Not to toot my own horn or anything…but this one was awesome. Brayden had long insisted he wanted a Pokemon party just like his brother’s, but when I suggested a Star Wars theme with a lightsaber battle, I won him over.

The awesomeness started with the super cool invitations, which were really more for the parents:

Technically I was Yoda, but it was so hot behind the mask and I had so many other things to focus on that the role playing kind of went by the wayside. Chris was Obi Wan Kenobi, however, and amazed me by being willing to:

• wear a costume made from a plastic tablecloth
• lead a group of kindergarteners in lightsaber training
• let said kindergarteners beat on him repeatedly with those lightsabers

 

When the kids arrived, the first thing they did was decorate their goody bags. I’d printed each kid’s name in a Star Wars font (a free download that came in very handy) on a paper bag, then gave them markers and Star Wars stickers and let them go wild. I had envisioned this as something for them to do while they waited for everyone to show up, but it was actually a very popular activity.

Next was fitness training. We set up an obstacle course in the gym and told the kids that each Padawan would have to prove he was worthy to become a Jedi. They had to jump through a few hoops, walk on a balance beam, crawl through a tunnel, negotiate a maze and guide a soccer ball around some cones. That kept them busy for a good 20 minutes.

Then it was time to suit up for lightsaber training. I bought $5 worth of plastic tablecloths and made Jedi robes for each kid. I also cut pool noodles in half and decorated the hilts with duct and electrical tape to make the lightsabers. The pool noodles came in blue, green and purple, which also happen to be the colors of the Jedi lightsabers — nice. Obi Wan taught them a few moves, let them show him their stuff, then set them loose whapping each other. I think the highlight for the kids was chasing Chris around and beating on him. Talk about taking one for the team.

After that it was time for snacks and cake. I am hopeless at cake decorating, so I compromise by making cake toppers. Kids could choose the Light Side (vanilla cupcakes with Yoda toppers) or the Dark Side (chocolate with Darth Vader toppers). I don’t know if it was the good-vs-evil thing, but the vanilla cupcakes were by far the most popular. Justin likes to point out that he chose the Dark Side, however.

Then came the piece de resistance: my homemade Death Star pinata. I was pretty proud of how this turned out. I found a “bubble balloon” at the dollar store that inflates like a beach ball (big and round, not oval), so I used that. To make the indent, I cut a circle out of the side, inverted it and mached it back into place. Then I spray painted the whole thing grey, put masking tape on to mark the lines, then spray painted it again with a granite-type paint and removed the tape. Everyone got a turn whacking at it before it broke, so it all worked out pretty well.

A truly awesome party! (A huge thank you to Teri for taking the pictures!)