Pirate Party!!

November was my son's birthday! He was born 15 weeks early and has endured so much that I really wanted to throw a big themed party for him to celebrate turning 5. We honestly didn't know if this day would ever come. He has grown so much and is the kindest, sweetest boy I know. I really wanted to celebrate him. And he LOVES Jake and the Neverland Pirates. He's slightly obsessed. So we did a Pirate Party!

I didn't want it to be just Jake and the Neverland Pirates, instead I went with the cute pirate theme because it's so much cheaper not to buy all that name brand stuff. It turned out really cute and the kids had a blast! We also rented a bounce house from a neighbor and that was a big hit! It was a great gathering activity and a fun activity after the party was done so everyone could just leave as they wanted.

When the kids first came in they had to walk through our doorway of streamers. For some of the younger kids, that was their favorite part. We had the bounce house and pirate coloring pages to keep them entertained while everyone was still on their way. Each chair had a balloon tied to it for the kids to keep as well.

The food was my favorite part to plan. I made "Arrr" Bananas, "Dead Man Fingers (aka little smokies), Jello Ship, Fruit Swords, "Polly Crackers" with crab dip and "Seaweed Salad" (Ceasar Salad).

We also had "Treasure Sandwiches" (ham and cheese sandwiches cut out with cookie cutters in the shape of ships and pirate treasure), "Pirate Punch" (Crystal Light), Catch 'O' the Day Soup (Clam Chowder), and "Shark Bait" (pretzel gold fish).

 I made a Pirate Hat Cake, Pina Colada Cupcakes, and "Gold "Dubloon" cookies (aka, sugar cookies with yellow glaze). This was the first birthday cake that I actually cut out and created from scratch. It didn't turn out too bad if I do say so myself.

After dinner we did our Treasure Hunt! It was a lot of fun. I forgot to make a treasure map before hand so I just jotted one down when we got there but it turned out great. I taped a plastic treasure coin at each stop that the kids had to find. Some of the stops we had to do something. I blew up black water balloons and they had to "Swab the Deck" of all the cannonballs (or coconuts, I can't remember what I decided). I taped down a square on the floor and they had to kick all the balloons into the square. Then they had to Walk the Plank. I just got a plank from Home Depot and had then cut four 10 inch planks off of it and wood glued it together. Then I painted the words "Walk the Plank" on it. The treasure was out in the hall behind a small tree. I filled the goody bags with pirate fruit snacks, beaded necklaces, coins, stickers, and more.

I set up a back drop to have all the kids stand on and take a picture all decked out in their pirate gear (we got it all at the dollar store and had them dress up before the treasure hunt). It was fun to see all their pirate imitations. My friend's little girl was the best one.

All in all, everyone had a blast! I'm so glad I have my little man to make my life so much more interesting.

Bounce Hous-ing fun!

Credits
*Pina Colada Cupcakes from Buttercream Bakehouse
*Ship Jello Cups from Make and Takes 
*Pirate Hat Cake idea form Disney
 *Pirate dress up from Dollar Tree
*Table supplies and treasure bags from Walmart and Target
*Coloring Pages from Disney Junior