We organized a Pirate Party for our 5 year-old son. The invitation was a hand-drawn pirate map of our neighborhood printed onto parchment-like paper.
On the spot for our address I glued glitter and dollar-sign gold and green confetti. I put notes all over the map such as on the lake, "Beware: Amatuer Boating Enthusiasts." In the park, "Warning: Crazed Exercisers." Near our house, "The Hood," and farther away, "Not the Hood." In the Legend the invitees were instructed to "Come Dressed as a Pirate or Walk the Plank." Our whole family dressed as pirates with the costume pieces purchased off the internet: scarves and hats, eye patches, earrings and swords. The sashes were made from glittery fabric purchased by the yard at a local fabric store. I didn't bother to hem them. 12 kids showed up, most of them dressed as pirates. We provided extra eye patches and scarves as needed. Two came dressed as clowns. I hired three teenage boys to dress as pirates and be in charge of the games. We had a list of 10 games. I always plan extra activities because some fizzle. The kids played Spin the Bottle of Rum, a game we developed for an older brother's birthday. Kids sit in a circle, they spin the bottle and the person indicated has to choose an activity from previously written instructions on small pieces of paper put into a basket. They can include "Count from 1 to 10" and "Spell your name" and "Run around the circle and sit down again." The adult can adjust the instructions for a younger or older child. The teenagers assisted in organizing a game of Capture the Pirate Flag which was a big hit. We invented a Walk the Plank game of two teams taking turns putting on a large t-shirt, walking "the plank" (a length of crepe paper), walking the plank back to the team, taking off the t-shirt and handing it to the next person to do the same. The most popular activity was finding the treasure. I made 10 rhyming clues which led from one to another. For example, "Don't sit under the apple tree, With anyone else but me, If you want to find, Treasure clue Number 3." The kids needed some prodding, as in "Ooooh, which one is an apple tree--I think THAT one is an apple tree." They loved running from clue to clue. The treasure had been previously hidden under the dining table. I had purchased a cardboard treasure box and filled it with skull and crossbone pouches full of plastic skull rings, "precious stone" rings, "gems," chocolate coins, tiny pirates, play money, and little kaleidescopes. "Gold" necklaces were draped over everything and more coins scattered for effect. The whole thing was wrapped up in a blue shopping bag and no one noticed it was there. Even the boys loved the jewelry, I was surprised! The cake was decorated with more treasure pouring out of a small treasure chest and little pirate figurines. More treasure was scattered around the cake. The adults were able to relax, drink and enjoy the snacks because the teenagers entertained the kids. A 12 year-old girl came to paint faces and apply pirate tatoos. We had an art project on the sidelines, making pirate hats, but there was so much other activity that only a couple of kids did that and the rest took theirs home. We kept the meal simple: hot dogs and macaroni salad. We decorated with balloons and pirate party decorations mostly purchased off the internet. The kids left draped in multiple necklaces and wearing handfuls of rings. I overheard one little boy tell his mother "this was a GOOD party" and she answered, "see--and you didn't want to come!" Everything went well and the party, scheduled to last for two hours actually lasted nearly four hours because no one wanted to go home. Of course the cleanup lasted a long time, too.
