May the Force be with you

Take one Star Wars fan - the birthday boy. Make him a natty Jedi Knight cloak and find him a lightsaber - an empty wrapping paper tube does the job, and often lasts longer than one of the shop-bought variety. We had both.

Add a brave and clever sister - Princess Leia - to be his trusted friend...

... and welcome twelve other energetic young Padawans; ready to be trained in the ways of the Jedi.

• Take on the dark lord and sneak up on him in a game of Darth Vader's Footsteps
• Go on a search-and-save mission around the training HQ - collecting pictures of Star Wars characters
• Perfect an old Jedi mind trick - in a game of May the Force be with you
• Visit the frozen planet of Hoth and, wearing gloves, unwrap white chocolate snowballs from ice (actually foil) and eat as many as possible before the next Padawan rolls a six and takes over the task

Provide each Padawan with the components to build their very own droid...

... and be amazed at their fantastic ideas and technical skill.

Have a well-earned break with a hearty Jedi lunch...

...with an extra energy boost from home-made banana and chocolate chip muffins

 ... and some very special biscuits.

Refreshed and refuelled, congregate for the ultimate Jedi Knight challenge: lightsaber training.

One Padawan at a time, with their trusty lightsaber, for one minute against...

 ... the devilishly fast remote bubble droids. Award points for style - as well as bubble droid damage.

Finally, receive a shiny medal from Princess Leia in a special Jedi award ceremony.

 And that's how our Star Wars party went today. It was out of this world!