Space Theme Party Ideas for Kids

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In honor of the final flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis launched last week, we want to celebrate what the United States of America’s exploration in space has meant for the past 30 years of shuttle missions: Bravery and Patriotism.

Watch last week’s shuttle launch:

For little boys and girls, the honor and pride of being a strong, brave American is displayed by the desire to protect American life. Police officers, doctors, firefighters, and you guessed it, astronauts consistently top the list of “When I Grow Up” dream jobs.

So for those families out there playing ground control to an aspiring astronaut, here are some ideas for a great party to launch the next year of your child’s life.

 

Space Theme Ideas for An Astronomical Event

Jump to a Topic:
Invitations
Party Favors
Cake
Decorations
Costumes
Food
Drinks
Games & Activities

 

Invitations Fit for an Astronaut

Official NASA Business

Create an official-looking NASA recruit letter to request your child’s friends as guests. The invitation can include the mention of a specific mission (or set of missions) you intend to use as entertainment, or request astronauts for training on for very important space exploration business. Have fun and make use of NASA imagery such as shuttles, American flags and, of course, the logo!

 

Fun Rocket-Inspired Invites

The handy Space Party Rocket Invitation Template will make it easy to create a sensational customized astronaut invitation starring the birthday boy or girl.

Simply print several copies onto card stock and decorate as you wish. This is also a fun activity to do with your child! You can create folding cards or add the invitation details to the back of the card. If creating folding cards, just fold along one edge of the template and cut along the three remaining edges.

Stumped? Use This Template for Text

Your presence is requested to launch Child’s OUT OF THIS WORLD birthday party!!!

Launch Date: Date

Launch Site: Address

Lift-off Time: Time

Return to Earth: Ending Time

Report to Star Command by RSVP date on Wavelength Phone Number

It’ll be a BLAST!!!

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Party Favors from Another Planet

Finding items to fill your goody bag shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for a space themed party. You can also get creative with the presentation by shrink-wrapping the favors like astronaut food, or decorating white disposable bowls (with lids) as helmets and filling one for each child.

 

Some Ideas for Space Themed Favors:

• Don’t forget the dollar store – You can find plenty of great favors for an astronaut party here. Consider these light up flying discs – and you can never go wrong with glow sticks (or anything glow-in-the-dark, for that matter). You might even get lucky and find a bag full of plastic astronaut figurines or space-themed coloring activities.
• Space-themed candy – Pop Rocks, Milky Way and Starburst are staples among moms for obvious reasons. But I have to mention a retro favorite of mine: Satellite Wafers. Just watching the kids enjoy these candies can be entertainment in itself! You can find them online or at a local candy store with a wide selection, where you might find inspiration in some other goodies as well.
• Balls – Balls of any size, shape or color can become cool comets in the eyes of a child. Plus, they bounce.
• Sand – Sand in a sealed baggie can be a space soil sample. If you have some extra budget, you could even spring for some Magic Sand. What’s so magic about it? Watch Magic Sand in action!
• Activity items – Any items collected or made during the party will be perfect souvenirs of the space celebration!

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Creating an Out-of-This-World Cake

There are plenty of ways you can make the cake unforgettable, especially if you’re a fan of Cake Wars and the ilk. Some of my favorite suggestions:

• Shuttle-Shaped – You may have to use a variety of cake pans to achieve this effect, but with some well placed icing, this cake can really make the party take off.
• Astronaut’s Helmet – This will require some advanced skill and an oven-safe bowl, but boy will the kids be impressed!
• Half-a-Planet – Bake cake mix in an oven safe bowl, turn upside down and create craters with a greased spoon. Place on a serving tray and ice in any extraterrestrial color you desire.
• Solar System Cupcakes – If you have an extreme eye for detail, recreating the planets in our solar system is a feat of diligent frosting. You can see how some have attempted solar system cupcakes here.

