A Star Wars Clone Wars Birthday from Birthday Express

I had the opportunity to review some awesome birthday party supplies from Birthday Express. I was very willing to do it, but TJ’s birthday isn’t until August. But I had an idea… my husband Tom’s 30th birthday was April 4, so I could throw him a party! And that’s exactly what I did. I think it counts as a kids party, and you’ll see why in the pictures!

Look at this fantastic table! I made sure that I got absolutely everything – the Star Wars Clone Wars tablecloth, plates, cups, napkins, matching balloons and streamers! The folks at Venezia’s Pizza & Pasta got a kick out of the whole thing when I came to set up. The waitress asked me, “How old?” I laughed and replied, “Thirty.” She smiled and said, “Awesome! Good for you!”

I couldn’t fit all the balloons in my little Hyundai Accent, so I had my best friend Jillian pick them up from the Party Warehouse, where they were kind enough to inflate them all with helium after I’d dropped them off. Jillian is a party planner, so she has done more than her fair share of balloon wrangling! I’m sorry I didn’t get a better picture of them, because there were two great Mylar balloons with Star Wars Clone Wars characters on them.

There’s a better view of the table with the centerpiece. That sucker did not want to stand up. I had to tape the front and back to the plastic tablecloth, and then I had to tape the plastic tablecloth to the linen one the pizzeria provided! It’s a good thing that the plastic tablecloth was so sturdy! It was good, heavy quality that stood up to the tugging from the three year olds as they tried to pick up all of the silver star confetti off the table. They were more interested in the confetti than the favor boxes! Speaking of which…

Tom was a good sport and put on his Clone Trooper mask for the camera. TJ wouldn’t touch it because of the elastic, but maybe he would’ve liked it if he was older.

The great thing about having favor boxes instead of favor bags is that they can hold so much stuff! One of the favors I stuffed in there was a glowstick that served well as a mini lightsaber. Tom and Jillian had a duel across the table. Jillian said they were much easier to crack on than other glowsticks she’s used. Although the favor boxes were passed out randomly, the two boys got green ones, the dads got blue ones, and the women got pink/orange ones! They came with red cords so we could wear them around our necks. You can see Tom’s best friend Don doing just that in the background.

The favor boxes also included a sheet of stickers. We all decided to wear stickers on our shirts alongside our “lightsabers.” I bought an iced angelfood cake for the party, and I had plenty of candles to contend with. I got two packs of 16 silver candles from Birthday Express, which was good, because I had extra candles when I accidentally stuck one of them into the cake the wrong way. Our waitress was brave enough to light all 30 candles, and the cake was ablaze before Tom blew them all out! He thought that the candles were pretty cool, because when they melted, they showed other colors underneath. It looks like regular multi-colored birthday candles were dipped in silver wax to match the party theme. It was a pretty cool effect when the wax melted!

I thought it would be great to cap off the evening with a picture of Tom, Don, and the two boys. Neither 3 year old wanted to touch the Clone Trooper masks, but the dads were good sports!

What didn’t I get pictures of? I forgot to take a closer look at the favor boxes, which also included Clone Wars yo-yos and Clone Wars disc flyers. The yo-yos were a bit lacking – I could only get it to come back up once. There wasn’t enough momentum for a second “yo” because the plastic wasn’t heavy enough for the string. We didn’t let the boys try out the disc flyers in the restaurant because we were already causing enough of a scene!

I asked everyone at the party what they thought of the decorations, since I was reviewing them and all. TJ and Gavin didn’t have to say a word. Their actions spoke volumes as they were enthralled with the star confetti, the toys from the favor boxes, and the balloons – not to mention the big boy cups that didn’t have sippy cup lids. Tom thought that the whole thing was cool, as did Don. (They’re just big kids at heart.) Jillian was a bit more helpful, since she does a lot of party planning. She was impressed with the sturdiness of the tablecloth, plates, and cups. The only thing she didn’t like was the yo-yo, which was very flimsy. I’m sure she could’ve done a better job with the streamers than I did, but that was an issue with my lack of decorating skill, not with the product! I agreed with her on most parts, and would add that I wouldn’t bother giving the masks to preschoolers, because they don’t care enough about dressing up for pretend play to put up with the elastic.

We had a fabulous time celebrating Tom’s 30th birthday, and Tom wasn’t mortally humiliated. As a matter of fact, the pizzeria was filled with kids (including a victorious sports team) who kept looking over at us with jealous eyes. (Boy, were they surprised when the waitress brought out the cake for Tom, not TJ!)

Would you like the opportunity to review birthday party supplies from Birthday Express? Leave me a comment with your email address and the blog where you’d like to review them, and I’ll pass the info along to the appropriate person!

Christina Gleason (976 Posts)

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.