How to Host a Disney Cars Birthday Party

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My son was turning 2 and there was no question about what theme he was having for his party. He had a mild obsession with the Disney Pixar movie Cars. I honestly don’t know how it started, but suddenly Lightning McQueen and the crew became a household name. I was excited to start planning this one because I knew how excited he’d be to see everything decorated! The night before his party, we’d sent him for a sleepover with his grandparents. He arrived at his party just before all the guests arrived and got to see the house come alive with all of his favorite characters! He was thrilled.

Invitations

If you’ve read any of my other blog posts, you would know that I am a huge fan of using the free Canva account. It is user friendly, makes professional-looking designs, and most importantly, is free! It does take a bit of time to arrange everything and design it if you have never tried it before. You will get the hang of it fast and it will be your go-to source for DIY party invites. I designed them online and then sent them to the guests via text and email.

Themed Snacks

Checkered Flag Cake

This cake turned out to be one of my favorites! Let me tell you, the guests were wow-ed when I cut it open. It was checkered black and white like a racing flag. I was amazed it worked! :) Here is the tutorial I followed. It ended by being pretty simple. I added a chocolate road and a little Lightning McQueen toy we already had to the top.

Decorations

There were so many fun decorations I found online! I got traffic cones (to this day, the kids still use them outside!), Cars backdrop, hung balloons (see my DIY balloon arch tutorial here), checkered flags, and road runway. I also found many free printables online. Simply search what you are looking for + “free printable” and lots of options come up. I printed a few banners to hang around the house as well as food labels. A few other DIY decorations was I found an old trophy and labeled it “Piston Cup”. I printed off some pictures of different characters from Cars and framed them in plain black frames as simple decor. I ordered my son a new Cars T-shirt for the party. I also bought a new book (Goodnight Lightning) and had guests sign their name. This is one of my favorite party traditions to do. He continues to read this book and talk about memories of the party.