A couple of years ago, he went to a Star Wars themed party where they made lightsabers out of pool noodles. You can find "how-to"s for that all over the internet (here for example). The problem is, this is December. In Iowa. And I didn't plan a Star Wars party back in the summer. At that point he wanted Cars 2. Kids just don't plan ahead. And stores in Iowa evidently do not sell pool noodles in December. Believe me. I called at least 10 places.
So, rather than give up, I searched the home improvement stores for ANYTHING that could be used instead. What I came up with was foam pipe insulation. I actually loved this, because it's got a smaller diameter than the pool noodles, so it's more realistic. However, it is black, and knowing my son and his friends, I was going to be a total failure of a party mom if the lightsabers were not the "right" colors. So, I decided to have them wrap the entire length of the foam in duct tape. An added benefit was that it ate up a significant amount of time! :)
After wrapping a little more than 3/4 of the tube in their chosen color of tape, we finished off with silver on the end. I even splurged and got the shiny stuff instead of just plain grey duct tape. Hey, he only turns seven once! Each kid now has their very own lightsaber.
We did some Jedi mind training games involving blindfolds and knocking down cans. The kids had pretend lightsaber fights. Then we confiscated the weapons for the rest of the party. I'm sure all of the moms are absolutely thrilled with me now that the kids have them back, and are at home chasing their brothers, sisters, dogs, cats, hamsters, or whatever else they can find.
Thank you for this idea! I'm currently planning a Lego Starwars party for January and same delema no pool noodles!
ReplyDeleteThank you thank you thank you!!! I was wracking my brain trying to figure out paper towel tubes, spray paint, etc!! This is SO much simpler and super cute! You have saved my son's party. =)
ReplyDeleteAwesome tip about the duct tape! I found out that pipe insulation for 1/2 in pipes can just fit inside a paper towel or toilet roll tube -- so the kids can decorate the hilts if your don't want to use the shiny duct tape.
ReplyDeleteMy son has never shown interest in Star Wars until this weekend. He recently joined Scouts as a Beaver (I joined as a leader) we went to a camp to welcome the families and such and it was Star Wars themed. Now my son is obsessed (Geek dad pride moment) so now he wants to have lightsabre duels with his dad. So time to make something that wont break the bank. This is a perfect idea he can use to beat his old man up. Thank you for sharing, I can't wait to start at it tomorrow (also his first day of school for kindergarten) I'm hoping it will be an awesome surprise when he gets home.
ReplyDeleteGreat thanks. I have the same dilemma! My son's starwars party in January. I couldn't find anything to use to make light sabres until today x
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