Christmas Car Races at the Office

Coupons for each race

I have had trouble finding elf clipart that I like.  So, since we cancelled the nighttime office holiday party because of hubby's chemotherapy, and are hosting another daytime luncheon, I still wanted it to be lots of FUN for those architects.  So, I ordered two more of those pedal go-carts and worked out a track through the office.  I also ordered remote control cars and am going to build a race track on the conference table. I am going to use pvc pipe as the outside border and artificial turf for the middle of the track.  I am just going to cover the table with black vinyl. 
      I wanted a crowd of elves, hence the clipart above.  I will enlarge it to fit two of the big glass doors along the floor track.

Here is Santa in his hot rod.  I will have this enlarged and mounted to put on the counter behind the buffet, since the go-carts will race through the kitchen as a part of the course.

Above is one of the elves I will enlarge and mount to stand along the way waving a real flag. 

 

Starting line mural

 Below is a picture of one of the easy riders and the link.

We tested this with lots of adults, the heaviest being 240 pounds.  We added a pillow to make the seat wider for adults.

Go here on Amazon.com

I ordered battery operated remote control cars on Amazon.com for the conference room table.  I needed vinyl to cover the table's pad as it comes in pieces.  I ordered that on line at   www.sailrite.com because they had lots of choices at good prices.  I didn't want the cars to run off of the edge of the table so I bought two 18' lengths of white rope lights.  I can use clear packing tape to attach them to the vinyl.  I am going to use fake grass in the middle of the table with some plain tubing from Home Depot surrounding it.  

I bought a set of six of these cardboard cars for centerpieces for the kitchen tables, where the staff will be sitting down for a catered lunch.  I also ordered checkered flags, napkins, and dessert plates.  The catering company is providing plates.  I will probably just use disposable cups, since it is easier on the staff members who clean up after each party.

I looked all over the internet for small cardboard box cars to use with the candy buffet.  I couldn't find any, so my "wheels" started turning.  I came up with the design below using one piece of 8.5" x11" landscaped card stock. 

You are not seeing the white tabs on the front of the car which hold it together.  They are created when the clipart is printed.

Cut along the outside diagonal lines to take off the white triangle areas. Slit the fron grill down between the orange and white spaces to create tabs.  Slit the back, small, grill along the actual sides of the graphic to create tabs.  Fold front and back grills upwards, and tabs upwards and inwards and glue together.  Crease sides along the inner diagonals.  The white space on the bottom of print is the bottom of the car.

I printed the wheels on landscaped 8.5" x 11" cardstock.  You could glue them onto poster board, or use two more pieces of cardstock glued together like I did.  Then I just cut them out (I am making 40) while watching tv.  I glued them onto the car and then used a small piece of tape as a hinge on the bottom of each wheel to keep them attached to the bottom.  They are just the right size for a few chocolate treats.

Santa waving everyone on as they passed through the kitchen

Large Mural for Office Window

I have updated this blog after the party.  Putting the architects in relay teams of two was inspired.  We drew their names out of the hat, so they were paired with someone they normally didn't work with on a team.  Everyone stayed after lunch for the race and cheered the other teams on.  It was really community building.  We did put a basketball sized hole in the office's main hall wall, but since it was a higher up who did it, no one minded.

Hall before drywall hole.  I put cones up to protect the wood.

 

 

This guy was the centerpiece for the turkey dinner we had catered for the event. 

I wanted to use pvc pipe like the photo above on the conference table.  Instead I covered the table with heavy black vinyl and attached rope lighting with packing crates.  I bought small remote control cars.  It was festive and fun.  I also taped a maze on the floor in the lobby.  But...the architects kept running their cars over the tape.  So, one clever guy went and got bricks and window samples to put the the tape.  No more cheating occurred.

 

I made foam core roads and glued a paper black and white square pattern to the edges.  I painted wooden dowels and made a finish sign poster.  I bought bendable elves and put them in cardboard food cars. The mats were white shelving I cut up for a previous office party to make placemats.