Looking for new ideas for entertaining guests? Maybe your child has a birthday coming up, you want to have a few co-workers from the office over, or you’d like to celebrate a special occasion with family and friends? Then throw a star party! Name A Star Live can help. Here are some ideas:
Show your friends where your star is in the night sky
Using our Virtual Planetarium astronomy software you can see when your star’s constellation will be visible. Plan for a rain date — a backup date — for your party, just in case Mother Nature clouds over your night sky.
Show your star, the Moon and planets with your telescope
Again, using our Virtual Planetarium software you can see when the Moon and planets will be visible as well — think how neat it would be to show your guests the rings of Saturn! Don’t own a telescope? See our blog article about telescope buying tips. Your Name A Star Live Star Chart shows the position of your star within its constellation.
Party supplies for the kids
Mars bars and Milky Way bars are always a good choice for a star party.
Kids like freeze dried astronaut ice cream and freeze dried astronaut fruit packs. But as an alternative, consider getting your kids to make their own astronaut pudding.
There are all sorts of decorations and fun activities for the kids you can create yourself. Visit this “PBS Parents” webpage for some really neat ideas for a space-themed birthday party.
Party supplies for adults
There’s a lot of overlap between party supplies for kids and adults. But for the adults at your party you’ll likely want to provide some space-themed cocktails and finger foods.
There are many websites that provide recipes for space-themed cocktails and food. Click here and here for some sites we like. But you can just prepare common cocktails and give them spacey names, like the “Moon Shot,” the “Romulan Fizz,” or the “Milky Way.” And for fans of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy you’ll find a number of recipes online for the famous “Pangalactic Gargleblaster” that, in the Hitchhikers Guide, was invented by ex-President of the Universe Zaphod Beeblebrox! See, for example, this recipe.
Other Ideas
Use a black light to set an eery space mood!
Play some space-themed music — perhaps music from 2001: A Space Odyssey or from other sci-fi greats.
Consider offering a door prize: Perhaps Name A Star Live’s Virtual Planetarium astronomy software, or a Planisphere constellation finder.
A few days before your party, check out NASA’s easy-t0-use “Spot the Station” website to see if the International Space Station will fly overhead during your star party. It’s easy to see — even inside bright cities! To see what other satellites — such as the Hubble Space Telescope — that will fly overhead during your party, check out Heavens-Above.com.
Have fun!
