arrrgh, matey!

Yet another crazy boy party!  I tell people that I can't wait to get started throwing some sweet, girlie parties full of pink/sparkly/princess goodness, but secretly I love all the boy things.  I have loved having sons to teach me about superheros and dinosaurs and the humor of fart and burping noises.  I love that things can be loud, messy, simple and straightforward.  I mean, I don't like it all enough to want to BE a boy, but I love that having boys has broadened my perspective in a lot of ways.  So today we had a pirate party full of 'loud' and 'messy' and a ton of burping thanks to the rootbeer.  It was a fun boy celebration (even if it included some girls!), and since I can't help that I'm a girl it may have included a few polka dots and unnecessary food naming.  (warning: tonnnns of pictures.  indecisiveness of what to include = I included it all)

BIRTHDAY BOY!!!

So I pretty much got every idea from someone else's blog.  There is a ton out there for pirate parties and I do not re-invent wheels.  I started by copying the idea to buy these cute bottles from Oriental Trading, make my own invites, and burn the edges to make them look cool.  

The dinner: seadogs (hotdogs and brauts),

shark bites- fruit salad

landlubber's loot- veggies with hummus, spinach & ranch

seashell treasure- shell pasta salad

pirate teeth- cold corn salad

black pearl stew- 3 bean dish

for the kiddos, pirate ships- some blue jello with an orange slice
and cannon balls, peg leg pretzels, Polly's crackers

We played a few games including "swab, walk & shoot."  Cute ideas from other blogs, however, for us it was a bust.  Literally.  The pirate training relay was suppose to include the kids "swabbing the poop deck" by using a broom to push a balloon to the other side, then "walking the plank" by crossing over a wooden plank, and "shooting the cannon" by hitting the balloon all the way back to the next teammate.  Since we were outside at a park, the balloon and broom combo did not happen.  We busted balloons in every shape and size, and finally gave into letting the kids walk the plank right over to our treasure hunt!

Thankfully, this went well and was a lot of fun.  I'd helped put together a pirate party for my nephew a few years ago and made up a treasure hunt at that time.  I used those clues as a base for this party and called on a very clever friend to help me fill in the rest.

I sewed a loot bag for each kid, which they got when they found the first clue. They collected more items to help them look like a pirate along the way- bandannas, eye patches, crazy teeth, pirate mustaches, balloon swords...

And of course at the end, the treasure was found and distributed to each kid!  I couldn't find a treasure chest in the right size and price, so I made one out of a diaper box (plenty of those on hand!), gold wrapping paper, and yellow duct tape - all things from around the house!  Because I am anal and wanted to avoid tears on party day, I divided out the jewels, coins, tattoos, stickers, compasses and candy from the treasure chest ahead of time, so every kid got equal amounts.

You don't want to mess with this gang.

(this one was maybe a little confused about what all was going on, but so stinkin cute!)

We ended the party with cake and presents (and more playing on the playground)...

(close ups of more stolen ideas)

This photo frightens me a little.  Since it is rootbeer in those bottles, we will call it cute, and focus on the fact that the birthday boy had a great day celebrating with his friends.  :)  Candy and cake and eye patches are only fun when you have wonderful people to share them with - thank you friends for making this a day my pirate won't soon forget!