Geeking Out and Starting My Kids with Star Wars Rebels

This Star Wars #SparkRebellion shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions and experiences are mine alone. #CollectiveBias

I am truly a child of the 80's. My beloved C-3PO action figure had all the gold paint worn off the arms and legs from countless afternoons spent playing with him. At that time my 5-year old self had no idea that toy could be a collectible someday. I watched episode 4-6 more than any other movie, while my Saturday mornings were filled with whatever Star Wars spin-off cartoon was running. I even had a pair of both Princess Leia and R2-D2 Underoos. What more could this Star Wars fan have needed growing up?

Even though I'm not swimming in collectibles and memorabilia, the movies still are a big part of the daydreams that shaped my childhood. They were some of the first VHS tapes we owned in our home. The easy to understand concepts of good vs. evil, oppression vs. rebellion I learned by watching these movies over and over.

It was never a question that I would someday share my love of Star Wars with my children. But now I have a new way to introduce them to my favorite sci-fi series of all time, an animated series called Star Wars Rebels.

Now my kids know I like Star Wars, but they haven't been old enough to watch yet. So when I announced that we were going to have a family movie night with Star Wars Rebels, available exclusively at Walmart for a limited time, my kids were over the moon.

Yes, we headed into Walmart on release day, we were all that excited.

And after being the kid who only owned one Star Wars toy growing up, I knew this was a great excuse to not only grab some great movie night snacks, but also a few new toys.

You know, for the kids.

The beauty of the toys was, my son was already playing and enjoying his Star Wars Hasbro toys before he ever saw the movie. They were just cool as is!

I ended up getting both the Star Wars Command Star Destroyer Set and the Star Wars Command Epic Assault set. The first one was nostalgic for me, but the other one contained the characters from Star Wars Rebels including Ezra Bridger and, my daughter's favorite, "Chopper".

Also check out the Rebels Millennium Falcon, available for pre-order now. This toy would be a great one to put away as a Christmas gift. Or how about the Inquisitor lightsaber?

This was a great tie-in with the DVD plot line.

And to really get you excited, this DVD is actually the first episode of the animated series that played on Disney XD on 9/26. It will only be available to purchase at Walmart from 10/3 to 10/13, so don't miss out!

Because any event is better with customized cookies, I created some new designs to celebrate the new series.  If you are intimidated by royal icing or decorating cookies, I have a few tips to share:

1. Go with gel or paste colors. These won't change the consistency of your royal icing when added. Liquid colors add more moisture and can make your icing too runny if you are not careful.
2. Grab some Wilton mini squeeze bottles for different colors.This is a great way to flood cookies with color between your outlines.
3. Fill squeeze bottles with a simple zip-topped bag. I snip a tiny bit off the end and then add to my squeeze bottles.
4. Make a large batch of royal icing in your desired consistency, then hand color smaller batches in a measuring cup.
5. Don't be afraid to use your existing cookie cutters and turn them upside down or modify them as needed.

Add in some popcorn, our favorite drinks and everyone settled in to watch the Star Wars Rebels not once, but twice. Yes, it was a big hit. I have a feeling that my kids are already set on a path to discover and enjoy the world of Star Wars.

No time like the present to jump into Star Wars Rebels. Remember, these DVDs are only available for a limited time and it is a great chance to introduce new fans to all the fun. Now I am getting giddy waiting for the next movies to come out.

Are you a Star Wars fan? What is your favorite Star Wars memory?