Lego Star Wars Birthday Party

So, let me just start off this post with telling you that I really had fun planning this party.  By no means have I ever been into Star Wars (SW) prior to Jase liking it.  And a year ago I would have told you Star Wars, Smar Wars; I just was not a fan.  Last fall, we started checking out EVERY Star Wars easy reader at the library and from there our SW knowledge took off! Shawn has been a fan since he was kid, so when Jase got interested he got excited; I think he enjoys reliving that era of his life!

Jase was right there with me, helping me plan the party from day 1.  I made an invitation in Picasa and was proud of myself, it had a Lego Yoda on it and at the top said "Invited You Are".  I thought it was catchy and cute.  The next morning I showed it to Jase and asked if he liked it and he said NO!  I couldn't believe it.  He told me that he wanted more characters on it!  Shawn said, "just use that one and don't worry about it."  It's his birthday and I wanted him to love it though.  So, the next day I made two more "options" for him to choose from.  When I showed him all 3 options he said "what is the 4th one?"  Can I blame him for knowing what he wants? ;-)  He ended up going with option 3.

For Ally's party I had a table of food set-up in our playroom, so I created this banner above the table for decoration.

Well, it has just stayed up since her party.  For Jase's party I wasn't going to have anything in the playroom, so I wasn't going to mess with it.  Mr. Jase had other plans.  Like 2 days before the party he tells me that we need to change the banner with his name and the number 5.  Off to Hobby Lobby we went!! I got out the cricut to cut paper and letters for his name and put it together.  I even thought about cutting out Finn's name, but I have over a year for that! ;-)

Ah the food and drinks . . . probably my favorite part of the party!! Shawn, Jase and I had fun coming up with the names for the food and drinks.  Some of them I found on the Internet and others we made up.

I found a Lego Star Wars figure on-line that corresponded with every item that we had.  I created a word document and formatted it to print on an Avery label (5163).  I downloaded the Star Jedi Rounded font free on-line and added the description next to the Lego picture.  I put the labels on some black card stock I had and just had to trim one side after folding the signs in half.  Here are the food items and descriptions we went with:

Padme Pizza - Domino's Pizza
Yoda Soda - Lime Sherbet with Sprite Punch
Jedi Juice - Capri Suns
Wampa Water - Bottled water
Stormtrooper Sweet Tea
Luke Skywalker Lemonade
Princess Lays - Lays potato chips (plain & wavy)
Jedi Jase French Onion Dip - French Onion Dip (my favorite one)
Vader Veggies - Veggie tray
Battle Droid Dip - Ranch dip
Edible Ewoks - Sour Patch kids
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sweet & Salty Sabers - Pretzel rods dipped in almond bark
Jango Fett Fruit Tray
C-3PO Cheese & Crackers
Star Wars Snacks - HEB brand Star Wars fruit snacks
Han Solo Rolos
Hoth Ice - Ice for tea and lemonade
Yodamole - Guacamole
Sandtrooper Scoops - Tostito Scoops
Use the Fork, Luke - Plastic ware

Now to keep all the kiddos entertained, I decided on a few things that I thought they would enjoy.  And again, Jase was right there with me looking on the Internet, watching YouTube videos and giving suggestions left and right.  I enjoyed this time together with him and it was a project for us to do together. :-)

When the kids first arrived we had a Lego Star Wars DVD playing for about 10-15 minutes until everyone arrived.  This was a great idea I found on-line and it kept all the kids in one place and let us get everything set-up for the events that were to come.

Shawn telling the kids what they were about to do next

Next, the kids went outside and lined up for an obstacle course that Shawn put together.  It was designed around our playset and we tried to keep it very basic for the kids. Jase started the kids off on the course and had a bit of a rough start, but he did great and finished it up!

After they finished the obstacle course they ended up at a table where they were "robed" and given a light saber.  The robes I made were very simple, no sewing involved and perfect for us.  I bought 3 different shades of brown fabric and made 3 different sizes: one for our toddlers, another for Jase's size, and one for the older kids.  The majority of the ones I made were for Jase's size.  I kept the fabric folded in half and cut them at 24 inches (I believe) wide.  Then I folded them in half, with the fold still at the top and cut a triangle out at the neck to give the robes a v-neck look.  After all of the robes were cut, extra material was used for the belts (2" wide strips).  The belts really helped gather the sides and made up for not sewing the sides in my opinion.  A special thanks to Michelle, Alisha and my mom for helping me with this!

I assigned the light saber construction to Shawn!  I picked up the thinner pool noodles (from Walmart and Academy) and they were cut in half.  Shawn bought PVC pipe and hot glued about 12-18 inches inside the pool noodle, leaving about 6-8 inches on the outside for the handle.  Shawn covered the PVC pipe on the outside with AC aluminum foil duct tape and it really gave it that shiny pop.  He did an awesome job on them!!  A special thanks to Jay and Joseph for lending a hand and their SW expertise on the light sabers.

