Project Birthday Party was a rousing success!

Jax (left) and his cousin "driving" the fire engine.

If you have young children, consider the fire station as a birthday party location! We had 7 kids under 3 and their assorted grown-ups and everyone had a great time. The fire men talked to the kids briefly about not playing with fire, then one showed the kids how he could get into his uniform quickly and how to crawl on the floor in a fire. He told the kids that if there was a fire, he would come in dressed like this to help them get out, and they should go with him. The kids could touch his uniform, and he kept saying, "See, it's me outside of the uniform, and still me inside the uniform!" Some of the kids were hesitant to touch him with the mask and helmet on. They let the kids try on the uniform, too - so cute!

Then, they got to help the firemen use the hose and spray water. After that, they could climb on the fire truck, ring the bell, and "steer". There is a restored 1935 fire truck in the station and the kids were allowed to climb all over it. They each got a "junior fire captain" sticker and hat. Even the shy kids got in on the action, climbing on the truck and ringing the bell.

We had snacks and cupcakes in the station. We had about 2 hours of little kid heaven, playing on the trucks and playing with the firemen (who were amazing with the kids and grown ups), and we left before anyone hit melt down stage. All in all, a perfect toddler birthday. It would be equally fun for pre-schoolers and school aged kids, with more age appropriate educational information.

The snacks were all a big hit, too. I made 5 plates of finger sandwiches and a big bowl of melon, and all but one plate of sandwiches and a few pieces of melon were eaten. (The veggie platter was left at home, and it's just as well - there was plenty of food.) I ran out of steam when it came to cupcakes and succumbed to the Safeway bakery department. Bad locavore! I tried three local bakeries, all of which were closed Sundays, before resorting to the grocery store and their brightly-colored cupcake-cake - cupcakes all iced together to look like a cake. The kids all loved them, but I found them way too sweet. The leftover cupcakes went back to the dorm with a college student cousin, as someone else had dropped a dozen cupcakes off at the firehouse that morning and they did not want any extras!