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Recreating the Space Station

Taking your home and turning it into a world of astronomical imagination doesn’t have to be a huge production. You can create the effect with some well placed household items and a little time spent prepping with your child. One family went all out by recreating the space station with their jungle gym using boxes, bubble wrap, aluminum foil and some well-placed homemade NASA logos.

If you don’t have the luxury of a large backyard, your living room can easily become an area of exploration. Hang sheets to darken the room, use white string lights to illuminate the area, and use boxes, cardboard or additional sheets to transform furniture into rockets, your TV into a space monitor, or your ceiling into an planetarium. Blacklights, star projectors and space-related posters are always handy. You can also easily find space-themed Mylar balloons, inflatable rockets, and create awesome cut-outs from cardboard, glitter and imagination.

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Suiting Up for Aerospace

Kids love to dress up – so why not make the party extra exciting with a little imagination? Name tags are an absolute must, but if you want to get more creative, you can make some homemade space suits out of disposable materials or old fabric.

One imaginative idea is to use cardboard boxes leftover from cereal or cake mix, decorate them with paint or stickers, and attach upside-down empty soda bottles as rockets to create space-packs. You can even use colored cellophane for faux-flames.

Another fun way to create the astronaut effect is if you have access to kids’ sports helmets or similar head-wear. With some colorful cardboard and tape, or peelable colored glue, you can add flags and NASA logos for an authentic-feeling astronaut costume!

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Eating Like an Astronaut

Snacks are essential at kids’ parties, and imaginative space exploration is no exception. Here are some ways you can have some fun making snacks more astronaut-friendly.

• Cotton candy as dehydrated “space food”
• “Space Nuggets” – star and planet shaped chicken nuggets
• Freeze-dried ice cream – find it online or at specialty stores
• Flag and rocket shaped cookies
• “Flying Saucer Sandwiches” – any type of sandwich, cut into circles

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Space-Ready Beverages

Keeping your astronauts hydrated is another essential. Try these classic and not-so-traditional ideas for drinks:

• Tang
• Powdered single-serving Kool-Aid for kids to mix themselves
• Moon Rock Milkshakes (Cookies ‘n’ Cream ice cream and green or blue food coloring)
• Alien Punch (Click for Recipe) – a fun sherbet, juice and soda concoction

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Now for the Fun… and Gravity-Defying Games!

While they won’t literally cause your child to leave the ground, his spirits will soar with enjoyment from these activities!

• Alien Invaders
• Create a Space Collage – Get a large piece of cardboard, and have all the children add their names and decorate with markers, sequins, glitter, cut-outs, etc. You can even take Polaroids during the party and save this activity for last, using the photos on the collage!
• Launch Into Orbit – Get Frisbees or boomerangs and have the children decorate with sparkles and glow-in-the-dark paint. and then have a launch party as a fun outdoor activity.
• Comet Toss
• Alien Masks – Get craft materials such as paper plates, pipe cleaners, pom-pom balls and construction paper for the kids to make their own unique alien masks.
• Moon Rock Hunt – Collect some rocks for the big day, wash them, and allow the children to paint them with glow-in-the-dark paint. Hide them in the yard during another activity, and let the astronauts hunt for them at dusk!
• Shuttle or Rocket Shaped Piñata
• Collect Space Soil Samples
• Clay Space Creatures – Get Play-Doh or baking clay and let the kids create an entire Universe of clay figurines. These make great party favors too!
• Space Training – If you have an accommodating yard, you can create a “training” obstacle course using rocks, old tires, hula hoops, or other outdoor toys.
• Space Snow Globes

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Thanks to the following websites for photos and ideas:

Where to Shop: http://www.thespacestore.com/partysupplies.html
Space Shuttle Launch by Flickr user cosmobc
NASA Logo courtesy of Wikipedia
Rocket Invitation Template courtesy of SuperSteph.com’s Free Stuff
Satellite Wafers courtesy of RetroCandyOnline.com
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