Star Wars mania has swept the country with the recent release of Star Wars III, Revenge of the Sith. Kids young and old are caught up in the excitement of the final installment, and this provides for a fabulous theme for a birthday party! I say this with upclose and personal experience, just having finished throwing a Galaxy Bash for my son's 5th birthday!
The invitations will set the tone for the party, and though you can purchase premade cards that you just fill your information in on, that's just no fun! I used a picture of space and created some text that would rival George Lucas' efforts:
"IN A GALAXY NOT SO FAR AWAY, ON THE DAY OF JUNE 25, IN THE YEAR 2000, A BABY BOY WAS BORN. FROM THE BEGINNING HIS ENERGY DREW THE ATTENTION OF THE JEDI COUNCIL, WHO NAMED HIM SETH. THEY KNEW HE WAS THE CHOSEN ONE. IN THE 5 YEARS THAT FOLLOWED HIS BIRTH, YOUNG SETH HAS BEEN LEARNING THE POWERS OF THE FORCE.
RECENTLY THOUGH, THE JEDI KNIGHTS HAVE FELT A STRONG DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE. A DISTURBANCE GENERATED BY THE DARKSIDE…. MANY JEDI KNIGHTS HAVE BEEN LOST. THE VERY FUTURE OF THE JEDI ORDER IS NOW IN JEOPARDY.
THE JEDI COUNCIL HAS CALLED UPON YOUNG PADAWAN SETH TO SEEK OUT FUTURE JEDI. YOUR YOUNG PADAWAN’S PRESENCE IS REQUESTED TO COMPLETE JEDI TRAINING ON JUNE 26, 2005.
THE TRIALS WILL BEGIN PROMPTLY AT 6:00 PM AT THE LARSON SYSTEM OF THE Street Name GALAXY, DOCKING BAY address.
PLEASE ADVISE THE JEDI COUNCIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AT contact info AS TO WHETHER YOUR YOUNG PADAWAN WILL ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE OF THE TRIALS. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!"
After the call to the challenge is issued, the decorating begins. Black industrial plastic hung all around, colored light bulbs like red and blue replace the white ones in fixtures. Glow in the dark stars can be hung from the ceiling and blacklights added to enhance the effect.
Each child can receive a swath of fabric draped over them for their Jedi uniform and lightsabers can be made ahead of time by cutting 1 inch PVC pipe in two foot sections, with four inches of pipe insulation at one end for a handle. Think about painting them with glow in the dark paint.
For activities each Jedi can be required to complete a Jedi training course: a ball hung in a tree to hit with their lightsaber, a short net to jump over, cones to run around, and a limbo pole to make it under are some ideas. There is also alien face painting, an asteroid hunt (like an Easter egg hunt, but with small candy and toys crumpled in pieces of aluminum foil), and you can create the volcanoes of Mustafar by shaping playdough and filling it with "volcanic ash" (baking soda) and adding "lavalistic acid" (vinegar).
For favors the children can keep their uniform and lightsabers, as well as their loot from the asteroid hunt. Make up certificates ahead of time for each one for completing Jedi training:
"THE JEDI COUNCIL OF THE LARSON GALAXY PRESENTS child name
THE TITLE OF JEDI MASTER IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR EXCELLENCE AND BRAVERY IN FIGHTING THE DARK SIDE AND DEFENDING THE GALAXY."
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Your party is destined for greatness, as are you! Have a great time and may the force be with you!
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