Construction Zone: Girls at Play

I've had a couple requests from readers to post details of the Construction Zone: Girls at Play party I hosted way back in January of 2007. I must warn you...I took very few photos of the dinner details and those that I do have are horrible!  At least you will get an idea of what we did!

Invite:  I created a standard construction-themed invitation for this party on Microsoft Word. I asked the girls to dress as construction workers to add to the fun of the event.

I included this photo because he is actually reading the directions...this was a first! :)

I guess I should back up and tell you that this theme came about because my husband (well, he was just my boyfriend at this point in 2007) and I tore out the carpet in the downstairs of our condo that year to replace it with wood floors.  The project took a little longer than anticipated, so we were "under construction" when the January monthly dinner rolled around.

Entry:  I set up construction cones and caution tape leading to the entry door.  I made a construction sign on the door that read "Girls at Play" and under it was another sign that warned "Enter with Caution."

Decor:  Since my dining room table had been moved out to do the floors, this left me with a clean slate for decor.  I set up two construction sawhorses and bought a large thick piece of plywood to put on top as the table. I bought an expensive piece of plywood because we were planning to use it for another house project after the party. As a centerpiece, I just grabbed construction tools from our garage: large yellow level, hammers, screwdrivers, table measure, wrench, etc.  I also had two mini cones that I placed on each end of the level.  I wrapped the napkins with zip ties.

As a place card as well as an accessory for the evening, I gave each guest a plastic construction hat I bought at Party City.  To make it specific to each guest, I designed a tag with the guest's name and a construction-related occupation.  I used alliteration, so I had: Maria the Mason, Deanna the Designer, Carole the Carpenter, etc.

Menu: I themed my menu around construction as well.  Our drink to start the evening was Screwdrivers.  The remainder of the menu included a Build-Your-Own Pizza Bar, A Craft-Your-Own Salad Station, and a Build-Your-Own Sundae Station.  For the pizza station, I just made pizza dough and placed it on a piece of tin foil for each guest (see photo on the left).  After guest's had placed the toppings they desired on it, I placed it on a cookie sheet with other guest's pizzas and cooked them all at once.

Favor:  Each guest left with a construction cookie in a clear favor bag with the Work Complete tag attached.  As you can tell, I am not a great artist (especially when using frosting), but you get the idea!

A simple theme that would be great for a young boy's birthday party. I would incorporate dump trucks and other ideas now that I have a son with all of these toys, but back in 2007 when I had this party, I didn't have kids to steal from!

As usual...if you would like the document with the tag or invitation email or comment below.