Race Car Party -6yr- Pit Stop Race

For my son's 6th birthday, he wanted to have a racing car party.  I started to work early on the preparations as I made each of the kids their own racing car out of cardboard boxes.  I spray painted them different colours, including a silver grill on the front.  I created lights" out of aluminum cups turned outwards with yellow construction paper in the  middle.  I also hand painted numbers on each side.   

On the day of the party I lined the edge of our lawn with checkered flags. I had also created a registration table for the kids arrival.  I had lined all the "cars" (boxes) on the other side of the registration table.  When the kids arrived I asked them to choose a car then captured the colour and number of their car along with their name for the race car driver registration sheet.  Last part of registration... we took their pictures. 

All of this information was used to create an individual race car driver's licence.  My father used the template I had created to input their individual information including their picture and printed these off while the party was going on.  The children were given their licences in their loot bags before they left. 

ACTIVITIES:  One of the most fun activities for the kids was a PIT STOP race.  I should start by saying that I created a fairly large car out of a refrigerator box painted it (adding Hot Wheels flames on the side of course).  I created lights using aluminum cups.  I also used an aluminum serving platter (rectangular shape with portions cut out) to create a grill. 

For the wheels I had cut 1 inch thick black foam sheets into circles (I used the foam used by gardeners to kneel on and purchased these at the dollar store).  I attached the wheels to a piece of dowling (the axel) and attached it to the "car".  Lastly I attached a water bottle to the back of the car and used it as a gas tank.  All of this to say the kids were divided into four teams (based on colour of car they had chosen at the beginning of the party). 

Stepping into their individual cars (holding them up with their hands) each team was asked to run around some pilons until they reached the "Big Car" where they were asked as a team to change the tires and fill the gas tank.  In order to fill the gas tank the kids had to use large spoons to collect water from a sand pail filled with water and walk to the gas tank to fill the water bottle.  In order to make the game a little easier I placed a funnel in the top of the water bottle/gas tank.  Each team was timed with a stop watch.  The team with the winning time won. 

The next activity involved real tires.  I divided the kids into teams of two.  Again this race was timed.  Each pair had to work together to roll the tire to a given point and back.  Given the tires were at least half their height it was a hoot watching them trying to keep it upright.  We had two teams racing at the same time to make it more intersting.  (As an aside I had bought kids gardening gloves at the dollar store so that their hands wouldn't be completely black from the game.)  Lastly we played pin the wheel on the car.  

DECORATIONS:  Outside we had hung checkered flag garlands on our fence and tied black and while helium balloons to the deck.  Inside I had found some cardboard racing car pictures which we affixed to the wall.  We also had some black and white balloons. 

FOOD:  Of course the cake pictured a race car track and the candles were in the shape of cars.  We had some vegetables and chips that I placed in car shaped sand toys turned upside down.    

Loot Bags:  The loot bags included their individual driver's licence gummy cars car sticker activity sheets checkered flag pendants Hot Wheels cars and a few other candies.  The kids also got to take home the car they had chosen at the beginning of the day.  The feedback from the kids was that this was the best party they had ever attended.  My son told me the same thing so I guess it was a hit!"