in the sticker set from Day Dream Society. They were too cute and definitely the children’s first pick from the dessert table!

I always love adding handmade elements to my designs, so I sewed a fabric banner for the dessert table. Josie of Chalk Chic Mama worked her magic like she always does, and illustrated the “dump, doze, lift and pour, Oliver is 4” on the banner.

Another handmade element we added were all of the signs. We cut and painted construction shaped signs to be used throughout the party. Josie of Chalk Chic Mama really made those signs come to life with her unique designs of “Thanks for building memories with me!”, “Load Gifts Here”, “Oliver is four” and the “Ring Toss” game.

Josie also created the most incredible milestone birthday chalkboard for Oliver! She has done them every year for my two boys and they are easily my most favorite element of any and every party I design!

Every time her unique creations always amaze me and I just love these special keepsake boards!

I cannot believe my youngest is four!

Oliver’s fun personality and sense of humor really shines through and we had the best day celebrating his birthday!

Vendor Credits:

Photography: Lizbeth’s Lens.   www.lizbethslens.co   Instagram: @lizbethslens

Chalk Art/Lettering:     Chalk Chic Mama     Instagram: @chalkchicmama

Balloon Arches: MGB Creations Instagram: @mgbcreationswa

Cakes & Macaroons: Flour + Sugar  Instagram: @flourandsugarhomebakery

Cookies & Paint your own Cookies: Treat Custom Cookies  Instagram: @treat_wenatchee

Invitations, Stickers on cups, & Gift Tags: Minted Instagram: @minted

Dump Truck Tattoos, Sticker Sets, Napkins, Stripe Paper Plates: Daydream Society
Instagram: @daydream.society