MAR
08
How To: Solar System Birthday
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Today’s post is a little more mom and a little less food blogger. As you know, Logan turned 5 last week. We had our Solar System birthday party on Saturday and I have to share pictures and details.
We were all so happy how it turned out, especially birthday boy. And the nice thing too is Logan and his friends are all at that age where they just play, instead of all the moms telling all the kids what they should be doing. Everyone was just so excited about everything. Definitely a fun party!
The weather really cleared up in the afternoon and the kids were able to play in the backyard for quite a while with the sun shining. A few moms were there with the kids while others dropped the kids off. It was the perfect balance of having a little extra adult help without feeling over crowded.
Solar System Party Snacks:
- Alien Heads = Grapes
- Saturn’s Rings = Lifesavers
- Shooting Stars = Star shaped cheese (sliced cheese cup with cookie cutters)
- Flying Saucers = Round Crackers
- Asteroids = Popcorn
- Crescent Moons = Apple Wedges
- Astronaut Water = Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters
- Planet Cupcakes = Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes with Vanilla Almond Frosting
I kept the snacks simple and inexpensive, because I didn’t want to go totally crazy with preparations or spend a ton of money. They’re just 5 year olds. The kids were CRACKING UP LAUGHING at all the funny names I had given the food, like it was the most hilarious thing they had ever heard.
Solar System Party Favors:
- Orbit Gum (get it??? Like a planet’s orbit. TOO PERFECT. I couldn’t pass it up when I saw it in the candy isle.)
- Bouncy balls with silver glitter inside (pretend the silver glitter pieces are stars)
- Glow in the dark foam star stickers
- The Planets, by Holst
- A solar system booklet I put together and got printed on card stock at Kinko’s. They ended up being too thick to staple, so I put them together with rings instead. That also gives the flexibility to add more pages if you want to.
Again on keeping it simple. I bought the gum in multi-packs so it cost less, balls and stickers were inexpensive. The biggest cost was the booklet, at about $1.66 each. I made the cover to match his invites and had pages on each of the planets with a little fact. I printed only the cover in color (cost less) and kept the inside coloring book style.
I had really wanted to let Logan decorate the brown sacks with space stickers, but I couldn’t find any! Everything is characterized these days, so we printed NASA’s logo and he taped them on.
For our decorations I put a disposable black tablecloth with glow in the dark stars all over on our kitchen table. We hung blue and black balloons on each chair at the table and then big clusters behind the table around our windows.
Logan loved all this presents and has been having so much fun this weekend playing with them. We went to the park this afternoon and flew his new kite and built a lego car this morning (his first set of big boy legos). I really love this book he got. Isn’t it perfect??
I really owe a big thanks to all my friends on Twitter. You guys were invaluable sources of ideas and creativity for this party when my brain was too tired to think. We had a very busy week with lots of appointments that weren’t near our house.
I had so much to do and wasn’t sleeping well and was so worried about how the party would turn out. In the end I pulled it together. And it was worth it! And now Logan can’t stop being so amazed at the cool party and the fact that he’s now FIVE years old. I can hardly believe it myself!
About the Author:
Katie’s lifelong interest in cooking good food has shown her that part of the goodness in life is enjoying delicious food with friends and family. She is: Writer. Photographer. Recipe Developer. Website Founder. Lover of all things good in life. Wife & Mom. A mix of great recipes, family memories, and yummy photography is what Katie serves up each week at GoodLife Eats™. Katie resides in Colorado with her husband and two children.
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Hello! I'm Katie Goodman, author of GoodLife Eats Etc. where I share what I find in my life. A mix of great recipes, family memories, adventures, good reads, and anything else that I love is what you will discover here.
Love that you cut the cheese into stars! Did you just use a cookie cutter?
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I am so in love with this party theme, Katie!! It turned out so good and I am sure Logan must have really appreciated all of the hard work you put into it. I know my little guy would love a theme like that!! Way to go, Super Mom!!
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So cute Katie!
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Wow what a great job, love the cupcakes and all the fun alien heads. I know Logan had a great 5th birthday.
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You are so creative. Great job!
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Congratulations on what looks like a job really well done. What a fun party idea!
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I am so glad it all worked out. You did an AMAZING job, of course:) Can you come to Utah and plan my hubs birthday in May?
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What a fantastic post. I love how you make having a fun party accessible to every family.
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It looks like the party was a great success! You did a brilliant job. And of course Happy Birthday Logan!
