A Star Wars Birthday Party--Part 1

I have to confess. I was not that excited abut planning a Star Wars birthday party.

And I love planning a party.

Thus far we have managed to avoid "character" parties, instead throwing fireman, knight, pirate and train parties.

They have been fun to plan. I love making invitations, decorations, cute party favors. Remember these I made for Lilly's 1st birthday last year?

But Star Wars? I mean, what is cute about Star Wars?

"So it's really about you", say the birthday party bashers. You know who you are. You talk trash about parents going all out for birthday parties. You complain that parents are too "into it" and say things like, "what happened to the days of party games and cake and maybe some pointy hats.?"

Let me explain something to you. There are 2 kinds of people when it comes to party planning.

Those who like to do it themselves and those who don't.

And neither one is right or wrong. It's just a matter of taste. A mustard or mayo kind of thing.

As you might have guessed, I am a do.

I like making things. I like handmade invitations. (Although I let go of control in that department this year and let James make them. They didn't get done and I sent an email. I tried not to let it bother me too much) I like decorations for the cupcakes that match everything else.

I like to pay attention to the details.

And, I like to pay attention to the things my kids want at their party. Like an art project at the knight party. We painted cardboard swords and decorated them with jewels. Or hunting for a buried pirate treasure chest in the sand box.

As I said, I like details.

And really, how much more "into it" am I for doing that than if I get a bouncy house or get a clown? It is just a matter of how you like to spend your time.

By the way, I didn't have a wedding planner. On purpose.

But back to Star Wars. It was the details that were killing me. I was short on inspiration. That left me walking around Target and the party store on Friday, the day before the party, searching for some inspiration from The Force.

The Force did not fail me and it all started coming together. Which means I stayed up until 2 am on Friday night putting together party things and Aaron came home late from work because he was executing my party plans and then he was out in the back yard creating an Ewok hut.

Whew!

It turned out to be a lot of fun. And one of my most favorite parties ever.

So if you ever have to throw a Star Wars party, here are some details you might want to use.

Decorations:

Pretty basic. There were stars, of course.

And Star Wars coloring sheets. Available for free on the world wide web. The sheets served a dual purpose. The boys wanted to help with decorations and were dying as they waited for their friends to come on Saturday morning. I gave them the coloring sheets and both problems were solved. Also, the coloring sheets were good for the guests to color on at various points in the party when they needed a break.

If you are detail person, you know it is a bit of a sacrifice to let your child help with the decorations. Let's be honest. They just don't meet up to our perfect party decor vision. But my boys were so happy to have their work up on the garage for the Jedi Training Academy that I didn't mind sharing at all.

I also made a couple of signs, like this one for the Jedi Training academy.

Favors:

I went with little notebooks decorated with an R2D2 sticker. You can make personalized stickers with your printer. I don't know how to do it, but Aaron always makes them for me and they are handy for all sorts of things.

My boys love these little notebooks. They are perfect for playing spy, taking exploring or drawing maps. They picked them out.

We also gave light sticks--they look like light sabers.

And licorice--they also look like light sabers. (I don't really like the sugar overdose at parties, so I try to include very little extra sweets besides the cupcake. But I do fold and put some it of candy in the treat bags)

Cupcakes:

I found these stirring sticks next to the toothpicks at Target. I thought they looked like light sabers, so into the basket they went. They were a little plain by themselves, but with a flag and a 4 or 6 stamp, they were just right.

Other:

James and William had 2 personal requests for the party. James always wants to do an art project and William wanted something to do with Ewoks.

Sooooo, my uber talented husband carved out a linoleum block Ewok.

Usually he uses paint for the prints, but we used ink for these because of the fast dry time.

The kids then got to add additional color if they wanted.

And they all liked it.

It was a pretty fun art project and easy too. At least on the tail end, right Aaron?

All together, there wasn't much to these party details. The bulk of our energy was devoted to the activities and the 2 amazing cardboard creations my uber talented husband created.

There are some distinct benefits in being married to such a creative fellow.

I'll be back with those tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Love from,

Greta