Padawan Prep School Party -7yr- Trivia Game

This was a great party with many ideas taken from this site so thanks to all who contribute.  This is just how I put them all together.  This was my son's 7th birthday, and we invited 7 boys.   

Invitation:  The invitation idea was taken from this site - Seven years ago in a galaxy NOT so far, far away a young Jedi named blank was born.  The Sith have learned that the force is strong in this youngling and are trying to kidnap him to turn him to the dark side.  Blank will need the help of others to battle the Sith, therefore, this call is being sent out to you to come and learn the ways of the Jedi as a padawan learner.  Please report to Jedi training Jan 16th at I downloaded the Star Wars font and used CorelDraw to warp it so that it looked like it was scrolling into the distance.  I used white font on a black background and then inserted a picture I downloaded of allllll the Star Wars characters.  I morphed my son's face onto Qui Gon's body.  Then at the bottom I wrote May the Force be with you.  I emailed the invitation to all the parents (Free!).   

Decorations:  My son wanted all his Star Wars Legos to be on display, so we put them up high enough that they wouldn't be picked up and played with.  We put a sign on the door that said Jedi Training Center done in the free downloadable Star Wars font.  I bought Star Wars Clone Wars plates and a table cloth.  Costumes:  As the kids arrived they were each dressed into their padawan tunics that I made from cream colored felt this was a no sew project!  I cut an inverted triangle into one half of a rectangle and voila.  Belts were cut from brown fleece and tied like the belt for a karate gi.  I found wigs at the dollar store and used these to make padawan braids for each kid (if their hair is too short, clip it to the back of their shirt/tunic).  They were all issued name tags with their Star Wars names (using online name generators).  It was pretty cheap to make these costumes, as I got all the material on sale the material to make the belts cost $2 (for all eight).  They loved the uniforms, with one child announcing that this was the best party he had ever been to in the first 5 minutes.  I got them to each pose for a picture because the Jedi Council wanted to see the new recruits and they were happy to pose!  I forgot to snap a shot of the whole gang together. 

Activities/Games: Next we had a quiz about jedi/padawan lore which was helpful for kids who didn't know it all already. Questions like: How old is Yoda? And Why do padawans wear a braid?  (Did you know that when padawans complete their Jedi training they cut the braid off with a light saber that they built themselves!!!!)  They each won a Star Wars Pez dispenser when they answered correctly.  Then on to building a light saber.  Couldn't find pool noodles in January where I live, but found glow sticks encased in a foam baton (dollar store)  they were a little short, but the glowy part was a huge hit.  We added toilet paper roll handles that were stuffed with foam pipe insulation and a circuit board (pictures I printed out each one was different, because, you know, each light saber is a custom made original), and an energy crystal (jewels from previous pirate parties).  Then duct tape the handle and decorate.  I made one as an example for the kids to follow along.  The kids immediately started fighting with these and activated the glo-stick right away I had been planning to wait until after they completed the next activity, but never underestimate the ability of seven year olds to fight with a light saber. 

Next we set up an obstacle course throughout the whole house crawl through one of those collapsible tunnels, string maze through the kitchen (keep it simple they are only 7), scale the mountains of Mevacor (chairs covered with a sheet), traverse a bridge over the canyons of Naboo (planks on the floor), and then cut the head off Darth Vader with their light sabers (mask on a ball on a T-ball stand).  Big Hit.  Once the kids finished the course, they went into the next room and used the force and their new light sabers to keep balloons from falling to the floor.  I gave each kid a flash pop candy that looks like a light saber and lights up for completing saber training (warning: they all wanted blue).  Then we issued glow necklaces again everyone wanted blue, which is good, because that was the only color I got.  While not everyone will have this option, I rented a gym that is across the street from my house and let the kids play laser tag.  You need a bit of space to pull this off  I don't recommend it in a small house.  We rented taggers ($4/gun plus postage), and put a few large boxes around the gym so the kids had something to hide behind.  We didn't create any fancy games for this just let them run and shoot. 

They loved this, but were in danger of overheating, so in the middle of the tagger time, we took a break and did the pinata.  I used the ol soccer ball (amazon.com) painted as the Death Star, and painted an old broom handle to look like a light saber and used that to bash with.  Pinata was stuffed with Star Wars yo-yos and mini-Frisbee flicker party favors (I got them at Target, but can be found at many online sites), and Mini Lego X-wing fighters which I found in cello bags at Target (I was pretty excited about these as they weren't very expensive and the kids liked them too.  These were hard to find).  Also some meteorites (kisses) and starburst candies filled out the pinata.  Party Snacks:  We moved back to the house and we served dinner Jabba the Hutt dogs, Tatooine Tater Tots, Asoka sauce (apple sauce), and Coruscant carrots.  Served with the obligatory Yoda Soda. 

Cake:  I ordered a cake from my local grocery that came with Star Wars figurines Darth V and Luke,  each wielding a light saber that lit up!  Chocolate, of course.  Not my idea, but the kids asked to watch an episode of the Clone Wars (which my son had recently received for Christmas) while they waited for their parents to come pick them up.  This kept the uproar to a minimum, and was a great way to wind down a bit. 

Favors:  Altogether the kids got the Pez dispensers, found at a Toys R Us outlet store also available online; the flash pops they look so cool, I couldn't resist; yoyos, Frisbee flicker, Lego X-wing fighter, glo-necklace, light saber, their costume and braid.  This is the first party I've thrown for my kid where I got thank you notes from the other parents.