A STAR WARS party on a DOLLAR STORE budget

This weekend we just finished one of the most elaborate birthday parties I have ever thrown. For Elijah Cole. So.. how did I do it you ask? Well, Pinterest helped absolutely. A lot of my ideas aren't that original really. But I feel like I get a lot of moms saying "I just don't have the money to do something big like that."

Let me just tell you.... I am FAR FROM daddy warbucks. But I love to throw a good party for my kids. So I decided to challenge myself with this birthday party and only use items from the dollar store or that cost a dollar.

Food made cheap and easy: The first thing you should know about me is that I am NOT a cook. When parties come my way I break out into cold sweats just thinking about the food part of things. But this party made me get creative about the food (especially with the dollar store budget). Everyone of the food items I purchased at Walmart or the dollar store for, you guessed it, a dollar.

Yoda soda was Walmart punch mixed with Walmart brand sprite. Cheap and everyone loved it. I made the invitations and food tags myself on pixlr.com. But if you're interested in using the ones I made, I'm happy to share:

Instead of a cake, I opted to make cupcakes. I chose chocolate and vanilla as representatives of the darkside and the lightside and had each Padawan choose which side they would be on. I then headed on over to Meckmom who had some delightful free cupcake topper printables that helped make the cupcakes more festive. In the end, I made 36 cupcakes for $6 and the kids loved them (also the adults).

A Bit About Costumes: I'm not a sewer at all. But I wanted to make sure our family had costumes to help create the look and feel of the party. My Princess Leia hair was all sock buns. If you haven't tried them, you're missing out. Tim and I just used what was in our closets for clothes. As did Ms. Liv. But the boys needed a bigger element in order to help get them into the spirit of things. Both of my boys wanted to be Luke Skywalker. So what is a mom to do? I decided to make one a fighter pilot Luke, and the other a Jedi. For Elijah's costume I borrowed from a very talented friend of a friend. She made a fabulous Luke Skywalker costume, and if you are a sewer, she has a great step by step of it HERE.

For Noah's costume, I used an orange t-shirt (because it's super hot out) and boots we had to help make the fighter pilot attire. Any good fighter pilot knows, it's the helmet that makes the outfit. I found an amazing tutorial here  and ended up spending about $2 on it.

While a lot of moms spend a great deal of time on decore and food at parties, I prefer to have a good program. I mean, what good is a beautiful setting with tasty food if you didn't have any fun? Program is key in my book, and it's what I spent the most time on. I decided to do a theme of Padawan Training. I love to use my little guy's imagination and really get into things. So the first thing I wanted to create to kind of introduce the idea to everyone is by using an opening training video. I noticed there weren't really any videos like that on youtube, so I had to make one myself. It's not specific to Elijah, so if you want to use it, you are welcome to it:

http://vimeo.com/72022941

After the video, we went outside to the official "Training Academy". The first thing we did was take the Padawan oath. To serve and protect the galaxy and to not let the darkside of the force cloud our judgement.

At this time, I started playing a series of star wars themes to help create an atmosphere of imagination. It really made each obstacle much more real and alive.

Next was the lazer beam obstacle course. We took the dog run on the side of our house and transformed it with $1 yarn from Walmart, duct tape and tacks. The kids loved it and kept going through with more and more special "tricks". It became a contest of who could do it with the most style. And they loved at the end of the party attacking it with their lightsabers.

Next was the lava pit. Simple dollar store sidewalk chalk guided our younglings on a course through hot lava. They loved seeing how fast they could get through the pits without getting burned.

After the obstacles were thoroughly played through, I then chose to break out the lightsabers.        

Note: the key strategy is to wait on the lightsabers as late as possible in the training, so there are less blows to the head while waiting their turn in line.

I made the lightsabers, like many other pinterest moms out there, by using dollar store pool noodles cut in half. Other tools of the trade were duct tape and electrical tape to make the buttons and knobs and to make each lightsaber unique to the kids. I made 12 lightsabers that cost me $8 total.

 

"Lightsabers UP!" I began going through a series of excercises with them, carefully making sure they were standing in a line so as to avoid bops to the opponent's head. When that was finished, I unleashed the storm trooper balloons I made. 

The balloons were a fun idea, but a great example of how even the best laid plans don't always work out. Because it was outside, the balloons quickly popped and a game that was designed to be 8 minutes long, lasted about a minute and a half and ended up with some of the children in tears who were so upset their balloons popped.

I had to do something, and I had to do it fast. So I had them assemble back on the line and went through another "training excercise" where Tim and I fought each child and had them use their newfound skills.

 

This turned out to be a huge success, and prepared them for THE BIG SURPRISE.

Note: when throwing a budget birthday party it is important to use what is available to you. Borrowing and asking for help are key to making a budget birthday a success.

Which brings me to the major reason why I chose the Padawan training. I had a wonderful friend who happened to be related to some pretty spectacular men who owned storm trooper costumes and a Darth Maul full costume. They kindly agreed to visit the children and be the big finale to the training. Naturally, this could also be accomplished by buying a mask and having a family member come out in a black cape (or a dollar store table cover). But we enjoyed the authenticity and theatrical surprise these delightful characters brought to the birthday.

When I had finished battling the younglings, I had them line up and told them that I felt they were ready for their last test of the darkside. I asked them if they felt ready, and waited until they all excitedly screamed.  

The Darth Maul theme played, and out from the side of our house came Darth Maul and two storm troopers.

 It's important to note that some of the younger children got pretty frightened. But I felt that this was a 6-year-old's birthday party and what better way to make it real than to have a duel with the actual characters? As you can see, the kids got really into it. And Darth Maul and the Storm Troopers were so very kind to have taken so many vigorous hits by pool noodles.

In the end, the Padawans successfully defeated the darkside and raised their lightsabers in celebration. They recieved Training Academy certificates and were brought back into the house to cool off. and to have the opportunity to take some pictures with the darkside.

I mean really? What kid wouldn't love this photo op? They posed so well and allowed each kid to come and take a photo with them.  It was something even the parents excitedly got into. (Oh Uncle Jason).

The backdrop for the pictures was made from 2 dollar store black table cloths, some tacks, dollar store star stickers and Cardstock board from, you guessed it, the dollar store.

Of course, these kind hearted characters didn't just stop at posing for pictures, they even delivered presents for the birthday boy.

They showed him kindness and love and I absolutely broke down crying when I saw this scene. They really ARE nice guys :)

Ofcouse the party wouldn't be complete without one of Uncle Jason's now world famous pinatas. This one was a death star and a very special lightsaber (wooden dowel rod, carefully painted) to hit it with. It was just big enough for Elijah to hold and it was so much fun to Destroy the Deathstar!







And there you have it. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was definitely memorable and fun, and in the end, isn't that what every kid wants for their birthday? I hope it encourages you that you really can throw an incredibly fun birthday party on a dollar store budget!