may the force be with you

This weekend, we celebrated little man’s 5th birthday with a Star Wars party.

On the plus side, May 4th was actually Star Wars Day

On the other hand, we had a lot of big, outdoor plans, including a bounce house and some Jedi training activities, but a nasty storm came in on Thursday, soaking our area and causing floods and damage. We shrugged it off, clearing our front room of furniture and making sure that the playroom was prepped for an influx of kids. It was cramped, but we did the best we could in the circumstances. Fortunately, our guests all got safely home before the tornado warnings hit the immediate area (with a sighting!). It was quite the ending to our evening.

In the meantime, I had a blast planning. We are all huge Star Wars lovers in this house, so it was especially fun sorting through ideas and implementing them on the big day.

The balloon wreath on the front door. I had to take this photo from inside with the door open because of the torrential downpour. I used blue, white and silver balloons and a custom cut wooden 5 to put the look together.

Upon arrival, our young Jedi guests could pick up their name tag at the welcome table. Great for keeping track of the little Padawans and the different colors helped keep some sense of organization for party games.

We had a couple of Jedi Training activities on tap. For one of them, I built a tunnel out of moving boxes and we called it a black hole. The Jedi trainees had to crawl through to complete their Space Travel requirement.

The second challenge involved stepping from felt “rock” to felt “rock” on a river of felt “lava.” This would help prove the trainees’ agility.

 The other challenges involved bouncing balloons off pool noodle light sabers and bouncing in the bounce house to defy gravity. We skipped those, but were able to salvage defeating Darth Vader, in the form of a pinata.

In the meantime, there was plenty of food in the Mos Eisley Cantina.

We served Force Fruit, Chips & Dagobah Dip, Bantha Nuggets, Mandalorian Macaroni & Cheese and Han Burgers (also, veggies & dip).

To drink?

Luke Skywater, Yoda Soda (made of ginger ale and lime sherbet) and Sith Sangria.

And we can’t forget dessert.

 Cookies in the shape of the number 5, decorated to look like light sabers.

Pinterest provided inspiration for these Princess Leia cupcakes (from Just JENN Recipes)

Wookiee Cookies, crafted out of Star Crunch cookies (inspired by Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons)

And last, but certainly not least, the Millenium Falcon cake. I was scared it wasn’t going to work out, but little man loved it.

I love fun pictures, so I set up a little photo booth area, with masks of different Star Wars characters. Here is little man, channeling everyone’s favorite bounty hunter.

With a little teamwork, Darth Vader was defeated!

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. I had DIY Storm Trooper favor bags with adorable R2D2 crayons (from Extra Money for Mommy), homemade chocolates of Han Solo frozen in carbonite, a Star Wars tattoo and a glow stick. The kids also got to take home their pool noodle light sabers and a Jedi Certificate.

Of course, I had to have a picture with everyone’s favorite scoundrel before the day was over.

 Little man had a great day, despite the bad weather and changes in plans. It was also bittersweet because this is the last party we are going to do at home. I love putting these bashes together, but as he gets older, he and his friends are probably going to enjoy going to the local trampoline or lego place a little more. It will be hard to relinquish control, but it’s all about what the kids are going to enjoy.

May the force be with you.