Step 1: Welcome

Hang a door cover at the entrance to your come. This one was available at a local party store, but you can also get it at Amazon.com, too..

Cost here: $7 or so

Step 2: Dancing

While guests filter in, kids dance to tunes and wait for everyone to arrive and get settled. We installed a disco ball to add to the fun

Cost here: $50 (but once you get the disco ball you can resuse party after party after party! Disco balls rule!

Step 3: Watch the Cantina Clip

Here's a video clip that shows the beginning part of the original scene. It's a student project where they dubbed over the dialogue with the exact dialogue for a class. For our party, we used an actual dvd and played the enter "real" Cantina clip...after a short intro presentation about some of the original magic that occured when the movie first hit the theaters in the mid-70's. We highlighted briefly about the creativity it took to create all the different charactes shown in this scene, too.

Cost here: Free if you already own the dvd...which many Star Wars fans do.

Step 4: Barkeep & Chef Challenge

Okay! Now that the kids have gotten out the wiggles and have seen what "The Cantina" is -- the party host escorts the young guests and seats them at a large table. We have our galactic pizza (regular pizza) and then move into telling each child they are going to pretend they are a barkeep on a planet, too. We will give them ingredients and they have to create food items and give them fun and cool names so their customers will want to return to their restaurant from all over the galaxy.

Our challenge includes an appetizer challenge and a drink challenge.

Ingredient options for the appetizer are red peeper, yellow pepper, blueberries, cheese, crackers, beef jerky, slivered carrots and other fancy ingredients. They pass around bowls of these ingredients only taking the ones they like...because they will have to eat their own creations! After a minute of work, the host goes around the table and asks each child to present their creation to the group...and also delivers the name they have chosen for their feature. Many of the names will provide some fabulous chuckles, I'm guessing!

For the drink portion, we start with a plastic green shot glass and give everyone a "shot" of a green smoothie drink. We tell our barkeeps-in-training we have temporarily renamed this drink to be a "Yoda Soda." Now, each attendee chooses between several drinks and creates a drink to present. In the spirit of the previous exercise, garnish ingredients and supplies are passed around to use as well. Shown at right is a martini glass with a pineapple straw, orange slice, and a stick with strawberry, grape and raspberry embellishment.

Cost here: About $25

Step 5: Leia Cupcake

What's for dessert? A yummy Leia cupcake, of course.

Here's some instructions on how to make them. Ours were slightly different. We used some chocolate circle cookies for the side hair ovals, chocolate licorice for the bangs and chocolate chips for the eyes. The thin black frosting was difficult for our young party goers so the licorice was a necessary substitue. But you can modify to fit what you can find at your galactic store!

Cost here: About $12 if you bake your own cupcakes

Step 6: Blaster Game

It's a hyperspace new spin on 'pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey' and it's a hoot! With re-usable stickers, participants cover their eyes...maybe even with a helmut and do thier best to hit their targets.

Cost here: About $6

Step 7: Flying Saucer Decorating

Plastic plates and stickers are the only pieces you need for everyone to make their own flaying saucer! If you wish, you can have an elaborate hole-in-a-cardboard game ready to attendees to see how good their driving skills are when it comes to UFO's...or just decorate and invite your guest to take home their little aero-dynamic, multi-colored treasure.

Step 8: Details

As with any party, a lot of the magic is in the details. For our event, we had an R2-D2 robot monitor a table with a coat check sign. We also had a special little box that was our "Cantina doggie bag" featuring the appropriate atenddee's name...where guests put their saucer, Yoda Soda shot glasses, cocktail glasses and other take home treasures as the party progresses. It takes away the need to write names on everything and makes it easy for all guest to make sure they have all their things conveniently packed when parents come and they must "return to base" once again..