For my son's 5th birthday, he wanted a pirate party. I mailed out parchment paper style invitations and told guests that a pirate costume was waiting for them.  When each child arrived, I gave them a black satin triangle "scarf" with a glow-in-the-dark skull and crossbones on it and tied it "pirate-style" around their heads. They also received an eye patch, several pirate tatoos (on cheeks, hands, etc.), and a plastic, blow-up sword. I took each child's picture in costume, in front of a large "Pirates Only - Enter at Your Own risk" sign that was left over from my church's previous summer vacation bible school (VBS). The VBS theme had been "under the sea," and they had painted a bunch of cardboard to look like wood and written phrases on one side.  I just turned the signs over and used white chalk to write on the backs.  They had also painted large cardboard tubes to look like pilings (with rope wound around the tops and bottoms), so I also used these to create a desert/treasure island theme. After the picture, the children decorated treasure chests with plastic jewels and glitter glue. The chests were paper mache' boxes that I had spray painted gold.  I told the children that when the chests were done, we were going to go on a treasur hunt to look for Blackbeard's treasure. While these were drying, we had a cannon ball fight. I made 2 pirate ships out or wardrobe boxes that I got from a neighbor who had recently moved in across the street.  I simply layed them on there sides, cut off the "top," and tapered the ends to look like a ship. I used 2 tall tubes from my church's VBS and taped a paper pirate flag (made with skull and crossbones clip art on my computer) to the top of each mast. The kids divided into 2 teams and threw rolled up newspaper "cannon balls" at each other.  They enjoyed this so much, we had to have about 10 "fights!" After the cannon ball fight, we made toilet-paper-tube- pirates. I got this craft off the internet. I printed out all the parts on my printer (head, boots, arms, sword), cut them out, and the kids glued them to the toilet paper rolls. Now it was cake time.  I purchased a pirate cake topper set and had it put on an ice cream cake. We drank "blood" red punch out of skull cups. We ate off of pirate partyware purchased from a store. Finally, it was time for the treasure hunt! I had a treasure map and some props (ie, a plastic, blow up palm tree, foot prints, a larger cardboard treasure chest, a plastic pirate flag). The kids couldn't read yet, so I embelished as I read the treasure map to them.  We started on our pirate ship and 1st had to look for land (the plastic blow up palm tree), then we had to look for Blackbeard's footprints, etc. When we finally found his treasure, it was filled with plastic gold coins, chocolate gold coins, and gold Mardi Gras necklaces that I had purchased. It was also filled with river rocks from my yard that I had spray painted gold.  The kids were TOTALLY thrilled!  I had parents tell me for weeks after how excited their child was about the treasure hunt and how (s)he still talked about it! The children's favors were their costumes, treasure chests filled with treasure, skull cups, and toilet paper roll pirates. I sent them photo-frame thank you notes with their picture in costume on the front.  The inside included the phrase:  Thanks for the loot!  This was a super-successful party!