t's seventh birthday and doctor who party

 My little guy turned seven today.  He wanted a Doctor Who themed party.  I sort of procrastinated on the planning of this party and had to pull it together in the last couple of days.  I basically pulled an all-nighter on Thursday in order to get things ready for the party today.  Luckily the boys were in an all-day camp this week, and while I didn't use my time very well earlier in the week, you better believe I worked my butt off every single minute they were gone today.  Decorating, mostly.  Finishing up game prep, too.  I was really grateful that the boys were occupied and that Nate was able to take a half-day off work and help out too.  T and S gave the party top marks, so all the work was worth it.  Here is what we did for our Doctor Who party!

Invitations.  Here are the invitations we sent out.  I bought a pdf from this etsy shop and it was really easy to print them up, add our info on the inside, and mail them out.

Party day!

First of all, the outfit.  I found the shirt and jacket at Goodwill.  The Fez and Bowtie came as a set from Amazon.  I thought we would just use them to take a few photos and then he would change into a t-shirt, but he decided to keep them on.  I was pleased as punch that he liked the costume and wanted to wear it for the whole party.  I know he had to be hot in those layers plus a hat (!), but he was a very dedicated Doctor.  The backdrop here is a beach towel, also from Amazon.

Decorations.  I went overboard with decorations, perhaps because I felt my party activities were pretty basic and traditional.  I wanted the wow-factor of an over-decorated party room and I think I achieved it.  When the boys walked in from camp they definitely gave a WOW reaction.  T said, adorably, "Are we in space?!"  I bought balloons, dangling stars, and dangling planets from Oriental Trading, Amazon, and Walmart.  The best bit of the decor, in my opinion, was the set of T.A.R.D.I.S. lights from ThinkGeek.  I wrapped the wiry star garland around the strand to try to make it look like the time machine was spinning through the time vortex.  How dorky is that?  But I have to say I thought it looked awesome.  It was one of my favorite things of the whole party.

Games!  As guests arrived, the boys instructed them in how to play our first game.  I had pictures of some Doctor Who aliens posted on the walls, with envelopes underneath.  The kids had strips of paper with alien names on them, and they had to try to match the alien name with the picture.  When everyone was done, T emptied the envelopes and read the slips of paper, and then told the kids what the alien was actually called.

Next we had everyone sit down and gave a very brief description of Doctor Who for those who had never seen it.  I had T help me explain the basic gist of the show (really too bad that we didn't get that on video, as it was adorable).  Then we showed the kids a short video to further illustrate what the theme of this party was all about.

Our next game was Pin the Bowtie on the Doctor.  Pretty self-explanatory.

Cake time.  The cake came from a local bakery.  We found a picture of a cake we liked on Pinterest and took it in for them to see.  Our cake looked pretty much identical to the one we saw online, except that one said the kid's name and age, and ours said, "EXTERMINATE!"  I let T decide which he would rather have on his cake and for him the choice was clear.

After our snacks and cake, T opened gifts.  He scored a lot of cool Doctor Who stuff.  And a lot of cool stuff in general.

Outside!  Thirteen kids in our apartment feels pretty crazy, so I was glad when it was time to go outside.  I was also glad that the downpour from earlier in the day had stopped.  The grass was really wet but otherwise the park was perfect.  The rain had cleared it out for us, I think, so the field was empty and ready for our gaggle of guests to run around while Nate tied up the pinata. 

The gorgeous T.A.R.D.I.S. pinata was purchased from this etsy shop.  It was so sturdy I was worried the kids wouldn't be able to bust it, but it wasn't a problem.  I think the kids enjoyed the pinata but I have a hard time with the whole diving-for-candy issue.....  some kids got a ton and some didn't get much at all.  There was some grabbing, which resulted in some tears, and I felt bad.  I asked the kids who got a lot to share with the kids who didn't get as much, and most of them did, and then I felt a little better.  But it always stinks to see a kid crying because of a game you planned.

After the pinata broke and everyone enjoyed a piece of candy, the kids played in the field until the parents came.  The boys and I had discussed a game of Weeping Angel freeze tag, and then it evolved into a form of a game they play at recess called Infection.  I have no idea how it works, and I didn't organize the last game at all.  I let the kids work it out amongst themselves and it seemed to go well.

Goody bags.  I had blue bags and I printed a picture of the T.A.R.D.I.S. for the front of each.  Cut them out and stuck them on with glue stick.  I went through a lot of printer ink for this party!  The favors in the bags were not overly exciting.  Alien erasers, alien shooter toys, a glow stick (they were supposed to light up blue, not sure if they worked), and a planet stamp.  All the favors were from Oriental Trading.  Guests also took home the candy from the pinata.

That was our party!  I loved doing it, wish I had paced myself on the planning a little bit instead of working like a beast at the last minute, and consider it a big success.  There is a lot you can do with this theme, of course.  But I chose to keep it pretty simple. I figured that any references to the show that weren't completely overt would be missed by the guests anyway, so why bother to bring out the deep cuts?  (This is exactly why I didn't bother doing any themed food, other than the cake motif).  I know that T and S had a great time so I am a happy party planner.  Now maybe we can just do bowling alley parties from now on?  These theme parties are exhausting.  :)