How to Throw a Star Wars Life Day Party

This week, we combined our love of Star Wars and Christmas by throwing a Life Day party!

What is Life Day, you ask? Well, Star Wars super fans can tell you that Life Day is a Wookiee holiday first introduced in the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. The special follows Chewbacca and Han Solo, as they attempt to get Chewy home in time for the holiday while evading the Galactic Empire.

The Star Wars Holiday Special was very poorly received and was never rebroadcast or released on video. But the special did introduce audiences to Boba Fett, and I think that’s a pretty big win!

While I understand the criticisms concerning production quality and plotline, I found the special a somewhat bizarre yet entertaining watch. If you’d like to check it out for yourself, it’s available to stream for free on YouTube!

Small nods to the Star Wars Holiday Special still live on through observances of Life Day in the Disney Parks. These subtle tributes have popped up over the years in the form of specialty menu items and PhotoPass Shots available in Galaxy’s Edge to mark the occasion. And now, guests of Disney Jollywood Nights can even meet Chewbacca while he dons his Life Day robes.

So, this year, we embraced these Wookiee traditions by throwing our very own Life Day party!

Life Day

As I mentioned before, Life Day is a Wookiee holiday occurring on November 17 that celebrates family, joy, and harmony. The holiday began as a way to honor an ancient tree Wookiees believe to be the source of all life. Celebrations involve gathering with loved ones, hanging Life Day Orbs, sharing meals, and singing songs.

To help plan our Life Day party, I picked up a copy of Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook: Official Holiday Recipes From a Galaxy Far, Far Away. You can order a copy on Amazon HERE! This cookbook features a collection of 50 recipes and crafts perfect for hosting your very own Life Day party.

The Life Day Cookbook is actually a follow-up to the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook I’ve written about HERE. If you want to make Galaxy’s Edge recipes in your very own kitchen, I highly recommend checking it out!

Acclaimed chef, Strono “Cookie” Tuggs, returns to bring authentic holiday recipes perfect for throwing a Life Day party. The recipes are thoughtfully themed to fit in the world of Star Wars, while also incorporating familiar holiday flavors.

Each recipe in the cookbook is accompanied by an informal excerpt from Chef Cookie that explains the cultural significance of each dish and how it ties into Life Day. These amusing anecdotes build a story within the pages and create authenticity to these Star Wars recipes.

For our party, I had the kids select a variety of Life Day recipes so I could prepare a feast to enjoy while we watched the Star Wars Holiday Special.

Yalbec Stingers

To kick off our Life Day party, I made one of Chef Cookie’s appetizer recipes – Yalbec Stingers. According to Chef Cookie, the original recipe utilizes the rare and exquisite stinger of an insect queen from Yalbec Prime. But, if it’s not possible to track one down, you can substitute peppers!

These peppers are stuffed with cream cheese and fresh herbs. My teenager was the one to request this menu item, but surprisingly enough, my four-year-old loved them too!

Engine Roasted Tip Yip

All three of my kiddos were adamant that I made the Engine Roasted Tip Yip as our main entrée. You may recognize Tip Yip from the popular menu item at Docking Bay 7.

According to Chef Cookie, all you need for this recipe is a functional engine and a tip-yip – a type of hen found on Endor. Tip-yip is particularly delicious when roasted at high temps, such as the flames from a ship’s thruster!

But for those of us lacking in thrusters, Chef Cookie has provided instructions for roasting in an oven instead.

Our chicken –ahem– I mean tip-yip turned out great! The skin was crispy, and the meat was juicy with wonderful hints of rosemary and lemon.

Wroshyr Bramble

Wroshyr Bramble made an excellent accompaniment to our tip-yip entrée. Chef Cookie’s inspiration for this recipe was derived from the Tree of Life, the mythical wroshyr tree which began all life. Wroshyr trees are at the heart of Life Day, so this recipe was a way to incorporate them into this collection of recipes.

Chef Cookie uses the tips of the wroshyr’s root system to add flavor and crunch to this classic vegetable casserole.

Us earthlings may more closely recognize this dish as green bean casserole, and the wroshyr tips as none other than crispy fried onions. It was delicious!

Rorkid Bread

My kids were also insistent that I whipped up a batch of Rorkid Bread for our Life Day party. Chef Cookie describes this dish as pungent, herby knots of Endorian bread courtesy of the Ewoks.

These bread knots are flavored with garlic, onion, basil, and oregano and topped with a sprinkling of matcha powder that added just a touch of sweetness.

I was a little hesitant to try this recipe because it is a yeasted dough, and I’m not much of a baker. But the instructions were clear and easy to follow, and they turned out great! These bread knots were a hit with the whole family.

Brub Berry Sauce

For an additional side dish, I also decided to make Brub Berry Sauce. According to Chef Cookie, this fruity compote is made from the winter berries of the Endorian brub-brub bush.

As I looked over the recipe, it immediately reminded me of the cranberry sauce I make for Thanksgiving. But instead of using cranberries, it’s made with blueberries.

I thought this was such a fun twist on a traditional cranberry sauce, and the kids were big fans as well!

Wookiee-Ookiees

No Life Day party would be complete without dessert! So, I whipped up a batch of Wookiee-Ookiees. These cookies are essentially gingerbread cookies decorated to look like Wookiees.

I have to say, this gingerbread recipe was fantastic. This might be my new go-to for my Christmas baking!

Wroshyr Sap Cider

The final menu item I made for our Life Day party was Wroshyr Sap Cider. Because the wroshyr tree is so significant to Life Day, I wanted to make sure we really represented it on our menu!

Chef Cookie makes this cider with the sap of the wroshyr trees from Mount Arayakyak. Apparently, there are many different types of wroshyr trees on Kashyyyk, but these trees have the best sap for cider.

Our Wroshyr Sap Cider was the perfect accompaniment to our Wookiee-Ookiees, and a wonderful and cozy end to our Life Day party.

The Life Day Cookbook goes on to share instructions for making your own Life Day orbs and robes, Wookiee-Ookiee ornaments, and paper Tree of Life. Everything you could possibly need to throw the best Life Day party!

What do you think of this special Star Wars holiday? Will you start honoring this tradition by throwing your own Life Day parties on November 17th? Let me know in the comments!

Looking for other Star Wars content? Then check out our Plan the Perfect May the Fourth Party and Star Wars Birthday Party articles!