Star Wars Datenight
It has taken approximately 2 years, but I’ve finally done it. I’ve gotten through the OG Star Wars movies & I’m thoroughly versed on the trilogy. & though it’s taken literally years & lots of prompting from my husband for this to happen, we did it, had fun along the way, and we went hard for our At-Home Star Wars Party!
I think one of the funnest things about good friends or a special someone is getting a little invested in what they’re into, and exposing yourself to something new. Take my husband for example. Thanks to him, I’ve become an avid Seahawks & Trailblazers fan, and taken up bowling as a sport. These are just a couple of the things he’s super into, and after just a bit of exposure we’ve come to develop a mutual interest. Star Wars is another one of those things - Jordan is a Star Wars fanatic & I grew up never seeing one minute of any of those movies…& frankly had no interest in diving in. But my husband is an adult who still appreciates Star Wars legos and has quite the collection of Star Wars swag. So it makes sense for him to get me on board, and he was jacked to witness my first Star Wars experience.
Tonight it was coming to an end…we’ve been set on escaping to our loft with drinks and snacks, and hunkering down for our own at-home viewing. It really has been such a special bonding thing for us, and we’ve made the effort to clear our schedules every time Star Wars was going down. I remember the first New Years we decided to stay home and watch the first ever movie, and New Years 2019 doing the same thing with Episode V. No bull shit - I was genuinely curious to see what the hype was about, and it was funner to do it with a super fan by my side. As dumb as it sounds, each time we’ve watched the movies I feel like I get to know a little bit more about my husbands childhood…this is his most favorite story. So just diving in to Star Wars has been a fun, special thing for us, & I was committed to making sure our at-home date night for Episode VI (which is the third of the OG trilogy is your a noob like me) was lit. So lit! We wanted to turn it into a party just for the two of us - Jar Jar Links, Chewbacca Bites, Yoda Soda, & all. So extra & I’m f*cking fine with it.
I’ve had some experience throwing a Star Wars Party in my day. I threw Jordan a full fledged Star Wars birthday party one year (I believe for his 27th birthday) just for the hell of it. A little Pinterest search & I was set with a full fledged Star Wars menu, decorations, & treats. My plan this time was to recreate Jordo’s birthday party for this special night in, but do it even better than before. Commit & go hard! I brought back the Star Wars menu, did a little Amazon prime shopping, and expanded my Pinterest search to put together a Star Wars themed date night that kept us entertained and fed.
I was pretty focused on the food, and I wanted to try to add to the Star Wars mood with a couple small extras. My purchases for decor were limited to themed forks & star garland, both of which I paired with serving trays and a letter board I already had on deck. I also handmade all of the signs for the snacks (which is pretty obvious), and used some super cheap left over baking string to attach them to my serving platters. I was very DIY and resourceful on purpose. My two little purchases were just that - little. Super inexpensive buys on Amazon that were fun little extras to have for a themed Friday.
The letter board was the other item that really helped commit to the theme, and if you don’t already have a letter board I so suggest you get one. Or at least a chalkboard! It’s perfect for re-purposing for at home events, whether it be a random date night or a more formal holiday get together, and so easy to customize in a just a couple minutes. Something like a letterboard is a good focal point that is so easily adaptable to your theme, and a fun element to add to an at-home display. When I’m not using my letterboard for a party, it lives on our bookshelf with little life reminders, so it’s something you can constantly use to write little motivational messages to yourself. I love it, and re-purposed it this go around for some punny decor. Yoda One For Me just seemed to be the perfect fit.
My menu was by far the most themed (& admittedly cheesiest) part of the whole thing. The pigs in a blanket marketed as Jar Jar Links were by far our most favorite part of it all, and my husband's most memorable food items from his Star Wars themed birthday. They are a freakin’ winner! Pigs in a blanket are something we literally never have at our house because they’re a dangerous snack that disappears quick, but we couldn’t help ourselves this time. Gotta indulge a little bit!
I didn’t want to get too hung up on complex treats, but wanted to have an array of finger foods to munch on all movie long. I highly recommend curating a hybrid menu of fool-proof homemade treats and ready to go snacks (whether that means frozen or open up the bag and serve). Having some items that require no effort from you just mitigates any stress from getting it all together way down, and it’s I mantra I look to for pretty much any party. Gotta balance that homemade & store bought like 75/25 at least.
I limited my actual cooking to 3 items:
Chicken Meatballs served as Chewbaca bites. I used my Sweet & Sticky Chicken Meatballs that are fool proof and delish. You literally can’t mess them up, and they just taste so good. Chewies Chicken would also be an appropriate name.
Pigs in a blanket as Jar Jar Links, which really is more of an assemble and bake than a cook. Moreover, assembling pigs in a blanket is one of those more fn tasks you can totally pass on to your dinner date (I definitely did). If you haven’t made pigs in a blanket, you can 100% buy them ready to serve, or you can make your own with Lil” Smokies & Crescent Roll dough, which is exactly what I did. Literally pop the Crescent Roll packaging (which to this day still kind of scares me), cut the dough into strips, and wrap around the little weenies. No uniformity really needed, and just bake according to package instruction. They’re pillowy & salty & doughy, and just irresistible.
Vader Veggies can be any salad or veggie tray you’d like, but I’m hot on my Chickpea, Sun-dried Tomato, and Mozz Salad, so I used that.
To be honest - I also made cake pops as Thermal Detonators because you have to have something sweet! A little sparkly sweet treat looked pretty cute with the rest of the display. I will say it was quite the project that involved all of my time and attention during the process. Cake pops for me are still in the don’t try to multi-task while you make them phase, and I haven’t really gotten in a grove for them yet. Mine weren’t totally perfect, so I probably shouldn’t be passing along my cake pop recipe to anyone soon. But If you’re a pro cake-pop maker, or want to give it a go (which I always recommend), you 100% should. It’s the best use of store bought cake! If cake pops aren’t your jam, any cupcakes are a great substitute.
My festive, no-make “cheats” were champagne that I put out as my Yoda Soda, and you can totally use beer or some virtually any other beverage as a substitute. I also some pirate’s booty I included as a filler, because why not? It’s so fun to eat!
In the end I have one big take-away - movie nights can take on a special significance by going all in on a theme & tying in your menu with what’s on the tube. It’s just a little extra effort that takes the average watch a movie at home evening to a full fledged event, and why not have a full fledged event at home with you and your favorite person? It doesn’t need to be perfect… I mean look at what I did. It is so clearly homemade and not the fanciest thing ever, and I’ll admit it’s nothing the Kardashian’s would do. But it was something these Zehner’s really loved, and that’s all that really matters. A fun and festive night in doesn’t mean slaving away or making it look absolutely perfect. It’s just making it fun & enjoyable for you. Spend money on fun treats, limit your outside decor purchases to $20, and don’t hesitate to be a little DIY. & let me tell you - there is lots of DIY inspo for a Star Wars Party…whether it relates to food or decor or whatever. So whether you’re like me and have never watched Star Wars, or it’s your favorite shit that you’ve seen 1000 times, it’s worth a datenight powered by Jar Jar Links.
A plate full of Star Wars goodies!