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What a great birthday party! I love that you kept the snacks simple and didn't go overboard. And, as a former graduate student in musicology, I *love* that you involved "The Planets" by Holst. Nice work, Katie!
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Jessica – Yes, I just used a cookie cutter for the cheese. I bought a pack of pre-sliced sandwich cheese in cheddar and mozzarella so I wouldn't have to fuss with making thin, even slices.
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I LOVE this! I would sooo do something like this for my kids and I totally got the orbit gum thing immediately! The Bouncey Balls…YES! Too too cute! What a fun mommy! I can totally appreciate ALL the effort this took! I say kudos to you! Fun, Fun, Fun!
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So cute! I saw your solar system cupcakes on TasteSpotting earlier this week. I'm planning my daughter's 6th birthday party, which is sort of themeless, and this is good inspiration! Thanks!
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Its all so beautiful… just wonderful.. YOU rocked it girl!! I love love love it!Blessings!Amanda
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What a cute party!! Everything turned out great:-)
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Inspired! Very cute ideas!
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very creative…
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You are such an awesome mom! What great party ideas… I love it!
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Even your CHEESE is cute!!!
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This is a great idea. It is very age appropriate as well. I am putting this on my list of part ideas. Thanks
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I especially love the solar system booklets. How cool is that?P.S. Now I want to look up that "On the Moon" children's book! The illustrations look fun.stephanie@metropolitanmama.net
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I love a good birthday party! And THIS is a good one. I love all the named food and the handmade mini book is a great idea!I'm linking to this party tomorrow!
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Everything is so cute – I'm so impressed! Happy birthday to Logan!
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Found you on Life as Mom and I love your blog. This is a beautiful party! Your son must have been ecstatic! PS—The "On the Moon" book is by Usborne books and you can get them from my site or any other consultant's site if you are interested.
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Found you via Life as MOM. GREAT party!!
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Great Party! I am planning one as well. Where did you get the Solar System Booklet? Thanks!
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Katie replied: — October 2nd, 2010 @ 7:29 AM
Hi Tara – I put the booklet together myself. I’d be happy to email you a copy of the files if you are interested.
Tara replied: — October 3rd, 2010 @ 5:34 PM
That would be awesome thanks! my email is tara_delucia@yahoo.com
My son is obsessed with the solar system so that is what we chose for his party theme. Your ideas were great – we are stealing a few
Thanks again!
Shexa replied: — May 29th, 2011 @ 3:30 PM
Hi Katie,
I’m going to be doing a party this weekend and wondering if you could share the booklet with me as well! THANKS!
Katie replied: — May 31st, 2011 @ 1:35 AM
Hi – You can download the booklet in 4 parts by clicking each of these links. Then, once opening the link, click on the image that shows. Right click and save to your computer.
1 – http://www.goodlifeeats.com/?attachment_id=6989
2 – http://www.goodlifeeats.com/?attachment_id=6990
3 – http://www.goodlifeeats.com/?attachment_id=6992
4 – http://www.goodlifeeats.com/?attachment_id=6991
They are large, hi-res files of the pages which can then be printed on cardstock.
Enjoy!
Katie replied: — May 31st, 2011 @ 1:36 AM
Also, I apologize if this reply did not reach you in time. I am currently out of the country with very limited internet access.
Kassie replied: — June 20th, 2012 @ 8:43 AM
Thank you so much for sharing your booklet! My boyfriend’s son is loving the solar system these days. We are going to have a solar system b-day party for him next week – he’s going to be so excited about everything…thanks for the ideas!
I was wondering where you found the images of the planets? Those are perfect!
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Katie replied: — April 22nd, 2011 @ 5:06 PM
Most off of NASA’s website. I don’t have the exact links. I also searched Google Images and picked what I liked best.
What a fabulous idea! My son is also obsessed with planets and I was looking for a cute party idea. i loved how you incorporated such fun ideas, but still managed to keep it simple and affordable. I was actually searching the internet to try and find a planet/solar system cake idea….but instead of messing with fondant and stuff– I love your cupcakes!
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I came across this when looking for party favors for my son’s upcoming 4th birthday party. You did such an amazing job! Where did you find the bouncy balls? I’ve been looking for something similar, but can’t seem to find the right thing. Thanks!
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Katie replied: — February 20th, 2012 @ 7:56 PM
Pretty sure I got the balls at either Walmart or Party City. Good luck!