I’m super excited about creating a series of print-at-home baby shower and birthday party templates. As I add each new design to my Etsy shop, I’ll be writing a corresponding blog post with party ideas and inspiration.

To kick things off I thought I’d share some photos from the space-themed birthday party my boys had a couple of years ago.

For decorations I hung tissue paper pom poms and silver stars from the tree in our backyard. The pom poms are very easy to make but I do find it hard to make fancy edges with my scissors. Check out PomLove if you want a more polished look.

I also made a rocket ship from a large cardboard box (by chance a neighbor had a fridge delivered about a week before the party!). Ready-made cardboard rocket ships are available here and here and here.

As each child arrived they decorated a paper rocket with stickers and crayons. This gave the kids something to do while we waited for everyone to show up. We used the rockets later in a game I called “Guide the Rocket Ship Back to Earth”. I simply stuck a picture of the Earth and some stars on a large piece of cardboard. Each child had to cover their eyes, spin around and then try to get their rocket as close to the Earth as possible.

We also had some free-play time and the kids enjoyed playing in the rocket ship. You could even take a photo of each guest peeking out of the window and include it with their thank you note.

This rocket ship cake was easy to make. Here is another similar space cake design that looks great too.

If the party gets too wild you can always pull out a space-related book and have a little story time. We read Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle.

I had a scavenger hunt planned but we ran out of time. I just wrapped up some marbles inside scrunched up balls of tin foil and hid the “moon rocks” in the garden. My boys had fun finding them on their own later!

For favor containers I made a scaled down version of the rocket ships shown in this article. I also like the idea of the kids making a rocket ship out of a cardboard cylinder as a craft activity. Here’s a fun video with an easy rocket craft.

Tin foil take-away containers (found at the grocery store) also make great loot bags and I think they look a bit space age with their shiny exterior. I can see kids keeping their container for their “treasures” and eventually it can be recycled.

Rocket ship cookies would be a tasty treat for the loot bag that could be made or bought. Or, make an activity of it and decorate cookies at the party.

More Real Party Inspiration:
Birthday Space Adventure

Are you Inspired?
Please check out my space party invitation set that you can print at home:
:: invitation with fillable text fields for the party details
:: thank you note
:: rocket ships that can be cut out for party activities or to make favor tags or cupcake toppers

Technorati Tags: space party, rocket ship craft, space-theme, birthday party ideas, astronaut party, kids parties