Ewok Birthday Party
by Jennifer Cooper, posted on June 15th, 2010 in Parties & Celebrations
The Challenge
Host a fifth Ewok themed birthday party and you have a week to pull it all together.
When the birthday boy asked for an Ewok party, I wasn’t sure what we’d do. It’s not a common theme and it didn’t come up in a search on the web. So, I looked to Twitter. There was a good deal of enthusiasm and some great ideas offered. My other go to source was YouTube where I found videos and cartoons featuring Ewoks.
Slideshow
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- Take home gift – Ewoks. The bears were hand drawn, then screen printed onto 100% cotton, stuffed and sewn. So cuddly!
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- Take home gift – Lego pod racers designed by the birthday boy’s dad.
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- Large terrarium surrounded by buttermilk cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream frosting
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- Terrarium centerpieces featured Lego characters from the Return of the Jedi movie.
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- An Ewok hut serves as decoration. The lights are battery powered and can be found in the floral department of most craft stores.
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- Craft: Ewok necklaces. Feathers were glued to wooden beads making them easy to string.
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- Spray painted coffee cans were made to look like storm troopers.
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- Cans were hidden along a trail for guests to find and capture.
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- Guests were told there were reports of storm troopers in the area. They went on a hike to find them.
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- A battle against storm troopers.
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- With the bad guys safely captured, guests were able to head back to camp for a celebration.
The Party
As party guests arrived they were given a walking stick and burlap backpack containing furry ears and a small bag of nut-free trail mix. Then they were directed to a station while where they could make a wooden bead and feather necklace while we waited for all the guests to arrive.
Once everyone arrived, guests were gathered and told there were reports of storm troopers in the area. Their mission was to find and capture all the troopers. Partygoers then went on hike led by parents. Storm troopers were hidden along the trail. When spotted, kids used their sticks to bat them out of trees or pick them up to be captured. The captured storm troopers were carried back to camp on a long branch held by two kids and the party began.
The celebration featured cupcakes, lemonade and a round of Happy Birthday. After eating, we played a series of games using the storm trooper cans. The kids knocked down stacked cans with beanbags and also used the cans in a beanbag toss game. After games, it was present time which was followed by free go-crazy time.
Each guest left with their burlap backpack stuffed with ears, necklace, Ewok, and Lego pod racer.
Inspiration & Further Details
I wanted to make sure that there was a strong element of nature present. We chose to have the party at a state park. State parks are very inexpensive but require a bit more planning and prep (like making sure you bring trash bags, making the most out of minimal gear, etc). The goal is to leave no trace. Oh and you’ll also want to avoid things like balloons as remnants left behind can harm wildlife.
For this party, I used a good deal of natural and recycled elements. The coffee cans, glass jars, fabric for Ewoks and sticks were all recycled or reused. We avoided plastics (except for the lego pieces of course) and didn’t purchase paper plates or plastic cups. Not only did this cut down on waste, it cut down on costs too.
Snacks were laid out for guests to munch on. There was a buffet of fresh asparagus spears, sugar snap peas, chips, and sliced apples. The trail mix distributed at the beginning of the party contained: sunflower seeds, banana chips and raisins.
Terrariums were used as centerpieces on the table and were one of my favorite elements. Each one was like a little scene from the movie. The kids enjoyed finding characters in the jars. Not only was it was a fun project, I now have a little terrarium garden I get to enjoy. Score!
Finally, I wanted to mention that we worked hard to keep the party fun and age appropriate. Many kids enjoy getting into character. Mine certainly do. So we wanted to provide them elements to let their imaginations run wild (i.e. ears, walking sticks & backpacks, storm trooper scene set up, etc). Oh and we may have encouraged them to yell Yub! Yub! once or twice. What can I say? Kids need guidance.
Resources
Want to host an Ewok party of your own? Here are some links I either used or found helpful…
Buttermilk Cupcakes These are my favorite cupcakes to make for birthday parties.
Make your own terrarium
Lego Store
Ewok Movie
Eechi wa wa! Ewok cartoon
Yub Yub! The ultimate Ewok inspiration Notice the storm troopers heads?
Special Thanks
Special thanks goes to: my sister and Ellie Bellie Kids partner, Sara, who made all the kids ears and screen printed the ewoks; Dave who spent an hour at the Lego store collecting all the pieces for the pod racers and then spent a couple more hours constructing them all; and my mother-in-law, Linda, who not only helped set up, but also stayed behind with me to frost all the cupcakes while the kids went on the hike.
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Tags: Arts & Crafts, parties
Keri Says:
Jennifer Cooper Reply:
June 16th, 2010 at 3:24 am
Candice, you have my email! Oh and I’m going to have to remind our guy of the lengths we went to when he’s a teenager. ;)
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