A certain young pirate turned seven!!!
And so we had to celebrate! Alli wanted a pirate birthday party. So I have been collecting and dreaming up pirate party ideas for a few months.
We sent out invitations with a treasure map on the envelope. If you know our part of the neighborhood, you may recognize the streets as the water. The maps for the kids in the neighborhood showed how to get to the X from their own houses. For the kids who don't live in the neighborhood, the map covered a larger area and had street labels on the waterways.
The invitation says:
Ahoy Pirate friend! Ye are invited to celebrate Cap'n Alli's 7th birthday on Monday..... from 9-11am. A hearty breakfast will be served... cake too! Come dressed in your pirate best... or walk the plank!
We all dressed up.
The kids costumes were easy. We had a bunch of pirate accessories.
For my costume I wore a wide-striped shirt, a pair of capris that I cut off with a jagged edge, and a bandanna around my hair.
I looked like a deck hand.
My sister came with a much more exciting ensemble...
She wore her husband's white shirt with lots of jewelry and scarves. For the mustache and goatee, she glued hair onto her face. Afterwards it peeled right off. Where did the hair come from? She has a teenage son with a big red curly mop of hair... maybe he should check for missing locks!
My brother took a different approach...
Sort of a pirate wizard.
We played a fishing game at the party.
The kids sat around the "pool" (a blue blanket) where there were fish, gators, sharks, and a wooden plank.
The fish have paper clips sewn in them, and the fishing pole had a magnet on the end of the string.
On the back of each fish was a message...
"Pick 1 prize"
"go again"
"shout ARG!"
"Walk the PLANK!"
We passed the fishing pole around and the kids took turns fishing. I switched out the notes in the fish after each one was caught... these are clever kids you know.
Once everyone had a few turns, those who didn't end up winning a prize got to pick a prize... so everyone got something.
Here is how I made the paper gators...
I cut out these shapes (two fit on one 8.5x11 piece of paper). On the top I drew eyes. On the bottom, I drew nostrils. Where the dotted lines are, I folded it so I turned out like this...
There were shark fins sticking out of the water too. (Shark fin = triangle folded in half.)
Alli picked the theme of her party long ago, and so I was able to pick up some party gear on sale after Halloween!
Down in the playroom there was a boat.
Never underestimate the power of a cardboard box!
We had two large white boards and a bunch of dry-erase markers. The kids drew pirates and treasure maps. I didn't take a picture, but you can see a little bit of it behind this pirate.
We played a treasure hunt game. Clues were written on post-it notes and hidden around the house, one clue leading to another. The clues led to the "treasure" which was a bowl of prizes for everyone.
The treat bags were simple paper bags with a treasure chest drawn on each. Ruby embellished hers with heart stickers.
It was a fun party. I'm glad Alli picked pirates as a theme this year... and I can't wait to see what she will want for next year!
And so we had to celebrate! Alli wanted a pirate birthday party. So I have been collecting and dreaming up pirate party ideas for a few months.
We sent out invitations with a treasure map on the envelope. If you know our part of the neighborhood, you may recognize the streets as the water. The maps for the kids in the neighborhood showed how to get to the X from their own houses. For the kids who don't live in the neighborhood, the map covered a larger area and had street labels on the waterways.
The invitation says:
Ahoy Pirate friend! Ye are invited to celebrate Cap'n Alli's 7th birthday on Monday..... from 9-11am. A hearty breakfast will be served... cake too! Come dressed in your pirate best... or walk the plank!
We all dressed up.
The kids costumes were easy. We had a bunch of pirate accessories.
For my costume I wore a wide-striped shirt, a pair of capris that I cut off with a jagged edge, and a bandanna around my hair.
I looked like a deck hand.
My sister came with a much more exciting ensemble...
She wore her husband's white shirt with lots of jewelry and scarves. For the mustache and goatee, she glued hair onto her face. Afterwards it peeled right off. Where did the hair come from? She has a teenage son with a big red curly mop of hair... maybe he should check for missing locks!
My brother took a different approach...
Sort of a pirate wizard.
We played a fishing game at the party.
The kids sat around the "pool" (a blue blanket) where there were fish, gators, sharks, and a wooden plank.
The fish have paper clips sewn in them, and the fishing pole had a magnet on the end of the string.
On the back of each fish was a message...
"Pick 1 prize"
"go again"
"shout ARG!"
"Walk the PLANK!"
We passed the fishing pole around and the kids took turns fishing. I switched out the notes in the fish after each one was caught... these are clever kids you know.
Once everyone had a few turns, those who didn't end up winning a prize got to pick a prize... so everyone got something.
Here is how I made the paper gators...
I cut out these shapes (two fit on one 8.5x11 piece of paper). On the top I drew eyes. On the bottom, I drew nostrils. Where the dotted lines are, I folded it so I turned out like this...
There were shark fins sticking out of the water too. (Shark fin = triangle folded in half.)
Alli picked the theme of her party long ago, and so I was able to pick up some party gear on sale after Halloween!
Down in the playroom there was a boat.
Never underestimate the power of a cardboard box!
We had two large white boards and a bunch of dry-erase markers. The kids drew pirates and treasure maps. I didn't take a picture, but you can see a little bit of it behind this pirate.
We played a treasure hunt game. Clues were written on post-it notes and hidden around the house, one clue leading to another. The clues led to the "treasure" which was a bowl of prizes for everyone.
The treat bags were simple paper bags with a treasure chest drawn on each. Ruby embellished hers with heart stickers.
It was a fun party. I'm glad Alli picked pirates as a theme this year... and I can't wait to see what she will want for next year!
