My Space loving son recently turned the big 6. Of course the party had to have a Space theme. If you have been following along on my blog over the past year then you’ve seen the birthday theme parties I did for my other two kids this year. If you want to check out my other parties click here and here. Because his birthday always falls on or around Labor Day it seems I am always very rushed trying to make his cake and attend to all the other party stuff, plus get all the back-to-school stuff ready to go. You know what I learned though? Kids will love any sort of hoopla you do for them, it doesn’t have to be the perfect looking party ready to be pinned all over Pinterest. He didn’t measure what I did for him item for item against what I did for everyone else, thank goodness, ’cause I felt I fell a little short on the grand reveal for his birthday party. I didn’t get great pictures of everything, but I will list things out in detail so you can plan and purchase all the space related items I used for the party. Again, I am focused on a fun party for very little cost!

Food:

To stay with the space theme I cut watermelon into star shapes using a star-shaped cookie cutter, (I found it for .99 at Jo-Ann’s). Then I cut up a star fruit, which automatically comes out in a star shape. I also cut sandwiches into star shapes using the cookie cutter. For snacks we had Goldfish Space Adventure crackers.

Other Treats:

I love to buy special treats for my kids on their birthday. Most days of the year we try to avoid candy, try is the key word here, but on birthdays I try to be more relaxed about treats. Since we had a Space themed party we had to have some Astronaut ice cream and some Pop Rocks. My kids kept asking if that is really what Astronauts eat in Space. I told them it was “for real”. How many of you remember trying Astronaut ice cream as a kid? I do, and it still tastes exactly as I remember it. You can buy Astronaut ice cream through Amazon.com.

Decor:

I had this grand picture in my head of making the Solar System on the ceiling of our dining room. It didn’t come out quite as planned, but my son loved it and told everyone that called to wish him Happy Birthday all about it. I had also hoped to add hanging stars, but by 11 pm I had run out of steam.

Supplies:

• Blue Plastic Tablecloths – at least 5 (Dollar Tree)
• Yellow Punch Balloon- Sun (found at Dollar Tree)
• Balloons in assorted colors and sizes – planets (Dollar Tree)
• Painters Tape
• Stars w/ String or Glow-in-the-Dark Stars

How To:

1. Using painters tape, tape the tablecloths to the ceiling, leave them dipping down slightly. Make all the tablecloths meet in the center of the room.
2. Blow up yellow punch balloon and hang it in the center of the tablecloths. This balloon represents the Sun.
3. Blow up other balloons in various colors to represent all the planets. Tape them up into their orbits around the Sun.
4. Add hanging stars and streamers. (If you have time!)

If you have a party table with all your food and cake laid out, then sprinkle confetti stars or glow-in-the-dark stars all over the table.

Dessert:

Nope, you can’t forget about the cake. I made a Solar System cake. It was super easy and my kids were super impressed, not sure why, maybe because all the planets made it seem like there was more cake to eat!

Supplies:

• Box Cake Mix
• Donut Holes – regular cake, no coating or sugar
• Pyrex Bowl Large – make sure it can be baked in an oven, mine bowl said no broiling
• Frosting
• Food Coloring in Planet Colors
• Knife
• Large Board
• Freezer Paper
• Tape

How To:

1. Cover a large board with freezer paper. This will be the board on which your cake (Solar System) will lay.
2. Mix the cake mix according to the directions on the box. Grease your bowl and pour in all the cake batter. Bake your cake at the temperature listed on the box. I had read somewhere that it would take 1 hour and 40 mins. to bake, but mine took around an hour. The outside was quite brown, not burned, but brown and I tested the center with a toothpick to make sure it was baked all the way through.
3. When the cake has cooled, cut off the top of the cake (that part that is already more flat) to make it lay perfectly flat. Lay the cake on the board with the rounded part up. This will be the Sun.
4. Scoop some of the frosting into a small bowl. Make this frosting an orangish-red color by adding food coloring to the frosting. Frost the Sun.
5. Cut five (if you include Pluto) doughnut holes in half. These will be your planets. Arrange them on the board around the Sun.
6. Scoop a small amount of frosting into a bowl. Use food coloring to color the frosting the color you want for each planet and frost the planets. Tip: I wanted Jupiter to be orange and white swirled, so I added red and yellow food coloring in the bowl. As I mixed the frosting the orange color formed and before frosting the doughnut hole  I swirled in some white frosting, then frosted a doughnut hole for Jupiter. With the orange frosting I had leftover I added a bunch of red coloring to it to make Mars. I did a separate bowl of frosting for the blue and green toned planets.

Party Favors:

If you want to send your guests home with a party favor or treat you can visit my post here on how to make Space Shuttle Party Treats. The post includes a free Space Shuttle wrapper download and instructions for assembly.

Games:

My daughter insisted we have a game to play. So she drew a great big picture of Mars with a space rover on it. Then she drew and cut out a bunch of aliens and we played tape the alien on the Mars Space Rover. Of course the kids loved it!

If you celebrate with a Space themed party I would love to see your photos! Please let me know in the comments.

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