Star Wars Birthday Party

My five-year old had a blast at his Star Wars birthday party last weekend.  He had more than a few favorite memories from the party.... attacking the Death Star pinata, eating Wookie cookies, searching for asteroids, stuffing his face with Palpatine pizza and of course all the lightsaber duals!

To plan the birthday party, I searched the web (mostly Pinterest) for Star Wars ideas and came across so many great sources.... there are plenty of creative minds out there!  One site that lists several amazing ideas is Party Ideas by a Pro.  After pinning a few ideas, I created an invite and mailed it to friends.

Preparing for the party was a lot of fun.  The kids helped during the week and I think it added to their excitement because they had a hand in cooking, making game pieces and setting up everything Star Wars.  One of the things they helped with was hanging the Star Wars banner... it's available to print here, for free!

We also hung several blue balloons from the ceiling using black yarn and clear tape (a lot cheaper and easier than helium!). 

We chose to have the party around dinner time so families could come, celebrate and eat!  We setup the food on the dining room table under the mound of balloons and the desserts on the buffet table.  The kids and I sprinkled blue and black circles all over the table.

Star Wars Party Food
The husband and I had fun creating food names, when we were stumped we borrowed other names found around the web.

• Wookie Cookies:  shortbread cookies cut-out using the Chewbacca cookie cutter
• Droid Dip:  artichoke dip
• Sith Sticks:  cracker sticks
• Vader Veggies:  carrots, peppers & cucumbers
• Galactic Grapes:  red grapes
• Obi-Pop Kornobi:  popcorn
• Palpatine Pizza:  cheese pizza
• X-Wing Biters:  buffalo wings
• Clone Cakes:  vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting
• Darth Chocolate Cake Pops:  dark chocolate cake pops
• Warrior Water:  water
• Jedi juice:  apple juice

I set out bowls of popcorn on a few other tables around the house (that black and white polka dot paper is wrapping paper that used a a table runner- it's taped in place).

Star Wars Games & Activities
We had a few activities and games to prepare the kids to be Jedi.

• ID Badge:  when the kids arrived they each received an ID badge.... they colored Yoda, filled in their information, then strung the yarn through the holes and tied it around their neck to wear during the party.

• Light Sabers:  all the kids made their own lightsaber out of foam tubing and duct tape.  I wrapped silver duct tape around the top of the foam before everyone arrived, then the kids chose a color for their lightsaber - green, blue or purple (some combined them all) - and parents helped the kids wrap their light sabers.

• Keep The Balloon In The Air:  once all the kids finished designing their lightsabers, I gave them each a blown-up balloon.  The kids had to keep the balloon in the air using their lightsabers.  We played Star Wars music.... they loved it.

• Asteroid Hunt:  before the party, the kids and I rolled aluminum foil into tiny balls (about 1", 12 balls/child attending).  During the party, I recruited two moms to hide the "asteroids" around the yard while I told the kids that asteroids have fallen on our house and their job was to search and collect all of them.  They returned with full bags (and my yard was clean again!).

• Hot Death Star:  unfortunately I don't have a picture, but we played a game similar to hot potato.  We used a Death Star (instead of a potato) and played Star Wars music while the kids quickly tossed it around in a circle.  For the Death Star, I wrapped a whiffle ball in aluminum foil and painted it black and gray.

• Death Star Pinata:  the kids and I worked on the pinata about two weeks before the party so it could dry and harden (glue, flour and candy seems to get my kids excited).  I followed this video to make our pinata, but stop before she cuts feet for her pinata (we didn't make a duck), then paint it to look like a Death Star.  Easy.  We filled our pinata with candy, Star Wars stickers and yo-yos.

We ate in between all the craziness of lightsabers and Death Stars, but before the kids left we made sure to hand them a thank you gift bag.  The Star Wars gift included a bird feeder in the shape of a fighter plane inside a striped black and white bag sealed with a tag that read "May The Force Be With You".

I also created a certificate to give to all the little Jedi at the end of the party, but I completely forgot to hand them out.  Oh well, maybe it's an excuse to throw another Star Wars party!

