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Peter Pan Party -2yr- Lost Boys Backyard

March 2005

Caryn in Trabuco Canyon, CA

Honorable Mention

My son has loved Peter Pan since he was 2 years old, so for his 4th birthday we had the ultimate  Peter Pan/Lost Boys/Pirate party.  We followed the the style of the 2003 movie version of the classic  story rather than the Disney version. 

The invitation read "All Lost Boys, Faries and Indians A great  adventure awaits in Neverland!  All our favorite games we'll play, treats we'll eat and more.  A  celebration you won't want to miss for someone whose turning four.  Say nothing of this gathering  least Hook should overhear.  For if he shows up he'll ruin, no doubt, the grandest party of the year!  Meet at Peter Pan's hideout (a.k.a. ____'s house on Sunday the 18th of April, the second hour past  noon.  Dress for Neverland fun.  Call ____'s mom to say you'll come"  I bought a roll of craft paper  cut out and painted giant indian teepees and hung the along the fence in one area of the backyard  (Indian territory), 

We rigged the outdoor playset to look like a pirate ship, with a Jolly Roger and  some pirate figures from the party store (Pirate Cove).  And, as a last minute brainstorm I took  lengths of the craft paper, crinkled lengthwise, attached them to the light fixture hung over my  dining room table (from fixture to floor), basically covering the entire perimeter of the table with a  slight opening in the front (lot'ta paper, lot'ta tape!), painted lines of brown paint to look like bark  and knots and that became Hangman's Tree/Peter Pan's hideout. 

When the guests came, each boy  was transformed into a "lost boy".  I spiked their hair with gel and sprayed colored hairspray on the  ends, painted their faces with "war paint", and tied a belt across their chest and around their waist  with a piece of jute twine with leaves tied into it.  At first some of the boys did not want anything done to them, but as more arrived and they saw how fun each other looked, they warmed to the idea. 

My son wanted to play hot potato and duck, duck, goose, so we did.  We played a version of  musical chairs where I laid on the ground large circles cut out of metallic paper (gold coins) and the  kids walked around them, when the music stopped they had to find a coin and stand on it.  Coins  were eliminated one by one but not the kids, so eventually all the kids were huddled together on  one coin.  Hilarious! 

The games must have caused quite a ruckus because who should find us at  our little gathering but Captain Hook!  My husband rented a beautiful pirate captain costume with a  long black wig at the local costume store.  All the little lost boys were ready to take him on, so we  provided them all with plastic swords (available at US Toys).  They loved the sword fight and my  husband was a terrific sport about it.

The last activity was a treasure hunt, where the kids, as a  group, when around the backyard searching for various items (a red feather at the Indian camp, a  shell from Mermaid Lagoon, a leaf from the jungle, a penny from the Pirates booty)  The final thing  they had to find was a Treasure Chest ( the pinata!)  When we broke open the pinata and it was  filled with gold! (gold foil wrapped candies like Rolos & mini Hershey bars, and gold coins). 

The  treat bags were simple brown lunch sacks tied with raffia.  We had cake, ice cream and punch.  The  biggest expense was the costume rental ($60) but we figured to hire someone to play Hook would  have been at least double that.  It was a great party!  Friends still talk about it a year later.  I think a  little part of every boy will always live in Neverland.

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