Wow, another year has come and gone..I’m the mother of a THREE year old! I am pretty sure I started last years blog post the same way, but man I am just stunned at how fast the time goes. Banks is the best part about our day, every day. He is so fun, energetic, tender, funny, cute and oh so sweet. He loves to wear his Jazz jersey and play with “the girls.” He loves to watch kid’s youtube (I know mom of the year,) and play with animals, but above all, this boy is more obsessed with cars, than I’ve ever seen anyone obsessed with anything. So a cars party it was.
Scroll ahead now if you’re solely here for the party deets (which is party most of you!) I just want to take some of this space to write down what is more important to me than the party details, and that is my top ten favorite things about Banks when he turned THREE. I never want to forget him in this freaking crazy, busy, absolutely adorable stage.
Banks loves cars. *duh* He makes the most adorable revving engine sound I have ever heard. You can hear it in the beginning of his birthday video at the bottom of this post!
The way he says “excabator” aka excavator. so cute. True story that he once corrected me when I told him to look out the window at a “Tractor!” He said “No mom, that’s an excavator!” WHAT.
When he grabs Ry and I’s heads and slams them up to both sides of his cheeks and says “cuties.”
The way he laughs hysterically when he farts or burps. #allboy
How he prays for everything. His toys, clothes, the girls, each family member by name, trick-or-treating, his friend Alex (who I’ve never met lol,) you name it, he prays for it.
His deep deep love for pepperonis lol
How he sings twinkle twinkle little star in his sweetest voice.
His love for the Five for Fight Utah Jazz commercial haha! He literally runs over to the tv to mimic the commercial each time it comes on.
How he loves the surprise element of any sort of toy egg! It could pop out a fluffy pink unicorn stuffed animal and he would exclaim with joy!
His love for me…He is a mama’s boy through and through. He is so in tune with me and just my little best friend. We’ll always have a very special connection that Banksy boy and I.
Okay, you made it this far. Let’s get to the party details!!
I designed these invites on a super easy design website called Canva. Then I just had them printed at Office Max! They’re my go-to!
To be honest, the space isn’t my favorite. It has a lot of dark brown cherry wood and I just tried to make it as cute as possible because it holds a lot of people! I decided to get crafty this year and nothing I did was super time consuming! A couple little DIY projects was so worth it!
I made this “Welcome to Banks Derby” for less than $15! I got the plywood at Home Depot and had them cut it in half. I think it was $12! I then made the graphic on Canva and had it cut on vinyl using a Circuit cutter! Then you just use transfer paper and apply it to the plywood! Easy Peasy! The cake was made from a local baker named Vinnie! You can find him on instagram under @vinniebakescakes the bottom tier was banana foster + the top was double chocolate chunk. So freaking good! The topper is a derby car I got from Seedling + Co!For the table covers I ordered black craft paper off and some chalk markers off amazon and very quickly (like literally five minutes) drew these roads on! I was in a hurry or I probs would’ve made them a little more symmetrical but they still turned out okay and the kids didn’t care lol! I bought
Plates!! I based the entire color scheme on the bottom plates. They are Meri Meri brand and you can find them here! I ordered the mint plates on amazon and used my friend’s circuit cutter to make the vinyl phrases on them. I did “Bank’s Derby, Start Your Engines, and Fuel Up” on the dessert plates.
Speaking of desserts…Is it really a party without party cookies? I think not! I had these made by Megan from @bouldermesacookieco on Instagram. She did SUCH A GOOD JOB and they tasted good too! I sent her the invitation and the theme of and colors and let her have full creative liberty on the. I was so impressed and so were our guests! If you are in Utah and need cookies for any event, she’s your girl!
Since we’re talking about food…We did a hot dog bar! I bought the condiment holders from Hobby Lobby and used the circuit cutter for vinyl labels. We offered Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, J-Dawgs Sauce (if you know you know,) Relish, Sauerkraut, and chopped onions. Chips and drinks = Easy and affordable! Kid + adult approved! I wish I had a better picture of the balloon arch, but it was super cute (and easy!) You can find the very best tutorial here!I wanted to have an activity for the kids to do so I ordered these little wooden derby cars from amazon with some wood markers! The kids loved it! Made the “Decorate your own derby car” sign the same way I made the others but this wood didn’t take as well! (I bought this wood at Michaels. I would just use plywood from Home Depot and cut it down to your desired size!
I knew when I saw these derby cars a full year ago, I knew had to have them! I was so excited that they still had them in stock for his party. They are even cuter in person and doubled as toys for the kids to play with. Got them from Seedling + Co!
Ryan didn’t get in many pics but I was so happy to have one with all of us together!My very best friends..
My aunts, grandma, and mom They’re always so supportive.
B couldn’t get enough of his “wheel” cake!My freaking adorable mom! Who came early to help me set up.Besties!
Here’s the video recap of his party done by our cute friend Monet! I love having these to look back on from year to year!
Overall, it was so fun! It’s been three weeks and Banks is still talking about it. If I left any details or links out, just comment and I will get them to you! Thanks so much for loving his parties as much as I do! Love you guys!
