Star Wars Rebels Birthday Party

With the baseball and football frenzy we had going on this past month, we decided to wait a few weeks on Jase's birthday party. We were back and forth on having his party at home, at a park or indoors at a game place like Main Event. Jase ended up winning and we had the party at home.

I was able to use some of the recent pictures from Disney World for his invitation, which worked out perfect. He decided he wanted a Star Wars Rebels party, which is a new show on Disney XD about a group of Rebels rising up and fighting against the Empire, who is trying to take control and gain all power. If I'm being honest, we all like the show here at this house; it has a good story line and keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next. The show is set between Episodes III and IV, where Darth Vader is on the scene and Jedis are scarce. Ok, I'll stop on the show background...is it scary that I know this much about it?!?

 

One of the first things we normally do when planning a party is discuss food and activities. Jase and I looked at Pinterest and Google many times together to gather ideas. It is safe to say that all of the kids are into party planning at this point. Both Finn and Ally have been planning their next party for the past month. I may have created party monsters!

 

With Jase's recent food allergy discovery, I had to keep that in mind when planning for the party. Shawn and I decided for these next 2 months we would cut dairy out completely and cut back on gluten. This way we are only changing one thing in his diet and would hopefully be able to pinpoint if dairy is solely causing the issue or both dairy and gluten. Based on the test results, dairy is definitely an issue and there seems to be some sensitivity to gluten as well. Also, I was allergic to milk until I was 2 years old and my mom was allergic when she was a baby as well, so it is very likely that dairy is probable.

 

Back to food. I wanted food that was going to be easy for us. Brisket came to mind since we could cook it ahead of time and our guests could make chopped beef sandwiches. We decided to try pulled pork instead of brisket. I have been on a crockpot kick lately, so I bought a pork roast and added Stubbs All Natural BBQ sauce and cooked it in the crockpot last month for a test run. It really turned out great. I also made some Country Style Pork Ribs {in another crockpot} per Jase's request and they turned out so tender and tasty. So, for the party we decided on pulled pork, pork ribs and link beef sausage. We cooked all the pork items the day before in crockpots and that really helped out on preparation.

For those of you who are interested, here is our list of food and it's corresponding Star Wars Rebels name.

Boba's Buns - Slider Buns

Ezra Bridger's BBQ - Pulled Pork, Country Style Pork Ribs, Sausage

Chopper's Chips - Chips

Blaster BBQ Sauce - Stubb's BBQ Sauce

Yodamole - Guacamole

Inquisitor Ice - Sonic Ice

Warrior Water - Water

Sabine's Sweet Tea - Sweet Tea

Vaderade - Gatorade

Princess Leia Buns - Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet and Salty Sabers - Dairy-free Dipped Pretzel Rods (homemade icing dip)

Agent Kallus Cupcakes - Gluten-free and Dairy-free Cupcakes (homemade)

Vader's Veggie Tray - Broccoli, Carrots, Cucumbers and Black Olives

Zeb's Zesty Ranch Dip - Dairy-free Ranch (homemade)

Tie Pilot Pickles - Pickle Spears (hint: buy a huge jar and slice them yourself)

Wookie Watermelon - Watermelon

Kanan's Cantaloupe - Cantaloupe

Ghostly Grapes - Green Grapes (the Ghost is the Rebels' ship)

Alderaan Apples - Apple Slices

Stormtrooper Strawberries - Strawberries

These ladies were a huge help (as always) prepping food for the party.

While the food was fun, the activities were definitely a hit with the kids. Once most of the guests arrived, we told them that the Empire was taking over and we needed people to "Join the Rebellion". We started off the party with a Rebellion Relay Race: The Clones Vs. The Droids.

Next, the kids could split up and go to stations at their leisure: Concentration Practice, Blaster Training Camp and Light Saber Duels.

We took a little bit of a break and let the kids eat, then we regrouped for the Blaster Face-Off. We made PVC blowgun blasters for each child to use (and take home). They are very simple to make and last forever. We purchased Half Inch Schedule 80 PVC Pipe, cut them into 12" segments and covered them in duct tape to give them some color. The Nerf suction darts fit perfectly in these blasters.

After a few rounds, we mixed it up and had an Adults Vs. Kids Blaster Face-Off and everyone enjoyed it!

We headed inside for a little cake time. I had ordered his cake before we knew of any allergy issues, so I went ahead and kept the order. We made cupcakes and icing that were gluten and dairy-free. We weren't so sure how the icing was going to turn out (or if it would kill my hand mixer), but it turned out great and was super tasty. We used a variation of this icing.

About half way through the party, our Miss Maebry decided to wake up!! She laid down about an hour before the party and took a good nap. The plan was for us to all wear Star Wars shirts. Shawn, Allyson, Finn and myself were all in dress code. Jase was apparently going for a sporty look. Ha! And my plan to change Maebry got thrown off since she feel asleep; I thought for sure she would wake up before the party started. I had even cut out the Rebel Alliance symbol and sewed it on a onesie. It was cute and took me quite a while. Oh well, she was still cute.

After the scheduled party activities ended, the fun did not stop. It was Sports Central in the backyard from football to kickball to baseball.

While the boys were outdoors, the girls were living it up in Ally's room!

Allyson and Gigi have become quite the besties lately. Gigi's brother is on Jase's baseball team, so they are able to spend some good time together at the games. Gigi is a few months older, but they are both in Kindergarten. They play so well together.

Jase had a blast at the party and really enjoyed playing with his friends.

What support our Home Group showed for Jase at his party. We feel so blessed to have so many new friends.

As the Rebels left the party, we gave them a Bubble Light Saber to go home with. I bought bubble wands from Walmart, taped around the handles, spray painted the handles black and added tags from labels I created.

It was a great afternoon with friends and family. Happy 8th Birthday, Jase!