Legos and Lightsabers (Lego Star Wars inspired) Party: Part 3

This post is about the favors, food & drinks, and decor at the party.

Click here for Part 1: Dessert Table and Invitations
Click here for Part 2: Games and Activities.

For the table settings, I combined licensed Lego Star Wars merchandise from Party City with several DIY touches. For the centerpiece, I used a giant Lego head flanked by giant Lego bricks (made using the same technique as the Lego bricks for the dessert table backdrop). I used black construction paper to create inexpensive place mats, adding a Lego border to tie in with the theme. I even rolled the napkins like lightsabers and wrapped them with paper napkin wraps that I created--tutorial and template for the napkin wraps to follow. I used large building blocks for the place card holders. 

I like to tie the theme into every element of the party--even the food and drinks! Among other things, we had Yoda’s swamp dip, Darth Maul-E salsa, and Jabba “the Pizza” Hutt. 

Drinks, including Vader-ade, Solo-han Blanc and Chew’s Brews for the adults, were served at the "Creature Cantina", while the children enjoyed Yoda Soda. 

The Creature Cantina was a hit with the adults, especially since we had the catchy tune (and other Star Wars theme music) playing during the party!

Party Favors: I love to make favors part of the fun at the party, rather than just things to take home, so many of the items from the games and activities, such as the R2D2 droid craft, Lego box filled with Legos for the Starfighter, pool noodle light saber, lightsaber bubble wand, Jedi robe and certificate all went home with the children, as well as a Lego-shaped bag filled with a Lego Star Wars coloring book, Lego mini-figure crayons and Lego candy. 

Vendors:

Here is a lit of my fabulous vendors/resources for this party:

Photography by Kathie Tam                                               

Cupcake Toppers, Cake Toppers and Sugar Cookies by MJ Tabush Sweet Designs 

Cake Pops by Fayes Cake Pops     

Plastic plates, appetizer cups, licensed merchandise, paper lanterns, darth vader standee from Party City         

Thanks for stopping by! May the force be with you! :-)

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 4, Decorations

This is the fourth in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations, Part 2: Dessert Table, and Part 3: Games and Activities. Stay tuned for Part 5: Food & Drinks, Part 6: Party Favors, Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details and lots of photos.

Click here for a tutorial on how to make these Spiderman comic book letters.
Repurpose them after the party: These letters now hang in my son's bedroom!

Handmade Raksha Bandhan cards and rakhis

Hi folks!

In case you were wondering, the Spiderman party post is turning into a series of about 5 posts! Stay tuned for those posts. But in the meantime, here's something else I've been working on. 

Raksha bandhan is a day in the Indian traditional that celebrates the bond of love and affection between brothers and sisters.  Think of it as Mothers Day or Fathers Day, but for brothers and sisters! :-) It's traditional for a sister to tie an auspicious thread, called a "rakhi", on the right hand wrist of her brother (or a cousin or someone that she considers a brother figure) and pray for his well-being. The brother, in turn, pledges to protect and defend her. 

...cut to the 20th century and, yes, most Indian people still carry out this ritual (even those of us that have never lived in India)! In our hectic modern lives, it provides a reason to make time to catch up with siblings and cousins and reconnect.  I'm not a fan, however, of the store-bought rakhis and cards (which, quite honestly, haven't caught up with modern times!) So, as usual, I made my own cards and rakhis for my brothers! Take a look (and read on for instructions on how to make the rakhi).

To make the rakhi:

1. Cut 3 pieces of thin, gold yarn (each one about 12 inches in length).

2. Thread one piece of yarn through a beading needle (use a beading needle with a collapsible head--making sure that the head is small enough to fit through the bead). 

2. Thread on beads in your desired arrangement and move them to the middle of the yarn. Tie a knot on either end of the beads. 

3. Fold the second piece of yarn in half to make two segments of your braid. Using the yarn on one side of the beads as your 3rd segment, braid all 3 segments of yarn together. Tie a knot about one inch from the end. 

4. Repeat step 4 using the 3rd piece of yarn to create two segments and the yarn on the other side of the beads to create the third segment of your braid. 

5. You're done! Easy!