Space Cadet Party -2yr- Jupiter Mission Board Game

We had a Space Cadet party for my son's second birthday party. We based it off his favorite toy, the RETRO ROCKET by Radio Flyer. It is a red and white scooter toy that looks like what else, a rocket.

INVITATIONS: We started with a dark blue card stock, and glued in a white insert with the info printed on it in a space-computer font, Message From Mission Command: you have been selected for an important mission. Mission Background: Space Cadet_____ will soon complete phase two of his training. He will immediately embark on phase three. Mission Profile: Your mission is to help Cadet _____ celebrate his success and upcoming phase of training. Mission Objective: Attend a party in his honor participate in the 'fun and games' eat some of the excellent local fare perhaps bring him a token of your affection. This will ensure a successful transition in his training regimen. We then included the date time location etc. Now the cool part was the front of the invites.

I cut out white rocket shapes then cut out red bodies for to cover the rocket except for the nose and fins. This way it was a red rocket with white nose and fins. I then added white strips along the seam of the nose and body two strips down the sides across the mid-section of the body. This made a rounded (the strips were a bit curved) square that was centered in the middle of the rocket body. Then I added a black strip at the very bottom which was the rocket engine and added a white strip across the seam of the body and the engine.

This probably sounds a little complicated and time consuming and it kinda was. But it made an awesome looking rocket that was very similar to the retro rocket. I then added white puffy paint dots across all the white strips these were the rivets. I then added a small black circle in the middle of the while square and placed a picture of my son's head on the black circle. This was the window with my son looking out and I used a photo of him with a very surprised look on his face. I then used red puffy paint to dot rivets around the black circle.

Then I added small triangles red yellow and orange paper and placed these sticking out of the engine of the rocket this was the fire. And that was the rocket! I then added a circle of different colors on each invite to represent a planet he was flying by and dotted clear glitter glue all around the rocket to represent stars. This was a very detailed process but I have to say it was the coolest invites that I've seen. Of course something similar could be done simply using a printed clip art picture of a rocket I just couldn't find anything I liked.

DECORATIONS: I went fairly simple on the decorations because of other things we had for the party. But I bought several red and white balloons and had them all over the the party rooms. I had my son's toy rocket out and he actually played with it quite a bit throughout the party. I used white table clothes for the food table and the game table sprinkling them with black star confetti. We placed a plastic solar system on the ceiling the kind that has each planet where you can place them where you want. I made a red and white rocket pinata which I hung from the ceiling (it was too cold to do it outside at least for a two year old).

I made the pinata by pasting newspaper over a ballon (I did two layers) and popping the balloon I added some regular red paper from around the mid point of the dried ball and wrapped it around making it slightly narrower at the top to imitate a cone shape. Then I taped a white piece of poster board that I have made into a cone triangle on top. I then made three fin shapes out of cardboard and wrapped them in white crepe paper then glued those and the bottom of the 'rocket' these are very important without the fins it really doesn't look like a rocket. I then taped red crepe paper cut into short strips and fringed on the bottom all around the body of the rocket. I added white crepe paper at the very very bottom to contrast where the engine should be. I added strips of red crepe paper hanging from the bottom to be fire. I filled the pinata with transformers fruit snacks milky way mini bars small plastic ray guns that were also water guns and bouncy balls that had swirls making them look like planets.

PARTY SNACKS: For food I made turkey and cheese sandwiches that  I cut into small star shapes using star cookies cutter. I also set out cheese and crackers (for the moon being made out of cheese). I made a red punch and made ice in a  small glass bowl I added cantelope balls (for planets) and apple cut into stars into the ice. That way there was a whole galaxy in the punch! I used all red plates cups forks and napkins. One of the biggest decorations was the cake

CAKE: I used the rocket cake design using wilton's football pan. I used a chocolate cake I iced all but the nose red (which takes an entire bottle of coloring by the way)and the nose was white. I then iced all the windows door rivets decorative lines white. I added a picture of my sons face to the middle window duplicating the look of the invitations. I added white  cardboard fins to the sides and placed into the middle of the bottom of the cake. I then added orange icing for the flames coming out of the bottom and I used white and blue swirl icing for the cloud surrounding the flames as it takes off. There is instructions   of this cake on the wilton website it is a really fun cake. Now for pretty much the biggest investment of time for the party the Space Cadet board game my husband made.

GAME: This board game was named 'SPACE CADET: JUPITER MISSION'. It was made on a black board a slightly thicker paper than poster board we bought at a craft store. My husband used a toothbrush and sprayed yellow paint on it to represent stars. He then made out of white poster board the path of spaces for the board. It had two loops in it's path and went from the 'Launch Pad' which was painted on to the board right below where my husband placed the first space all the way to the planet Jupiter which we printed off a real picture of Jupiter and glued it to the board after the last space of the game.

He had painted red white dark blue and black spaces on the board. Each color represented a different category which had card questions/facts to go with it which we made out of business card stock. The blue spaces represented space questions which I spent a lot of time on the web searching for space facts I learned a lot by the end of this party. The white spaces represented Cadet facts which were facts about our son what he likes dislikes has learned all of that. The red spaces were Mission questions they were all hard questions about Jupiter and were worth a lot more spaces to move than all other spaces. Each card had a certain amount of spaces you were to move. The fact cards you just moved what they said the questions you moved what they said if you got it right if you answered wrong you just moved one space. So no matter what you were always moving that is except for the black spaces. The black spaces were Black Hole questions which are really thoughts to ponder while you waited because black spaces meant you lost a turn. My husband had a lot of fun coming up with silly thoughts to ponder.

The game pieces were rockets we made out of wood egg shapes that were halved length-wise. We painted them each different colors added white poster board fins glued to the back and painted on a white nose and three round windows on each piece. It is a really cool game very detailed something that could probably be found at store (well if it was made out of better material besides paper). There was even a worm hole that connected two spaces together making a short-cut if you got a mission question right. Now if this game sounds a little too much for a two year old you'd be right.

There were only a few kids the party mostly adults. So we actually opened presents first after the guests arrived. We then did the pinata which took a while when all you have is a small kids trying to tap it eventually we had Dad smash it. Then my son and the other kids had a grand time playing with the new toys while the adults got together at the game table and played this board game. We also had 'Wallace and Gromit a Grand Day Out' playing which is a claymation 30 minute short about a rocket going to the moon because it is made of cheese.

The game was a great way for the adults in his life to learn little facts about our son and have fun. They also learned a little about space too! I was watching the kids the whole time and my husband was the game moderator reading cards etc After the game we got the kids together and had cake my son's favorite part of the party! All through out the party guests snacked on the other food and drink. That was about it it lasted two hours long enough to be fun not too long to overdo a toddler. It was great fun and my son had a great time throughout. It was a very retro red white party!  "