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For my train obsessed 5 year old son's birthday, along with some of the things already discussed, the kids decorated their own car on a Train Cake. I baked a mini loaf shaped cake for each guest, and
attached each cake to a piece of white cardboard about 2" bigger in all directions than the cake. Before cutting the individual boards from the giant piece of cardboard, I had drawn tracks and ties in non-toxic
ink. After frosting with white butter-cream, I attached 2 mini Oreo cookies to each side as wheels. To make the engine, I baked 2 mini cakes, cut about one third from one, and attach to the end of the other
cake with royal icing, cut side down, bottom side to the back. Cut a cow catcher from the remaining cake and attach to the front with royal icing. Cut a Twinkie in half and attach, cut side down, toward the front.
(Some white cotton candy attached to this makes smoke, btw.) After icing the whole thing in white butter cream, I attached a Reese's cup as a bell. Note: Royal icing dries like mortar, but doesn't
taste very good. Use it where necessary, but do not cover the whole cake with it! Make sure the icing for the cake is "non crusting", or the goodies the kids decorate with won't stick. The cakes, iced
or not can be made ahead and frozen, if wrapped well in several layers of plastic wrap. Let the cake come to room temperature still wrapped, so condensation forms outside the wrap, not on the cake. I chose white
icing to show off the kid's decorations, you could use Thomas blue, steel grey, or whatever you like, of course. Once the guests had had lunch, I set up a table outside with bowls full of jelly beans,
pretzels, licorice ropes, gum drops, Chex and Cheerios, mini marshmallows and so on, as well as different colors of icing in tubes with tips, and shaker jars with jimmies, non-pariels, and so on. Have as many
different edibles as possible - the fun part is watching the kids use them in amazing ways. (We make gingerbread houses every Christmas, so it is habit for me to pick up these things here and there all year
long, and all Halloween candy goes in the pile as well. If you don't have much of it, it would be expensive to buy. To save money, you could ask friends to clear out cupboards, watch for sales, buy variety packs
or piņata mixes of candy, or ask each guest to bring some.) The guests sat in front of their cars, the birthday boy the engine, were told the only rule was "More on the cake than in your mouth", and
to have at it. They had a blast decorating the cars, did an awesome job, and surprisingly little was eaten. When they finished, we attached the cars together with licorice rope and pretzels, and took lot's of
pictures of each kid with their car, and the whole group with the completed train. They were then served a Thomas cake I had also made, at another table, and while they ate, I wrapped up their cars to take
home. Since we did it outside, I just wrapped up the mess in the table cover and threw it away. It was a huge hit, and the kids - and their parents - still remember it 4 years later!
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