Star Wars Jedi Training Academy Birthday Party

After sharing how I did B's LEGO Building Party for his 9th birthday, I realized I should also share what I did for his 6th birthday - a Star Wars Jedi Training Academy.  And it was a sleepover.  Once again, thank goodness for the Birthday Party Ideas website!  I was actually worried the boys would not enjoy being at B's party as much I enjoyed planning it. I mean I had so much fun planning and thinking and buying; it was amazing. I did not think I was that kind of party planner. I always thought this kind of attention to detail was the talent of a girlie-girl. You know?  Like only a more feminine woman than me could plan a party.  But I did it.  And each boy said several times that this was the best sleepover and the best birthday party they'd ever been invited to.  Now I know that meant until the next one they were invited to, but I took the praise anyway.  ;o)

First of all, I cannot take credit for the invitation.  I sent a computer geek friend of ours some pictures of B and the wording I wanted on the invitation and he created this masterpiece.  So, I cannot help you with the DIY on this.  But let's face it - in today's word, we all know at least one computer geek and if you cook for them they will make you an invitation.  :o)


So, this is what the front of the invitation looked liked...

And here's the inside of the invitation.  The wording says:


A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… 

A boy of destiny was born. The Jedi Council named him B and knew that he was The Chosen One. In the 6 years that followed this youngling’s birth, he has been trained in the ways of The Force. Now Padawan Benjamin’s time has come to complete his training and become a Jedi Master. The Council has decided you are worthy to train alongside him. If you are ready to face your final tests as a Jedi, have your mothership (or fathership) deliver you to: 

Dock #{our house #} of landing bay {name of our street} on the {name of our city} moon of planet {our last name}. 

The Jedi Training Center will begin boarding at 4:30pm on Saturday, October 4, 2008. 

Your intense training will include an overnight stay. Should you accept this challenge, please ensure that you pack the proper overnight provisions and schedule a transport to collect you at 9:30am Sunday. If your home planet is unable to survive without your protection that long, your transport should collect you at 7:30pm Saturday. 

To prevent the location of the Jedi Training Center getting into the hands of The Dark Side, please leave your Jedi uniform at home. Travel in civilian clothing that is weather appropriate for venturing outside. 

“Look forward to seeing you, we do. May The Force be with you.” 
Master Yoda

Added this bit in the invitation - "If your home planet is unable to survive without your protection that long, your transport should collect you at 7:30pm Saturday." in case there were any boys that did not feel comfortable spending the night.  However, they all spent the night. 


We had another dad help us out with the party and he spent the night, as well.  We were so glad he was there to help, too!  I made Jedi uniforms for us adult party attendants and all the kid out of brown and black felt.  Here is me in mine.  As each child arrived, I stowed their overnight gear and had them put on their uniform.  The Star Wars soundtrack was playing in the background.  A friend of mine had given me some big Star Wars cups that were leftover from her son's last party and each child got to pick out which cup he wanted. They drank from the cups while they were here and then took them home with them.


 They just played inside and jumped around in excitement until everyone arrived. Then we played "Who am I?"  I taped a picture of a Star Wars character on each child's back and they took turns asking questions of their fellow padawans and using their Jedi powers of concentration to figure out who was on their own back. They gave each other some great hints and were so happy for each other when they guessed correctly. In the middle of the game, we heard Darth Vader's breathing coming from upstairs. I looked up the stairwell and Darth Vader was coming down the steps. I screamed, which scared the kids. They followed my gaze, saw Darth Vader and ran away in all different directions screaming at the tops of thier lungs! It was HYSTERICAL!! As soon as the hubs got to the botom of the stairs he had to take the mask off; he was laughing so hard at our reactions and he was sweating like crazy under it.  I bought a Darth Vader mask and cape at Party City since the whole costume was too expensive, and the hubs just wore black pants and shirt with them.  After the "Who am I?" game was over, we headed outside for the obstacle course. 

My 6 year old baby!

I got a Yoda backpack off of eBay and each child wore the backpack for their turn through the obstacle course, just like Luke Skywalker did in The Empire Strikes Back. So, each child had to do: 

1. 10 jumping jacks
2. Spin around 5 times
3. A forward roll (on a blanket)
4. Run and jump over the Degobah Swamp (green towels)
5. Keep a balloon in the air for 10 seconds using a lightsaber
6. Pop 5 balloons with their butt. In 4 of them was a blank piece of paper and the 5th balloon had a picture of Boba Fett. They had to pop the balloons by sitting on them in order to "capture" Boba Fett before he flew away with frozen Han Solo
7. Hit a mylar balloon of Darth Vader with a water gun 5 times. The balloon was 10' off the ground, blowing in the breeze and was tied to a Geoffrey Giraffe balloon (B got his free one in TRU the day before) so you had to be careful not to hit Darth's hostage, Geoffrey, with the water

The kids were great with being patient during everyone else's turn. They cheered each other on and jumped in to help when asked, like when one boy was too light to pop balloons with his butt or by stomping on them with his foot and when another boy did not want to pop the balloons himself b/c he was scared of the noise. Then the kids just battled with the lightsabers while I got dinner on the table.

The foods I served for dinner and breakfast were: Chewbacca Chips with Kenobi Queso; Vader Veggies and Degobah Dip; Baked Mustafar (baked ziti that looked like the lava planet in Episode III); Galactic Garlic Bread, Wookie Water; Tattoine Trail Mix (popcorn, pretzels, raisins and M&Ms); Palpatine Pancakes; Bespin Bacon; Skwalker Sausage and Jedi Juice (OJ). 

Click on this tutorial blog post to see how I made the cake.

After dinner and the Death Star Cake I made, the kids got into their PJs and we watched The Empire Strikes Back. Then they all laid down in the living room to go to "sleep".  Most of the kids were asleep by 11pm.  B, of course, was up at 5:30am and the rest were up by 6:30am. Another Star Wars movie was put on to distract the kids while I got breakfast ready. They so wanted to go back outside to play but we would not let them out until 9am out of respect for the neighbors. 

When their parents arrived, they got their goody bags on the way out the door.  A couple of weeks before the party, a friend called and alerted me to a ton of Star Wars things at the Target Dollar Spot, so I got some goody bag things there to add to the items I had bought off of eBay. Each child got to keep their uniform and there was a graduation certificate in their bags signed my the hubs and me.

I don't know who had more fun, the kids or us adults. When I was putting the goody bags together a few days before the party, the hubs "chastized" me for going all out. He said we would never be able to top this party and what the heck was I going to do next year? At the time I told him I didn't think I could do this kind of party again. B could just invite one friend to do something special the next year. But after that party I was hooked and I knew I could and would do another themed party again.  


I'm sorry I don't have the amount of money I spent on this party like I did with the LEGO one.  It could have gotten really expensive if I bought all new stuff from the store instead of making things and searching for bargains and buying gently used items.  Whatever your budget, you can put together a great children's party they can enjoy and you can be proud of.