While submitting another birthday party idea my daughter reminded me of her party when she turned nine. She said that I had to submit that one too. So, here goes. We decided on a cruise ship theme. I created "passport" invitations for the intended guests. They had to bring these along with their cruise ship tickets in order to be able to go on this cruise. They simply read: In honor of _______ ninth birthday you are invited on a 24 hour cruise aboard the SSS ________. We will be departing at (time) and arriving home at (time). Please bring formal wear and jewelry for dinner at the Captain's table. As parent's dropped off their children each guest had to walk up planks which I had placed up the steps, lined by wooden log posts and nautical ropes. Inside they were greeted by Canada Customs officials who checked their bags, stamped their passports, checked their tickets and told them to have a great cruise. Then they were escorted to their rooms where the windows were covered with blue foil wrap and shaped like portals. Once all of the girls arrived the planks were raised and we set sail. They went out on the deck and threw streamers and confetti just like they were on a real cruise ship. Then they went inside and prepared for dinner at the captain's table. They dressed all up while my sister saw to their makeup (a bonus for the party guests!) and then they were escorted to our dining room which had been set with fine china and all of the best cruise ship fixings. My husband dressed as the captain and after everyone was seated he came in and introduced himself to each one and then sat down. The girls had previously selected what they wanted to eat from a ships menu of three or four items, so dinner was served quickly. After dinner they enjoyed cakes and presents and retired to the ships' theater to watch movies. They were given the ship's itinerary for the next day which told them what time they would be arriving at the first port. Since my downstairs was the ship's bedrooms, it was easy to set the upstairs like the port of calls. We researched places we wanted to go to and then set up the rooms to match some of the things you could do there. My kitchen was the shopping district; my dining room was a place to do activities; my bathroom was a place to enjoy a pool and "swim" while my hallway served as a beach, complete with sand and beach towels. (The sand was fake!)We chose three places to go to, the  Caymen Islands, Puerto Rico, and Aruba. Each place had unique things, like  a turtle farm, a butterfly garden and beautiful white sandy beaches. These were fairly easy to duplicate. So we chose something to go and see; a craft to complete from each place; swimming and beaches; samples of food from each place and shopping. They were each given straw purses and allowed to use fake money (in the currency of the place they were visiting) to go shopping for things in the "stores". We used things like shell necklaces; glass trinkets; gems; beads; colored stones and treats that might be found in each place. This was their loot bag! They loved it! In between each port of call they would return to their ship to get ready for the next port. I also took pictures of them at each port and put these into little scrap books which I stamped with each port of call on them. They got to take these home along with their straw purses full of treasures. They also got sunglasses and I did their makeup to make it look like they got a tan. We used sun screen of course, the colored kind! At the end of the day, they returned to shore, coming out on deck to watch for their parents arrival. The planks were lowered again, their passports were stamped one last time at customs, their bags checked to make sure that nothing was brought back that isn't allowed in this country and they went home with their parents. It was a lot of fun! Parent's still remind me of it to this day. I'm afraid I have become known amongst the children as the one who throws the best parties that you have to attend! Whatever they say, I know I have just as much fun as the kids do and I really enjoy making them happy! I do everything as cheap as I possibly can which usually relies upon a lot of creativity and imagination! In a way, I get to become a kid again!