Over the last few years our family has loved celebrating Star Wars Day in honor of Bulldozer's autism passion for the franchise.
When Sunshine was in residential. The celebration was easy. We'd pick out a trilogy to watch, buy some treats, and enjoy the day in front of the screen.
Unfortunately, Sunshine doesn't work that way. Her brain does not enjoy being in a resting state and the Star Wars movies, even the first ones that are PG, are all too scary for her.
This year we needed to make some major adjustments to our Star Wars Day celebration to meet the needs of teenagers and a young one.
Here's a Star Wars Day celebration that worked for the whole family.
A Star Wars Day Celebration
Star Wars Attire and Hairdos
The day started out with regular routines and schedules, except the kids were changing out of Star Wars themed pjs into Star Wars t-shirts for the day.
When I purchase clothes for each season, I make a mental note to buy holiday themed attire so the kids have special clothes when they want them. These aren't extra purchases, they're just part of their wardrobe, that's ready to go on the special day and any other day they want to wear them.
I also do the same thing leading up to vacations. In the case of Star Wars, some had clothes and pjs from a trip we took to Walt Disney World two years ago. Others were purchased at Walmart on clearance.
This year, I took extra time to do the girls' hair like Princess Leia's, using a tutorial I found online.
I loved that the tutorial gave an option for short hair and long hair.
Sunshine had her hair put up first thing in the morning. Princess waited until right before evening festivities began to put her hair up.
Sunshine insisted that she wear her Star Wars Baby Yoda scrunchies AND Princess Leia buns, so that's what we did.
Star Wars Craft Time
She doesn't want to wait for paint or glue to dry. Paper plate crafts using Elmer's glue sticks (that dry quickly) along with markers or crayons and staples when needed seem to work out best.
I gave Sunshine choices between four Star Wars paper plate crafts.
Star Wars Cartoons for Younger Children
As mentioned above, Sunshine isn't quite ready for the Star Wars movies yet. But, she was ready for the new Star Wars Young Jedi Adventures cartoon that premiered on Disney Junior at 9 AM on Star Wars Day and definitely enjoyed a Star Wars Rebels episode after craft time.
Star Wars Learning Activities for Kids
Both my husband and I were surprised just how much Sunshine enjoyed these activities. She did more math in one day than she had in the last week, all thanks to Star Wars.
While Sunshine did her morning work, Dinomite, Bulldozer, and Princess started planning and preparing for their impromptu Star Wars Day party with friends in the evening.
They went to the store with me to purchase all of the food for the menu they had planned.
In the afternoon, after lunch preparations for dinner and evening fun were fully underway.
Sunshine and Princess were helping with food prep. Dinomite and Bulldozer were cleaning the house.
A Star Wars Day Party for Teens
Thankfully, thanks to Pinterest and the help of three teens, it was pretty easy.
I can not take any credit for the fun and cheesy food names or ideas. Those came from Seed at the Table along with the free food label cards.
My teens thought they were absolutely perfect for their group of friends.
Dinner with friends consisted of pork with the label, "Come to the pork side." We provided dinner rolls and coleslaw along with BBQ sauce for those who wanted it.
Next were an option to create "7 Leia Bean Dip" with "Trooper Scooper" tortilla chips.
Finally we served Obi-Wan Kabob-ies and the option of green milk and blue milk. The recipe I found for green milk did not turn out that great, but the blue milk was a HUGE hit.
After dinner the kids put in a Star Wars movie, laughing and talking the entire movie.
Sunshine had an equally fun time with her friend/babysitter.
Everyone loved the food and entertainment.
Star Wars Day at our house this year was a huge success with everyone! We hope our celebration inspires you to create one that works for everyone in your family.
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