Star Wars Galaxy Party Plan
A Star Wars party is a classic – it just keeps getting bigger and better with age! From ages 5 to 50, every little kid wants to have a Star Wars party at some point! So roll up your sleeves and let the force be with you …
Invitations: You can make your own invitations out of black card stock. Write with a white gel pen or use your computer to use this script: “A LONG TIME AGO IN A DARK GALAXY, A CHILD OF DESTINY WAS BORN” “THIS YOUNG JEDI WILL CELEBRATE HIS BIRTHDAY IN A GALAXY NEAR YOU …” really cool that has a free download of the font used in the introduction of the Star Wars movies is galaxyfaraway.com. This site also has free Star Wars movie and music audio clips. Another great site is the official Star Wars website http://www.starwars.com which leads me to my next invitation idea. Go to the “Kids” section and then type in the search box “Halloween Masks”. What you will find is a variety of printable character skins. Choose one or more of the masks to use as the basis for the invitation. Follow the printing instructions and mount as necessary. Attach party details with a request to wear the mask attached to the string or place the 2 items in a large envelope. Mark the envelope TOP SECRET and seal with a Star Wars sticker. You can choose to print the masks in full color or choose to use black and white and have the kids color them for the party, a kind of coloring contest. Either way, very cool!
Decorations: The party table can be adorned with licensed Star Wars tableware and decorations. Other tables like the food table and gift table can be dressed up with black tablecloths, lime green moon rocks (to go on), and those glow-in-the-dark plastic stars you can find at any dollar store. Arrange your child’s Star Wars toys and figures around the room to decorate and play with. Give your area a feeling of outer space. Cut stars out of thick aluminum foil and hang them from the ceiling with fishing wire. Decorate your walls with modern looking planets made from colored construction paper with silver and gold glitter to make them look out of this world! Hang posters and pictures of your child’s favorite characters. Gather a bunch of ordinary rocks of all shapes and sizes, paint them lime green, and place them around the party area to look like moon rocks. And finally, you can’t forget the asteroids. Asteroids can be made from pieces of Styrofoam cut to shape and painted or by hanging brown, tan, or gold balloons from the ceiling with fishing wire. Make sure to draw lots of cracks and indentations on the balloons with a black marker before popping. In keeping with licensed party supplies, stick with colors like red, orange, black, and metallic for the balloons, streamers, and any additional decorations.
Crafts: Make your own lightsaber. This is a pretty easy craft if you don’t mind a little pre-party planning. All you need is pool noodles, believe it or not. Cut a full length in half for 2 sabers. Because they are so wide, you will need to carve into a handle with an exact knife. Make 4-inch, 1-inch deep T-cuts around one end and then very carefully remove the pieces. The handle does not have to be perfectly smooth because on the day of the party it will be up to the children to choose their color, decorate the rod with multicolored markers and wrap their handles with colored electrical or hockey tape to give their Light Saber a good grip. . Make sure their names are written on their creation! If you have a clever group, set up a table where they can build their own planet. The supplies needed are Styrofoam balls, paint and brushes, glue, and some decorations like glitter, beads, and sequins. First ask them to paint their planets. During drying time, ask them to name their planets by taking the first 4 letters of their name and the last 4 letters of their last name and placing them together. What would yours be? My son’s would be Sethbald! Have them write the names of their planets on small pieces of paper and then staple it with a toothpick. Now is the time to beautify the planets with decorations of your choice. When everything is dry and you’re ready for the next adventure, be sure to poke the toothpick into the styrofoam and attach a piece of fishing wire with a thumbtack so guests can hang their own planet in their own room.
Games: Now that each child has their own lightsaber, play “Keep Up The Meteor.” Tell the guests that the evil Darth Vador has unleashed a meteor shower to destroy planet earth and that it is your duty to prevent the meteorites from hitting the earth. Preparation for this is simple; Blow up a bunch of balloons, turn on the Star Wars soundtrack, and have the kids form a circle. Start with one balloon, then another, and another until you have thrown 1 balloon for each child. If they can hold only 1 balloon for the duration of a song or a timer set to 3 minutes, they will save Earth! One really fun thing to do is have an adult dress up as Vader with a mask, cape, and lightsaber. Have the young Jedi Knights fight Darth Vador with their own lightsabers. It can be a bit noisy, but kids will love it! If you have an older group, Star Wars trivia is always a big hit, but if the group is a little younger, try playing “Shapeshifting.” Shapeshifters are creatures from the dark side that can change into different shapes or characters. You will need: Star Wars music and 2 large bags full of fun clothes, costumes and accessories. Gather the guests in a circle, turn on the music, and ask the children to pass the bags. The players holding the bags when the music stops must reach in, pull out an item, and put it on. The game ends when all the elements are finished. Very silly and very funny! “Galaxy Hunt”: the villain Darth Vader has stolen all the treasures of the galaxies and has hidden them within the star clusters scattered throughout the galaxy. It is up to each young Jedi to search and find 5 star clusters and report back to mission headquarters. If even 1 Jedi is unable to complete his mission, it is up to all the young Jedi to help their sparring partner. When all missions are completed, the Star Clusters can be opened to reveal their treasure. The preparation for this game is to wrap different candies with aluminum foil to make balls of strange shapes. Hide around the “hunting area” only 5 groups for each player. Make it a bit difficult – you want young Jedi to have to work for their treasure! A good idea is to give each child a loot bag with their name on it to store their treasures when they return to Mission Central.
Loot Bags: If you’ve played Galaxy Hunt, you probably already have a bag full of candy. Complete the guest loot bags by adding some Glow Sticks, Pop Rocks, Silly Putty, Glow in the Dark Stars, and some Star Wars favors. eBay is a great place to find large quantities of Star Wars gifts and trinkets at really reasonable prices. Finish off loot bags with a Jedi Knight certificate informing guests that they have passed their training and completed all of their missions. A free printable certificate like the one shown to the left can be found on the 123certficates.com website under the “science fiction” section. You can easily disguise it by printing it on blue paper and completing the symbol with silver color and glitter.