Host A Star Party For The Perseid Meteor Shower

Star light, star bright, so many stars to see tonight!

The warm and wondrous August night skies are filled with an abundance of shooting stars from the Perseid meteor showers, Pleiades and even a planetary sighting of Jupiter. Gazing up at the night sky is one of those timeless activities that makes us aware of the vastness of our universe and the majesty above. Sharing a love of the night sky with your children connects them to the rhythms of the planets and helps us all to find our place amongst the beauty of the cosmos. 

Sleeping outside is a great way to view the bounty of those summer starry nights but you don’t have to go camping to get a full view of the stars. Having a starry night picnic is a lovely way to get the kids to gaze at the majesty of the night sky and wish upon a shooting star. Gathering some cozy blankets and a flashlight and slipping out into the darkness is something more easily done in the summer without school nights and with warmer air. Not to mention that to kids, this whole adventure feels especially magical!  

We’ve compiled some ideas for a Starry Night Party and some of the ingredients needed to make it fun, educational, and filled with lovely wishes on fallen stars!  

Find The Best Stargazing Spot & Time:

• Choose a night when the moon isn’t full and when there are few clouds. This year the best viewing nights (as long as the weather holds out) are August 11, 12, & 13.
• Find a place with few street and city lights nearby and where lights from other houses aren’t shining in your eyes. If you're in a city area, try to access a rooftop, large sports field or park, or possibly plan a short road trip outside the city.
• Fields or parks are especially well-suited for star parties. 

Pack Your Stargazing Supplies:

• Comfy is a must when you are spending time gazing up at the stars. Bring an abundance of blankets and pillows to snuggle underneath. 
• A star chart 
• Binoculars, if you have them. 
• You don’t need a telescope but if you have one or have access to one, that is always a treat. (Some public libraries loan them out!) 
• Bring some snacks like star fruit kabobs, star-shaped sandwiches, or star-shaped cookies (see our recipe below!) if you want to add even more festivity to the night. Other simple snacks like trail mix or popcorn are also easy to transport and eat outside. 
• Depending on where you live, have some bug spray available since mosquitoes tend to be active at night. You could also try using a few fresh sprigs of eucalyptus or peppermint in your pockets, or an essential oil mix like lavender, lemongrass and citronella combined with a carrier oil like coconut oil in a spray bottle makes a more natural mosquito repellant. 

We humans may not have night vision as powerful as some of our animal neighbors, but don't underestimate your eye power! If you have a red flashlight, it will make your eyes adjust better to the night so that they will see the stars more clearly. Take your time when you're ready to see the shower. You will see a lot more after 30 minutes in the dark than you will after just a few minutes because your eyes need time to adjust to less light. Prepare younger children for this waiting period before heading outside. If they are old enough to understand, explain how it takes time for our eyes to adjust to darkness, but as they do, we are able to see more in the dark. Waiting is just the hardest part about it!

Bake Star Cookies for the Party

To make your star watching even more sparkling, try baking these Star Cookies from The Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book by Lisa Hildreth. This recipe was originally shared by Ruth Kasl of Susquehanna Waldorf School in Pennsylvania. 

Gather Your Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt

Prepare Your Cookies:

1.  Preheat over to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, combine oil, honey, and molasses
3. Sift the remaining ingredients and add to wet mixture, stirring until it is blended
4. Roll out this dough on a floured surface
5. Use a cookie cutter to cut out stars, gather leftover dough, roll into a ball with as little kneading as possible, roll back out and cut the rest of the star cookies.
6. Bake for 5-9 minutes, depending on thickness.

You can decorate your cookies however you'd like. They are wonderful without any extra toppings, but adding a bit of powdered sugar on top or even some simple, handmade vanilla icing make them extra special and nicely compliment the cinnamon, molasses and ginger flavors in the cookies. 

To see a meteor shower gives us all a sense of how vast our universe truly is. We hope you can share this wonder with your children and loved ones with a special night of fun and awe. Share your star party or any fun star play with us on Instagram @bellalunatoys. Don't forget to use our hashtag #bellalunatoys for the chance to be featured on our feed or in stories. Here's to all of our starry wishes coming true!