Movie Star Party Magic

Roll out the red carpet because here comes a STAR! This birthday was an “off-year” birthday party for my daughter. Which is supposed to mean no birthday party with friends. I agreed to a movie date with ONE friend but the party designer inside me couldn't stand it and Movie Star Party Magic set in! Now I am the first to admit that this party is NOT magazine worthy. In fact, I was tempted to not even show it to you, but that got me thinking. Why? Because it's not perfect. That's why. The lighting isn't great. I don't have an elaborate food table. The list goes on.

That lead to some deeper reflection as to whether my “perfectly” styled party photoshoots are doing more harm than good. Those shoots aren't real life, and most people aren't ever going to live up to that. THAT'S exactly the kind of feeling I set out to avoid when I started this whole blog journey. So I must apologize that I've gotten a little carried away in recent months and I want to get back to my imperfect reality. I'll still do styled shoots here and there but I want to make sure I give you the real story. Build up your confidence that you CAN throw an awesome party for your kids without the worry of it being Pinterest perfect. Because I can tell you that these kids had an absolute blast. And isn't that what this is all about anyway?

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Movie Star Party Printables 

Before we opened up our HalfpintPartyDesign Etsy shop selling our own custom designed party invitations, I found all my invites on Etsy. Same as you. I just loved this set by Party Printables To Go. I realized a LONG time ago that themed party signage are the details that takes a party from good to great.

Movie Star Party Favors

You may recall my love affair with party favors! These favors were so fun for the birthday girl and I to put together. The best part? We picked everything up at Dollar Tree!

For the perfect Movie Star Party swag bag you will need:

• Fancy gift bags
• Movie star worthy sunglasses {of course!} but if you can't find any in stock, create your own with plain glasses using clear finger nail polish and glitter!
• Necklace and bracelets
• Mini fur trimmed purses {actually gift card holders}
• Sequin headbands {alt. lacey headwraps}
• Feather boas
• Boxes of movie candy
• VIP backstage passes, Etsy

The girls loved their swag bags! I tied a huge gold star left over from our New Year's party to the front of each bag.

Movie Star Snacks

This is one party I didn't go all out with food. I made a veggie & fruit tray, bought Doritos {birthday girl request} and served peanut butter and jam sandwiches. They weren't even cut out in a cute shape or anything! The one thing I did do was get cute plates and napkins.

And some fun drinks.

Which the girls felt fancy drinking out of glass bottles with their cute striped paper straws.

• Hot Fresh Popcorn & Cold Beverages Signs, Etsy
• Striped Popcorn containers, Dollar Tree
• Movie themed plates and napkins, Amazon
• Striped Paper Straws, Amazon

Roll out the Red Carpet

After lunch we rolled out the red carpet for a photoshoot. Each guest came dressed in Movie Star apparel and donned their swag bag accessories for the paparazzi. I lined our stairs with red plastic table covers and added actual red carpet samples to the end. Star balloons in black and gold lined the stairwell as a backdrop.

Oh my gosh you guys, I'm dying over this picture! My son also wanted in on the action. I had a “rock star” outfit picked for him but he comes down all a-swagger in this Hawaiian ensemble and his daddy's drum sticks. This kid knows how to party. Add some shades and he's definitely got the rock star vibe!

Strike a Pose

Feeling so fancy in all her swag. Then I asked her to “strike a pose.”

We might need to work on our poses!

At least her guests felt pretty comfortable in front of the camera!

How cute are they!?

VIP Guest Passes

I printed a VIP guest pass for each guest and they were required to show it before being admitted upstairs for the movie. Even though we'd already seen it, my daughter chose the movie SING. It was the perfect choice for a Movie Star Party!

Movie Treats

We saved the popcorn, sodas, and movie candy for the actual viewing portion of the party. We opened all the boxes of candy and poured them into glass bowls so everyone could share the different kinds.

A Star is Born

A Movie Party is the perfect theme for any birthday. I'm not usually a big “watch a movie with your friends” mom, but this was the perfect way to end the day. Feeling fancy, all curled up with your best friends on the sofa, singing along to SING in a plastic microphone. What could be better than that!?

Movie Star Party Sources:

You can find the rest of the items here:

• Foil Star Balloons in Gold {Black Star}, Dollar Tree
• “Movie Buff” Gold Statues, Amazon
• Star Marquee, Amazon
• Director's Clapboard Sign, Etsy
• Red Table cover, Zurchers {I got the thicker ones so they'd stand up better on the stairs}
• Red carpet samples {ask an Interior Design friend}
• Film strip washi tape, Etsy {too cute not to share!}

This party was so easy to put together. The most time consuming piece was double stick taping the red table cover to the stairs. {and then peeling it all back up again!} A party doesn't need to be elaborate or expensive to be fabulously fun. A few trips to the Dollar Store and viola…. Movie Star Party Magic! This would be great for a kid's Oscar party, or modified just a bit for a Rock Star party. If you host a movie party I'd love to see photos. Send them in on our Submissions page for a chance to be highlighted on our Feature Friday. We'd love to show off all your hard work.

Recommended Reading:

• Mini-Oscars: Best Children's Movies of 2016

Until next time,