Polar Express Pajama Party

One of my passions is party planning. I am on the social committee at our club to have an outlet for this love of planning. It's a good way to plan all my parties without footing the bill.

Since Polar Express is a great winter theme, I thought I'd begin sharing some of our plans and ideas here.

Above is the flyer that was distributed via email as an invitation, my co-planner is a whiz on the computer.

I've been cutting and collecting many, many snowflakes for the decorations. My plan is to make the entrance look like the children are walking into a blizzard - the North Pole. I will layer the snowflakes, paper chains, and these round balls that resemble snowballs with white twinkle lights. I do this in my own home around the holidays and it results in a magical, glowing snowstorm. I will take photos once we've decorated the room to give an example of what I mean. In the meantime, have you seen the movie Elf? Buddy decorates the department store in much the same way.

Next, each child needed to leave with a favor as a souvenier of the party. We collected giant jingle bells and attached a tag to each one. The tag reads "Do you believe?" It is ripped on the edges and burned with a match for an authentic look. Tied with a green grosgrain ribbon it is suitable for hanging on the Christmas tree.


The children will decorate cookies cut in the shape of trains and write a letter to Santa.


Envelopes will be provided, as will a "mailbox", so the children can "mail" their letter right away.

All of the food will be served on a mini-buffett that will be constructed of a table with the legs folded propped up by boxes. Once it is covered with a tablecloth, it simply looks like a kid-sized table. This is strictly kid-zone, mac & cheese, veggie sticks, PB & J, pizza...

Table centerpieces will be assembled using a fishbowl shaped vessel placed upside down over a ceramic train sprinkled with faux snow. The effect is a train snowglobe. I will get a better photo at the event, but here is a quick example.



Finally, the children will be treated to a hot chocolate bar, Polar Express style! A hot chocolate bar will be unveiled prior to viewing the movie with lots of garnishes: candy canes, chocolate chips, whipped cream, sprinkles, m&m's, marshmallows...and liquors for the adults. After their drink, they will snuggle in with their jammies and blankets to watch Polar Express on the big screen.

As all of this comes together I will continue to post photos. In the meantime, this should get you started planning your own Polar Express party.