August 22nd, 2013 by Stinkhead
My son is turning six and Star Wars is one of the biggest things in the universe for him, so we decided to go all out with a themed birthday party. Click below for cheap and easy things you can do to spice up a Star Wars party.
Pool Noodle Light Sabres
One of the main components of our party was the Jedi Training. My brother wore a Jedi robe and led the six and seven year olds in some basic light saber moves. One of the children made a comment about the Jedi Master only having a pool noodle, but once we handed out one to everyone at the party, everyone was going to town. They’re cheap (the noodles were $1 a piece at Five Below) and safe, you can’t hurt any thing or body with a pool noodle. Here is the batch. I made 24 to give out (18 confirmed guests, and we assumed some dads may want one too).
I used four basic tapes, chrome duct tape, gold duct tape, black electrical tape, and gaffer tape. I picked up some of that aluminum tape (like for repairing dryer hose) and it was not worth the effort. Also, after I was concerned about the edges being sharp and slicing little fingers. Another tip is that standard (flat) gray duct tape looks like something broke and you’re trying to fix it, so specialty duct tape brings it up a few notches. I also found that the tape cut much easier if it was pulled really taught.
And we gave my son a typical light saber pool noodle, but we wanted to call him out a little bit, make him the star of the show a little bit, so we presented him with this surprise Darth Maul saber. He loved it. Then we let the kids kind of melee a bit, and then rounded them up for pizza and juice. Then, after everyone had finished their pizza, a very special guest arrived.
Special Guest
Darth Vader showed up, looking for our son. He presented him with a signed birthday card, a certificate commending his alliance to the galactic empire, and a Darth Vader action figure. The costume was unbelievable. Every last detail was there, from the boots to the cape. The electronics all lit up, and the ever-present breathing was there. We got our special guest from 501st Legion. This is an international organization of Star Wars enthusiasts with cinema quality costumes. They do conventions, corporate events, and birthday parties. The amazing thing is that they don’t accept any money. They do it all for charity. We were asked to make a donation to a charity of our choice. Our Darth Vader was amazing. He had a commanding, but friendly voice, as not to scare any of the smaller children. My son’s quote “I CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT TO MEET THE REAL DARTH VADER!”. Here’s his face when he first saw Vader walking down the path, calling his name.
If you’re interested in a special guest, check out the 501st web site and pick your state and make an appearance request. They require a clean place to get dressed (that’s not a bathroom) and plenty of advance notice. Darth stuck around and posed for photos with all of the kids (and a few dads) individually. I have been cursed for unfairly raising the bar for birthday party surprises in our social circle.
Star Wars cornhole
We borrowed a friend’s cornhole game and modified it to look like the trench and exhaust port. The kids lined up and tossed bean bags to try and blow up the Death Star. Then, we pulled off that sheet and the foamcore and put on this sheet. It’s a custom kid-in-carbonite photoshop illustration I made, and we cut out the face and held up the cornhole board so everyone could take turns getting photos of their own kid frozen in carbonite. This one is my favorite.
Both of those 4’X2′ black and white prints were $5 a piece at Staples. But we had the intact carbonite pic (with my son’s face) printed on that restickable decal paper (like Fatheads) from a Fast Signs and put it in his room. It’s his favorite decoration. Ho ho ho.
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