Monday, October 26, 2009

Pirate Birthday Party

Big Guy is really into pirates. So he of course wanted a Pirate Birthday Party. I couldnt wait.
Before this party there was a alot of prep that went on. I really love the way everything turned out.
Here were the invitations for the party. I printed them up on our computer and then burnt the edges. I almost burnt our house down in the process but they did come out cute. And I was next to a fire extinguisher just in case you're wondering.


The invitations opened up.

I decorated the front lawn with a little play structure we have and did my best to make it look like a "pirate ship." Hey I did my best. Close enough right? I made a few pirate flags and hung one on a stick for the pirate ship. I also these signs out of poster board and stuck them in the lawn.

And isn't this big blow up pirate great! I found him at a garage sale about a month ago for $1! Perfect I thought.

I'm not into the skull and bones thing but it was a pirate party so had to have them. I tried to make them look a little on the nicer side.

When the kids entered the house they saw this table which supplied them with everything they needed in order to become a pirate. I got such great deals on all this stuff. With my big guy having a birthday around Halloween there was a big Halloween sale at the fabric store. I made each child a sash, an eye patch and bandanna. The kids loved this part.

The present area.


The pirate birthday banner.


Big Guy asked for a Pirate Ship Cake. Here was my version. This cake was probably one of the easiest ones I've done. And fast! That was the best part.

For the food I tried to make everything Pirate themed. I know it doesn't look like it but if you look closer everything had a little sign to go with it. For instance the jello with mangerin oranges had a sign that said "Ocean with sunken treasures" or "X marks the spot" for the "X" bread sticks. Instead of ants on log for the celery and peanut butter it was "pirates on a ship."

As far as the games we play "Pass the Skull." It was kind of like the pirate version of hot potatoe except I bought a Halloween Skull at the dollar store.

We also played Pin the Flag on the Treasure. By far the best game we played was TREASURE HUNT! I was so looking forward to this part. My hubby came up with the clues for the treasure hunt and I typed them up and then wrapped them like the invitations.

The whole idea of the treasure hunt was to find the MAP that would lead them to where the treasure was hidden. My hubby read the initial clue in his best piratey voice and then my girl read the rest of the clues to the kids when they found them. They were so fun. The first clue led them to the kitchen. Where they were told in a rhyme that the clue was hidden under a seat where we eat.

The clues led them all around the house and outside the house. Clue #5 led them to the pirate ship where the map was taped underneath.
Here was the treasure map that showed them where the treasure chest was.

We fortunately have a secret hideout on the side of our house which was so perfect for the hidden treasure.
I looked all over town and to buy a treasure chest was going to cost alot so this was the next best thing. Its a Styrofoam ice chest for $2. With just a little work I thought I could give it a little makeover to look like a treasure chest. So I painted it with some left over paint we had and once again headed over to the sale at the fabric store for some leather which I cut and glued to the "chest." I then painted little dots on the straps to look like studs.

I lined the inside with velvet and whoa-la! A Treasure Chest.

I made each pirate a booty bag with some treats and then filled the treasure chest with them.

The kids went crazy when they opened the treasure chest. Lets just say they didn't really care about all my hard work and just decided to rip the thing opened like a pinata.
At the end of the party the kids got to take home their booty bags which had a few piratey things in them and they also got these favors that I made with photoshop. I bought some Hershey candy bars that were also ON SALE!!! I wrapped them with gold wrapping paper to make them look like bars of gold.