My two boys are into anything that has to do with trains. We travel to Thomas the Train when he visits CT, we go on the steam train in MA when visiting family, and all the Thomas, Chuggington and Brio trains, train tracks, and train accessories have taken over our home.
One of our family’s favorite local spots is the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, CT. With all their model trains at heights the children can view, the play train tables and toys, the antique train rides, and antique trains we can explore in the yard, the children always enjoy going there. We frequently meet for playdates with friends there, plus visiting Santa, the Easter Bunny, and going on the Pumpkin Train are holiday favorites.
Since the boys birthdays are within 3 weeks of another, I wanted to have a joint birthday party while both boys were still young. The Danbury Railway Museum naturally became the perfect place for their party, one that could host a large party, indoors or out, for a large variety of ages and entertainment needs, and at an affordable price.
We set our tables up directly outside the backside of the indoor museum, where we could watch Metro North’s railcars quietly glide by during the party. We laid out some easy-to-grab snacks, juices, and waters for the guests to enjoy as they arrived.
Everyone had plenty to do inside the air conditioned museum, including watching the model trains whirl by, playing on the train tables and with each other, and then after 30 minutes we were ready to board our own antique train (yes, we had enough people to completely fill the train ourselves; it was a large birthday)!
Both birthday boys were able to ring the bell alerting our guests to board the train. We boarded an antique train car and caboose (snacks in hand!) while the boys chose to drive the train with engineer.
Of course some birthday children choose to ride with their friends and save the engineer rides for a future visit.
The ride was about 20-25 minutes and we were lucky enough to go onto their fully operational turntable.
We hopped off the train, walked onto the turntable, took a fun 360 degree spin, and hopped back onto the train. Some of the guests switched trains and rode in the caboose on the way back.
You do have to remember that air conditioning was not available in the “old” days, so you should be prepared for a warm day. We celebrated on a 97 degree day, so it was a tad warm in the cars, but the
kids still had a lot of fun. The train whistle may be a little startling for the kids, so be sure to prepare accordingly
When we returned, the pizza we ordered was ready for everyone to eat. We made sure to have fruits and veggie platters available, which had been kept refrigerated by the attentive museum staff. Of course we followed lunch with this amazing tasting cake and cupcakes from Scrumptious in Carmel, which I’d like to also include some words about as well.
I had worked with the Scrumptious owner, Kiki, closely so that she could replicate the exact Chuggington train Sean requested for his cake. We dropped off the actual trains and decided to use a buttercream frosting, though please note she does offer fondant options. Initially the cupcakes were meant to trail the main cake as train cars, but given the heat of the day, we chose to quickly set up the cake/cupcakes, sing the traditional Happy Birthday song, and hand out the treats.
The kids enjoyed the cupcakes and adults enjoyed the absolutely amazing main cake. Since some spouses had to cancel last-minute, we had plenty to bring home afterwards……just take a guess how hard it was to keep a pregnant lady away from an incredible tasting cake. Yeah, exactly. The leftovers did not last long in this house, as my scale can attest! I’m not sure my poor husband and children even had any at the house!
After lunch, we tied up a Chuggington Piñata filled with fun “squishy balls” (balls available online at Rhode Island Novelty), choosing to do a pull version instead of a hit version. While this presented a safer option for all the young children involved, it was difficult to get them to pull the piñata string simultaneously. So I *may* have had to assist and rip the bottom of the Piñata off, sending the squishies flying.
There was plenty of time to explore the railyard afterwards, which includes climbing on an old mail car, an old coal engine, and many more. That being said, our guests had had so much fun already, we’d wiped most of them out! We all know that 90 minutes is about the max for these young ages, but it’s nice to know the railyard was available for anyone with remaining energy.
All in all it was a successful party. We sent our guests home with some fun train toys available at Oriental Trading and Rhode Island Novelty. Some friends remained to help clean up and pack up the cars, and the kids returned home for a much needed and long nap. Of course Sean was ready to do it all over again the next day!
No businesses in this article sponsored this review. Danbury Railway Museum is a Macaroni Kid Birthday Party Guide listing sponsor, but Macaroni Kid did not receive discount or a free birthday party in exchange. Scrumptious in Carmel is a Macaroni Kid sponsor, and I did receive the cake and cupcakes as part of sponsorship payment; however, the review is entirely my own and not required as part of the sponsorship agreement. Oriental Trading and Rhode Island Novelty are not sponsors of Macaroni Kid.
