Games and Activities
Greet the party guests as they arrive by welcoming them to “An Island of Sodor Trip,” and by giving them red bandanas, whistles, and engineer caps (if you didn’t use the caps for your party invitation).
Have the guests guess how many nuts and bolts are in a jar you filled earlier. Award the guest with the closest guess a ribbon or Thomas bubble blower at the end of the party.
While waiting for the guests to arrive, have the kids make a few thematic crafts to take home from the party:
Box Train Car Decoration. Paint large cardboard boxes blue and line them up like a train. Pre-cut train wheels, tank face, windows, numbers and other items from construction paper. Have the guests decorate the train cars.
Train Wheel Necklace. Dye pasta wheels black, blue and red by dipping in liquid dye or rubbing around in dye paste. Spread bowls of colored pasta wheels in front of the children. Hand guests a string and help them as they make their own train wheel necklace.
Start each activity by blowing a whistle and announcing, “All Aboard!”
Follow the Locomotive. Line up the guests with the birthday child at the head of the train. Turn on some fun music and have the birthday child lead the train of people by making creative moves that everyone must follow (jumping, hopping, skipping, spinning, rolling on the ground, waving arms and any other fun gesture) and train noises like “Peep Peep!”
Alternative: gather kid-size boxes, remove the tops and bottoms, and paint them to look like an engine, cars and caboose. Play “Follow the Locomotive” with guests holding up their own boxcar.
Red Light, Green Light. Lay two lengths of rope or crepe paper ribbon about twenty feet apart in the party area. The birthday child stands in front of one line acting as the Train Conductor, and the other guests stand behind the opposite line. The game begins when the Conductor turns his or her back on the guests and shouts, “Green Light!” The Conductor then counts to five as loud as possible. The other players must walk quickly toward the Conductor. When finished counting, the Conductor shouts, “Red Light!” and turns around quickly. The guests must freeze instantly. If the Conductor catches anyone moving, that player must return to the starting line.
Train Track Crossing. Cut out four large rectangles from the white cardboard (about 12" x 15"). Use black or brown marker to color in railroad rails and cross ties. Tape ribbon/crepe streamer across the floor to mark a start line (which will also serve as a finish line). Place two chairs about fifteen to twenty feet away from the start line.
Divide guests into two equal lines and give the first person in each line two cardboard cutout “train tracks.” Explain that the train tracks are the only thing they can step on as they travel from the front of the line, around a chair and back to the line again. Begin the game by having the first child place one train track on the ground and step on it; then place the other train track on the ground in front and step on it. The player then picks up the first train track and places it on the ground in front of the other. When the player goes around the chair and back, they hand the two train tracks to the next player in line. The first team to get all members around the chair and return is the winner.
Alternative: to make the game longer and more challenging, give overalls and a conductor's hat to each team. In addition to walking on train tracks, each child must first put on the train conductor outfit.
Engineer to Caboose Phone Message. Have the party guests sit in a circle. Instruct the birthday child to think of a message the Engineer would like to send to the Caboose (it can be any message – directions, friendly hello, observation about the scenery). Then tell the birthday child to whisper that message to the next child in the circle. The message must go all the way around the circle, whispered from one child to the next. The Caboose, the child on the opposite side of the birthday child, announces the message out loud. The birthday child then announces the original message. Prepare to be surprised at how the Engineer's message has changed as it was sent.
Pass the Tank. Classic "Hot Potato" game only using a Thomas the Tank Engine or other train car. Gather children in a circle. Hand them the train car and turn on the music. They are to pass the train car around quickly until the music stops. The person holding the train when the music stops must temporarily leave the circle. Explain before starting the game that throwing the train car is an automatic out. Award a series of prizes, such as stickers for eliminated players, so everyone feels included.
Beanbag Toss. Paint several shoeboxes blue and line them up like a Thomas train. Have guests take turns trying to throw a beanbag into the train cars. Reward guests with a prize. Vary the prize depending on the train cars (a different prize for each shoebox).
Pin the Whistle on Thomas. Enlarge a Thomas the Tank Engine face. Cut circles out of the black construction paper for a train whistle. Place tape, or spray adhesive on the circular nose shapes so they stick (if using spray adhesive, let them dry sticky side up). Hand each child a nose. Tell them they are to pin the whistle on Thomas. Blindfold children one at a time, spin them, and point them in the direction of Thomas.
Train Talk. Gather the guests together and initiate a talk about trains. Ask what trains carry, where they go, what kinds of trains exist, what type of fuel trains need, and any other train information that you might know.