The kiddos lined up against the fence and they were given their next assignment. They were each given a balloon and they had to balance the balloon on their light saber for Light Saber Training.  The wind was blowing pretty good that day (I'm not complaining because it was warm outside) so it made it a little tough to keep the balloons from flying away, but the kids had fun.  After they balanced it for a minute they had to Rescue Princess Leia.  Every balloon had a Lego Star Wars figure in it that I printed on card stock.  The kids had to pop their balloon to see if they had Princess Leia.  It was a fast game, but they they had fun searching for her.  And Jase's balloon ended up having the Princess! :-)

Lastly, their next mission was the Destroy the Death Star.  Shawn spray painted two sports pinatas and decorated them like the Death Star.  This was a good ole fashion, bash the pinata with a baseball bat activity.  I gave the kids small gift bags to collect their candy in.  They could also use this as a bag to put their robe and belt in if they wanted to take it off.

Here's a short clip of Jase and Allyson attempting to Destroy the Death Star.

Allyson was my little Princess Leia for the day! I made her a shirt with Princess Leia's face on it and I think it turned out too cute.  I printed a simple coloring page of Princess Leia and cut out the hair and face separately.  I then pinned the two different patterns (hair and face) to fabric I had on-hand and cut them out. I ironed on heat and bond, but it did not stick very well to the shirt.  I sewed on the face, then the hair and hand stitched the eyes and lips. Of course I didn't get a good picture of her in it the day of the party!

After the Death Star, the kids had to stay strong in The Force with food and drink! Next, we went inside for presents and cupcakes!

Most of the Jedi Knights!

After looking at cakes and cupcakes, I decided to go with cupcakes.  I found these super cute Star Wars cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma and had to get them.  My sister made the cupcakes, icing and cookies and did a fabulous job!! They were a big hit! I made the cupcake toppers for the cupcakes without cookies on them to bring in the Lego part of the Lego Star Wars theme.

Jase and his friends had a blast with the theme.  The kids enjoyed dressing up and pretending to be Jedi Knights.  Allyson did not take her robe off until it was bath time that evening!!

Here are some of the websites I used for inspiration:

http://www.tipjunkie.com/star-wars-birthday-party-ideas/

http://brassyapple.blogspot.com/2010/06/boys-birthdaystar-wars.html

http://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com/2011/05/lots-of-star-wars-party-ideas.html

http://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com/2011/09/our-collection-of-star-wars-party-food.html

My baby boy turns 5

Today (4/28) was Jase's 5th birthday.  I still remember being pregnant with him and he is the reason I started blogging in the first place: to record memories.  I started my first blog in March 2007 while I was pregnant with Jase.  My oh my how time flies.  I wouldn't trade one moment with my kids for anything; they are a blessing from the Lord for sure.  Here are some pictures of our little man.

Jase as a newborn - April 28, 2007

1 year old pictures of Jase - 2008

Last night Shawn and I stayed up pretty late trying to get a head start on prepping for the party today.  Shawn put together a life size cut-out of Darth Vader . . . Jase had no idea I had bought it.  Yoda was my first choice, but he was sold out on-line, so I went with the villain!  Kind of as a joke, Shawn put Vader at the bottom of the stairs so Jase would see him first thing when he came out of his room.  Well, this morning I hear Jase get out of his bed (I'm a light sleeper) and hear Jase say in a scared voice "why is Darth Vader at the bottom of the stairs?" I immediately responded with "he is paper baby, it's ok."  In hindsight, probably not the best way to wake up on your birthday! Haha!!

After we all woke up and got around, we gave Jase our present.  On a trip to Walmart with Shawn, Jase had spotted a specific Lego set that he wanted (Luke's Landspeeder), so we made sure he got that one! His bible (a small one with only the New Testament in it) has been missing lately, so last week I was talking to him about getting a new one and asked if he wanted a big one like Mommy and Daddy's or another small one and he said big one.  Big Bible it is! And of course we find his bible in a chair in our bedroom while cleaning up.  Maybe we should do that more often, than just before a party!! ;-/  While purchasing his bible, I also found this cool National Geographic animal book on sale and knew he would like it.  His gift from Allyson was a Yoda stuffed animal and he loved it! Actually I think she loves it just as much.  After he opened it, she took Yoda over and served him tea, gave him a bottle and she laid him down for a nap and told me "shhh, Yoda is sleeping!" Not sure if we'll have to buy her one or not!!

Later this afternoon, we had all of Jase's friends over for his Lego Star Wars party and I think it went great.  All of the kids seemed to have fun and that was the goal! Here is a preview of the pictures.  I'll have to do a full party post in a few days.

After baths Shawn and Jase sat on the couch and put together one of the Lego SW sets he received today.  I love seeing them work together and had to take a picture.  And just as they were about to walk up the stairs, a lightsaber duel broke out.  I love these moments! Happy birthday, Boo-Boo! Mommy and Daddy love you dearly.