Reid's cruisin' in third gear and today I'm sharing his modern race car themed birthday party! It's full of simple details and a few fun elements. This party (like all of the ones I host), prove you don't need a lot of "stuff" to make a theme come together!
It seems I was just sharing his Notorious ONE first birthday and his Chugga Chugga Two Two train party yet somehow our little guy turned THREE! Like his other parties, I like to keep the details more on the modern and minimal side. Here's the invitation I made.
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I designed and printed these modern car birthday party invites at home (no fancy supplies needed!). I printed the checkerboard pattern on paper and used it as an envelope liner to pull in that race car feel.
I also made the birthday boy's "third gear" shirt for the party! I used so many race car phrases throughout the party I almost couldn't think of one for his shirt. Inspiration hit me the morning of. His checkered hat, retro-fit tan shirt and striped retro swim trunks matched perfectly!
I also made Dad's shirt–Reid's very own "Pit Crew!" Creating custom shirts that match the party's theme and colors is always a great way to add "decor" without it feeling like "decor."
Here's the dessert table for our car birthday party. I love making sure the theme is pulled through all of the details.
Race Car Theme Birthday Dessert Table Details
I'm a "less is more" gal (hence the name of this site!). You could definitely add more to this table but here's what I included:
- A giant vinyl decal that said "Reid's Raceway" made using my Cricut machine to act a a backdrop
- Letter board that said "Race Car Ya Ya" (a song reference)
- Race car themed cake
- Cupcakes with small checkered flags
- Vintage race car cookies
- Cookies that looked like a speed limit cookies with "3" on them
- Trophy cups with straw (I added the number 3 on them using a vinyl decal)
- Checkered sunglasses for the kids to grab on their way out to the pool
- A few wooden race cars
Aren't the cookies adorable?
I also made the backdrop. It wasn't too hard, but it did take a few hours. I started by cutting a curve into three different wood pieces. Next, I painted them in white and tan. I added a white checkerboard stripe to one of them (using white vinyl decals).
This gave me a backdrop to attach the balloon garland onto. In true fashion, I again ended up getting balloons that look more pink than tan (these were the ones I ordered). Maybe this will be a tradition (I did this for his first birthday party, too!). I mixed in checkered balloons and a large "3" balloon. I made the white road marks on the 3 balloon with strips of white vinyl.
(Tip: This garland tape is my secret weapon when making balloon garland!)
Supplies For A Race Car Theme Birthday
Here's a look at the supplies I used to pull together this modern race car theme. The colors that I focused on were white, tan, black, sage green, and a forest green.
- Vintage race car paper plates
- Green striped place and green small plates (Meri Meri)
- Black and white napkins (Meri Meri)
- Wooden forks
- Checkered cupcake toppers
- Wooden race cars (these were very small. You could turn this into an activity and have kids color or paint them. Keep in mind though, they are small!)
- Checkered sunglasses (some adults even wore these!)
- Checkered balloons
- Number 3 large balloon
- Checkered pennant flags (over the pool)
- Checkered flags on sticks
- Inflated tire pool floats
A Tip For Your Race Car Party
I played race car themed music! I found this Race Car playlist on Spotify which had a mix of fun kid songs (like all the songs from Cars the movie!) and songs that adults enjoyed too!
Reid is our youngest. His two sisters (who are now 21 and 15!) were BOTH born during the week of Christmas. Needless to say we were thrilled to be able to throw a POOL PARTY for a birthday party. After 21 of planning our kids' birthday parties in Decemeber, this felt like a MUST DO.
We inflated tire floats for the pool and I made these two signs. I just used foam board, paint, and made vinyl decals using my Cricut.
We also hung a bunch of checkered pennant flags over the pool which made it look on theme!
What Food To Serve At A Race Car Themed Party
I kept the party food extremely simple. This was the "fanciest" thing I made–a "3" charcuterie board. I made this by simply cutting the top of a cardboard number 3 I grabbed at a local craft store. I lined it with checkered parchment paper and then filled with a variety of things shown above.
(Tip: You can get these already ready to fill right from Amazon!)
As for the other party food, we kept is so simple since everyone was busy swimming all day. We did corn dogs (straight from the freezer to the oven!) and a big dish of mac n' cheese. I used cardboard hot dog trays lined with the checkered parchment paper and scooped the mac n cheese into small paper cups (added in a wooden fork) and took it all out poolside to guests.
I made a few of these signs. The "Fueling Station" was near the waters and I made one that said "Pit Stop" and placed it in the bathroom.
I used this vintage race car design also to make a couple easy centerpieces for the patio area. Of course, checkered flags were used everywhere!
I've been using this chalkboard sign for over 15 years. It makes an appearance at every party. I recently made a quick video showing you how to draw on a chalkboard using any font you'd like. I like to pair my fonts with the invites and decor I use throughout the party. You can watch it on Instagram if you don't already know this trick!
Phrases To Use For A Race Car Birthday Party
You can totally customize this race car birthday party theme for any birthday or age! Here are some of the sayings and phrases I used and some additional that would work well for a cars party!
- Start your engines
- Fuel Up/Fueling Station
- Speed Limit (then use whatever age!)
- Pit Stop
- Pit Crew
- First Gear, Second Gear, etc
- Welcome Race Fans
- Vroom Vroom
I hope you liked this modern race car third birthday! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I'll answer you.
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Ashley says
Do you remember what font you used with your cricut to make the vinyl decal???
Super cute party by the way! My twin nephew’s are turning four & we’re having a fast and four party.
Ioanna says
Hi , but did the kids get in the pool ? I’m going to make this car theme for my 2 years old boy and I’m kind of scared to throw a party near the pool
Tori says
We did go swimming–parents and kids! I would make sure if you do not intend to swim then not to have the party or decor near your pool.
Layla says
Where did you get the banner and shirts? Did you make them?
Tori says
Hi Layla, I linked the pennant banner in the post above. I made the shirts myself :)