Birthday Party--Lego Star Wars

Another fun children's party trying to produce minimal waste. This time it was Lego Star Wars.

Many materials I already had on hand from a party I created for a customer last year. This was low budget, heavily Pinterest-inspired, but not as plastic-free as I hoped. The fun food ideas did me in!

Food individually packaged in plastic, then wrapped together in more plastic (cookies, Skittles, marshmallows, Ring Dings, etc.). For the next party, I think I'll have fewer fun Pinterest food displays, because the plastic is not worth the photo op. I'll focus more on recyle-able paper decorations and games.

Food included Tie Fighters (marshmallows and hexagonal shaped chocolate cookies); Ewok Treats (frosted rectangular cookies topped with Skittles); Yoda Soda (apple cider served in mason jars); Lego Cake (frosted Ring Dings on a rectangular homemade cake), and not shown were Princess Lays and Wookie Cookies (ginger snaps).

Favors came in hand sewn goodie bags made from Lego fabric. I made homemade Lego brick crayons (easier than it sounds--search for "recycled crayons" and buy an ice cube tray that works for your party theme). The second part of the favor was a felt popsicle cozy, aka Light Saber. Pin the helmet on Darth Vader was a hit (idea from this website), but the R2-D2 craft fell flat. Everyone just wanted to run and play outside because the weather was beautiful, which is even better!

There were light sabers made from spray-painted cardboard wrapping paper tubes, but they were all pretty much destroyed in a massive battle against Darth Vader. It seemed a better idea than using foam pool noodles, but none survived for anyone to actually take home!

Here's where someone points out that Legos are made from plastic. I know! I know! Baby steps. We used ceramic plates and regular flatware, though we did use disposable paper napkins. Overall, it was a VERY fun time, and I'm quite pleased with how waste was minimized without sacrificing the fun or budget.