before thanksgiving there was a birthday: a clone trooper party!

Every year becomes especially busy for me right after Halloween when I go into birthday party planning mode.  This year, our growing boy turned 8.  And it seems like the fascination with Star Wars (and with the Clone Wars, in particular) may be something that actually sticks around a little longer than did the obsessions with trains, then dinosaurs, followed by Lego.  So this year we had ourselves a little Star Wars the Clone Wars Clone Trooper party.  Early on in the planning process I was quickly schooled by the Birthday Boy that the trooper I was drawing was actually a Storm Trooper, not a Clone Trooper. I responded sarcastically with something like, "Oh yeah, like anyone knows the difference... they're both black and white and carry blasters, right???"  No.  So upon further examination and explanation, I saw the difference.  It's all in the helmet.  So the Storm Trooper cookie cutter I had would require some alterations.  Nothing some icing couldn't fix.

[A Star Wars lesson for other confused Moms out there: Check out the cookies in the photo above. Storm Trooper is on the left and Clone Trooper is on the right.  Clone Troopers are good - they fought the bad guys BEFORE Annikin fell to the dark side and became Darth Vader. Storm Troopers are bad - they fought for Darth Vader.  Isn't is clear now?]

 For party favors I silkscreened Clone Troopers onto wood for stand-up cutouts and onto fabric for some Clone Trooper plush.  These were both customizable by the kids.  We put out some sharpies and the kids could color and design their troopers.  This is something my son loves to do with his Star Wars figures.  I love watching him hunched over a figure with his paints, creating new designs.  So I thought this activity would be a perfect way for him to share his hobby with the friends at his party.  And, it's something the kids could take home... something that wouldn't find itself on the floor of the car or between the couch cushions.

The party was a success.  Robbie and his fellow troopers all seemed to have a pretty good time.  And we were so lucky to squeak by without the rain that was in the forecast.  All week before the party I was constantly checking the weather forecast, excited when "Rain Likely" was reduced to "Chance of Rain" and finally down to "20% Chance of Showers".  And as my optimistic husband reminded me, that simply meant we had an 80% chance of no rain.