Are you planning a Star Wars party for your little one?  I created quite a few printables or this party and will be sharing them soon, all for free.  I hope you have a great weekend!

Update: Here are the free Star Wars printables!

Free Printable: Star Wars Birthday Banner

Do you have a Star Wars fan in your house?  I do.  I have a little man, well not so little anymore, who is about to turn five.  We'll be celebrating his birthday this weekend with a few friends and to prepare, my house is being filled with a lot of blue, black and gold, light sabers, storm troopers and so many asteroids that I lost count.

The first party decoration I hung was a Star Wars birthday banner strung across the mantel.  It's also available for you to download and print (at the bottom of the post).... so simple, so easy!

To make the banner, I draped two rows of yarn across the mantel (clear tape holds it in place)....

.... then I made the design, printed the letters on white cardstock and cut out each circle.

I used a glue gun to attach the circle letters to the yarn (one dot of glue for each string of yarn).  I began with the letters that were in the center of the banner and worked toward the ends.

Finally, all the letters were attached, but my banner looked a little bottom heavy....

....so, I adjusted the tape that held the yarn in place...

and voila.... perfect, kinda (I glued my letters a little lopsided, but it's one of a kind!).

Besides the Star Wars banner, here are a few more photos of the birthday decorating that's going on around here...

After I recoup from little Yodas and Anakins running around my house this weekend, I'll post the details (and give away so many more Star Wars printables!).  For now, the Star Wars birthday banner is available for your personal use for FREE!  So go ahead.... download, print or just pass along the link... enjoy!

Star Wars Birthday Banner

Click the arrow above to download the pdf file or click the printer icon above to print.  Print on white/cream colored 8.5x11" cardstock paper.  Then cut out each circle and attach to yarn, twine, paper, walls, etc... get creative!  By the way, I updated my Free Printables page so it's easier to navigate.... check it out!

Enjoy your weekend (and may the force be with you!).

Mantel Decor for Spring (and Easter)

I recently took out a few sparkly Easter eggs to display around the house as we prepare to celebrate the holiday.  Since The Lettered Cottage is having a spring mantel link party this week, I thought it would be the perfect time to show the setup of my mantel and it's new sparkle.

Remember the candlesticks from last year?  Well, two of them got a quick update with a little Rub 'n Buff (I buy mine at Hobby Lobby).  I changed the candlestick color from cream to antique gold.... Rub 'n Buff makes updating things around the house so easy, literally rub and buff.  Such a quick and simple update.

Once the candlesticks had dried (less than an hour), I placed them on the mantel and put a pink sparkly egg in each holder... a perfect fit!

I created the large pink painting here and here, added a white ceramic bird (from Target), and clipped a large branch from a tree in my backyard and placed it in an old apple juice glass jar.

That completes the mantel for now..... later this week I'll be adding one more temporary decoration.  If you have a little man in your life who enjoys Star Wars, you'll really want to come back and check it out :)

 I hope you're enjoying spring-like weather!

Linking up to The Lettered Cottage.

Kitchen and Mini Mudroom Update

Over the past several months, I've slowly tweaked our kitchen table area and small mudroom.  Actually, what I call a mudroom is so, so tiny that I don't even know if I can really call it a mudroom, but we store a few on-the-go-items here, so it's our mini mudroom.

It was about a year ago that I last talked about the kitchen table and mini mudroom (ha- where has the time gone).... this is what it looked like last year....

And now.... progress (after a year!)....

I added zebra print seat cushions to the wooden chairs and recovered the black ottoman with pink alligator faux fabric.  The ottoman has been moved from the wall to the table for use as another seat and storage.... the kids and I keep our everyday shoes inside (the husbands are kept in the black closet).  I only wish the inside of our ottoman looked this neat everyday!

On the small wall next to the back door, I added a painted pink chair (Royal Fuchsia by Benjamin Moore) and covered the seat with a wide black and cream striped outdoor fabric from Tonic Living (the fabric in the frame is also from Tonic Living, Theo).

The setup has been working well so far!  I'll leave you with a picture of the freshness sitting on my kitchen table.

Enjoy your weekend (I'll be watching the NCAA tournament and hoping my brackets finish strong!).