3…2…1…Blast Off! Do you have a future astronaut or NASA engineer in your midst? Is your little boy or girl infatuated by stars, planets, and space shuttles? If so, throw him or her a party with our Space Party Ideas. We have put together suggestions for invitations, decorations, activities, and more that will send your guests to the moon!
Invitations
Decorations
Food
Party Favors
Games & Activities
Fun Facts About Space
Since the beginning of time, children and adults alike have been captivated by the night sky and all that space has to offer. Here are a few facts about the "last great frontier" to share with your curious, space-loving guests:
- The word "planet" means "wanderer." Ancient Greeks assigned this name because the planets seemed to wander around space.
- Saturn is the second-largest planet in our solar system. Galileo, who invented the telescope, discovered Saturn's rings in 1610. There are seven main rings, which are made of chunks of ice. In 1980, Voyager 1 discovered that Saturn has thousands of smaller rings as well.
- Seven of the nine planets in our solar system have moons orbiting them. Unlike most of the moons, the two moons of Mars are not round; they are more oblong like baking potatoes. Moons are usually round because when they form, their gravity pulls the material around them evenly, but the moons of Mars are very small and do not follow this general rule.
- Although Venus is farther from the sun than Mercury, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system. Its clouds are 15 miles thick and act like a greenhouse, trapping in heat and causing the planet's temperatures to remain at about 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
- An eclipse occurs when one body in space blocks our view of another. For example, when the moon passes in front of the Sun, we see a solar eclipse. When the moon passes in front of the Earth's Shadow, we see a lunar eclipse.
Planning & Invitations
Choosing a location for your Space Party should be one of your first decisions. If you choose to celebrate outside of your home, consider a space museum or planetarium. You could also plan an evening party and hold it at a park where your guests could look up and see the stars. For additional ideas, see our When & Where to Have the Party article.
For additional party planning tips, our Party Planning 101 Guide includes cake ideas, party etiquette tips, a printable guest list, and more.
What do I need for the Party?
Basic party supplies include paper tableware (plates, napkins, cups, and cutlery), a tablecloth, streamers, and balloons. If you would like to use space-themed partyware, instead of solids, consider our Space Party Supplies. To help you with your shopping, we have created a Suggested Party Supply List for you to refer to.
You can stick with the basics, or add other items to fit your theme. For a Space Party, you may also want to consider renting or purchasing a telescope, for example.
Space Party Invitations
If you have the time to make your own invitations, you can customize them to fit your theme, and build excitement before the party even starts! For a Space Party, try one of these ideas:
- Find a photo (in a space book or online) that shows the Milky Way or the Solar System. Scan the photo and print it out on photo paper. Write your party details on the back.
- Cut a large circle out of blue construction paper and add continents cut out of green paper. The finished product should resemble Earth. On the front, write “Did you know that Earth is the 3rd planet from the sun? Come to [birthday child]’s birthday party to find out more!” Write the party details on the back.
- Cut out pictures of “space” scenes from magazines, such as space shuttle launches, astronauts in uniform, and solar systems. Write your party details in the center of a piece of card stock and paste your space images around your party details.
- Attach a card-style invitation to a toy space shuttle and send your invitations in padded envelopes.
If you don't have time to make your own invitations, but would still like that personal touch, consider our Personalized Space Invitations, which include all the party details for you! We also have blank invitations that you can fill in yourself.
Whichever invitations you choose, seal your envelopes with Space Stickers for that final touch!
Decorating & Food Ideas
Space Party Decorations
- Start your party by playing mood-setting background music from Star Wars, Star Trek, or 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Decorate the party table to look like the moon! Use play dough to form craters on the table. Collect rocks, spray paint them silver, and set them on the table.
- Form constellations on the ceiling and walls with strings of small white lights (Christmas tree lights work well).
- Purchase glow-in-the-dark stars, available at most toy stores, and affix them to the ceiling or use them as balloon weights.
- Make moons by gluing dry beans or round cereal to paper plates, and then covering the plates with aluminum foil. The beans/cereal will form craters. After making your moons, hang them on the walls throughout the party area.
- Spray paint Styrofoam balls to represent planets, and hang them from the ceiling with clear fishing line along with stars and a moon. You can also attach them to helium balloons.
- Set up a "Pin the Hat on the Martian" game using our Martian and Hats printouts.
Space Party Food Ideas
When it comes to food, partygoers are usually perfectly content to eat pizza or hotdogs, which is certainly much easier on the hosts! However, if you have the time and would like to serve up some dishes that are out of this world, consider these ideas:- Serve "Saturn Fruit Salad." Purchase a large melon, such as a cantaloupe or honeydew melon. Slice the melon in half, and scoop out the seeds. Then, cut the melon into rings. Stack up a few rings, with the largest one on the bottom and the smallest on top, and then fill the center with watermelon balls, fruit salad (homemade or from a can), and/or ice cream.
- Using our rocket cake diagram, turn your child's birthday cake into a rocket ship. Start with a standard-size sheet cake, and then cut it according to the diagram. Lay out the pieces, and then get creative with the decorations! Use icing, sprinkles and other edible decorations to "draw" a cockpit, metallic designs on the body and wings, jet flames at the bottom, and a name for the vessel.
- Use round- and star-shaped cookie cutters to cut out sandwiches that look like planets and stars.
- Serve Space Ice Cream and other freezer-dried foods like the astronauts eat.
- Arrange bowls of snacks and other items you are serving in the shape of the big dipper on the table.
Ideas for Space Party Favors
Party favors are a nice ending to a special party. Send your guests home with a smile with party favors that fit your theme, such as a space helmet, a space pen that writes upside down, or a model space shuttle. Or, combine smaller items such as space ice cream, a coloring book, crayons, and stickers in a nice favor bag. To save you time, check out our Complete Space Favor Sets, which already include everything you need for each guest.
Or, consider our popular Personalized Space Favors. Choose from bag tags, stickers, magnets, and more – all personalized with your guests’ names or a special message from you!
Space Party Games & Activities
Keep your guests occupied by renting a few telescopes and letting them take turns looking at the sky and identifying certain planets, stars, and constellations. Or, let them lay in the grass and come up with their own constellations from patterns they see in the sky. For more ideas, see the games and activities section below.
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