Tiger had a birthday. He had a few ideas of what he wanted. He wanted to go camping, and he wanted Lego Star Wars. Here is what I came up with:
The Invitation:
I sent it in an email, but was able to link the website with the picture so that if you clicked anywhere on the picture, it would take you to the invitation. (Make your own here)
Since we were camping, right before the party I sent the kids on a walk with my husband while I set things up. When they came back, they first admired the decorations then went to the Jedi Training Academy.
The Activities
To start, they all dressed in Padawan clothes. I thought about making robes, but went the cheaper route. I bought one and a half yards of brown flannel (cause they didn't have dark brown felt) and a quarter yard of some light brown for the belts. The light brown I cut in thirds the long way and was done. The dark brown I folded in half, discovered it would be too long, adjusted it so it was the length I wanted, and then with that folded in half, cut it into thirds. Then I cut an opening at the top for their heads and called it good.
I wanted to start out simple and move into more complicated and fun. For their first task they had to cross a narrow ledge (a 2x3 propped up on a couple of posts/logs/whatever you feel like).
Then they had to cross the Lava River (a red plastic tablecloth covered with rocks I grabbed around the campsite- could also use paper or foam mats).
After that it was on to defeating the Stormtroopers. I printed out some pictures of storm troopers, (laminated and) glued them to strips of paper I had glued into rings to hold them up, and gave the kids a Nerf gun to shoot the Stormtroopers with.
Next up was a trip to Degobah for some Jedi training with Yoda. I found a little stuffed Yoda at Target and had the kids draw activities out of a little bucket that they had to complete without dropping Yoda. All the kids did the activities, but they took turns holding onto Yoda without dropping him.
Lastly was Lightsaber training. I cut pool noodles in half and covered them with duct tape (I found all my tape at the 99 Cent Only store-even the shiny tin foil one). Before the party, Jedi Trainer Dad watched some YouTube videos of the Disney World version so he could teach the kids their moves before they were attacked by Darth Uncle (who did an excellent job of being beaten by a bunch of little kids while slowly roasting to death in his costume).
After the defeat of Vader, it was time for Certificates of Completion.
The Food:
I wanted to do barbecue type foods and found many ideas online for ways to rename things. I made some quick labels and just cut them out, distressed the edges to make them look more finished, laminated them, and glued little folded bits of paper to the back so they would stand on their own.
I don't think I got a picture of them, but for the napkins, I used this tutorial and printout.
Grandma did an amazing job on the cake. Tiger wanted one with sparklers and real legos (not candy ones)- like this one. I still wanted to make candy legos, so I got this mold set on Amazon, filled it part way with candy melts, added wafer cookies, and finished filling them (it was kind of like making my own Kit Kats). Because I didn't think I could use real sparklers, I found some sparkler candles on Amazon (they weren't spectacular) The Death Star was made from some seriously compacted Rice Crispy Treats.
Other:
For party favors I got each kid a little Lego set and put it in a bag that I attached 2" circles to, and made bubble lightsabers using the napkin printout.
My favorite part of the decorations was the Lego guy banner I made with my Silhouette. I just cut out a bunch of Yoda/Vader/Stormtroopers and sewed them together in between blue circles I cut out with my 2" circle punch.
I also painted a paper lantern to look like the death star. My son might be more enamored with the Dark Side as far as things like that go.
It was a happy birthday. May the force be with you!
