The theme was perfect with a plethora of Pirate items available due to the extreme popularity of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean Movie releasing and Disney Junior's Jake and the Neverland Pirates a huge TV hit. Plus out of all the ideas I mentioned to the boys, it was theme the twins were most excited about. Better still, every single guest (which I might point out was mainly adults) really got into it. My mom and aunt pulled out boots, belts, and scarves from the back of their closets while my dad, one of our older sons, and hubby donned Pirate shirts we'd purchased several months back for another event. Other guests clearly made a quick stop to the local party store for hooks, hoop earrings, and patches before their arrival. Even my oldest son and his girlfriend were quick to snatch up hats and patches I had on hand. It was fantastic!
Party Supplies, Party Apparel, and Decor:
I purchased a bunch of pirate pirate party supply items that included: Plates, Napkins, Cups, a Pirate Pennant Banner, Pirate Candles, Balloons, eye patches, a Pin the Patch on the Pirate Game, plastic swords, pirate stickers, and a Pirate Pinata. (added 6/13/2012- While those exact supplies are no longer offered, see our recent post on Jake and the Neverland Pirates Party Supplies.)
I also picked up some extras at Michaels which would include items I needed to decorate and everything I needed for the main activity event at the party -- treasure hunting. At Michaels Craft store I found fishing net, curling ribbon, pirate stickers, pirate tattoos, a small bag of sand, giant fake coins, fake large jewels, large plastic crabs, skull and crossbone white cardboard cutouts, a couple clices of red construction paper, and cardboard treasure chests. Most of the Michaels items were used to decorate and stuff the treasure chests we later buried in the yard for the twins to dig up at the party. More to follow on that ...
Attire for the twin birthday boys was provided yet again by Jen from Sugarlocks.com. She always does the cutest personalized shirts. We also bought special pirate hats, pirate treasure maps, and pirate eye patches from the HerFlyingHorses Etsy Shop.
And last but not least, our backdrop to the whole pirate party was The Jolly Roger recyclable cardboard Pirate Ship provide by Green Town Toys. Wow, this cardboard pretend pirate ship really brought decor and fun to the next level! The twins and guests were super impressed by this fun play space. I should note it assembled with relative ease out on our back patio and was easily moved to our playroom when the last seafaring party goer departed. This house combined with all the left over party gear is certain to provide hours of fun birthday reenacting for months to come.
Pirate Party Food Menu:
My contacts at Kraft were nice enough to offer some menu suggestions which included a Buccaneer Cake. a Hidden Treasure Chest Cake, and Skull Cakes. I ultimately went with my own simple cupcake design for the desserts as you'll see pictured. It consisted of a basic chocolate cupcake with soynut butter cream frosting (just add soynut butter or peanut butter to your favorite vanilla butter cream). Decorations for my cupcakes included a blue sparkle frosting sea, red frosting to make the x marks the spot, and some gold sprinkles to add a sandy beach effect. I used Wilton pirate cupcake liners and pirate flags to complete the look.
Pirate Party Fun and Games:
The big entertainment was our Buried Treasure Hunt. I should preface this section by saying that my twin boys absolutely LOVE digging in dirt. They've given their kid sized little tikes shovels a real work out from the moment they got them. Burying treasure in the yard somewhere was not only perfect for this Pirate theme but perfect for them. One could simply place a treasure chest behind a bush or even in plain sight if dirt is not a biggie on your child's list (or yours). I took advantage of their naptime the day before to bury two treasure chests in the yard. I later marked the two spots with a large red cardboard X shortly before the party.
The chest were cardboard and my daughter colored them with brown and tan markers to make them look like wood. Inside we placed sand, fake coins, a bit of netting, a large fake crab, fake jewels, and a little medal that proclaimed the boys as master treasure hunters. We had the boys perform various obstacles before they got to the two Xs. Walking the plank, crawling in a little tunnel, walking up our swingsets rock wall, sliding down the slide, etc. A lot of the adults got into the act too. You should have seen the look on the boys faces when the saw all the pirate goods inside!
Other game ideas include "pin the patch on the pirate" and placing a ticking egg timer in a crocodile puppet for the kids to find. Free play is important too, between the large Jolly Roger playhouse ship and our Little Tikes Pirate water table, we had plenty of themed free play fun to do as well.
Our guests all left saying they couldn't wait for their next birthday, and of course neither can the twins.
And last but not least, our backdrop to the whole pirate party was The Jolly Roger recyclable cardboard Pirate Ship provide by Green Town Toys. Wow, this cardboard pretend pirate ship really brought decor and fun to the next level! The twins and guests were super impressed by this fun play space. I should note it assembled with relative ease out on our back patio and was easily moved to our playroom when the last seafaring party goer departed. This house combined with all the left over party gear is certain to provide hours of fun birthday reenacting for months to come.
Pirate Party Food Menu:
To balance out the sweets, Kraft suggested some clever ideas that could make any young buccaneer love their veggies. Broccoli in a Boat which we called Red Pepper Pirate Ships with Broccoli Pirates. Another suggestion was the Skeleton and Brain Dip. But the biggest hit was the Crab Cracker Critters. We also made sure we served a large selection of fresh fruit to ward off scurvy! A fresh salad, Mac & Cheese Bars of Gold, and steak complete our menu but I'm certain hot dogs or burgers would also work just fine.
Pirate Party Fun and Games:
The chest were cardboard and my daughter colored them with brown and tan markers to make them look like wood. Inside we placed sand, fake coins, a bit of netting, a large fake crab, fake jewels, and a little medal that proclaimed the boys as master treasure hunters. We had the boys perform various obstacles before they got to the two Xs. Walking the plank, crawling in a little tunnel, walking up our swingsets rock wall, sliding down the slide, etc. A lot of the adults got into the act too. You should have seen the look on the boys faces when the saw all the pirate goods inside!
Other game ideas include "pin the patch on the pirate" and placing a ticking egg timer in a crocodile puppet for the kids to find. Free play is important too, between the large Jolly Roger playhouse ship and our Little Tikes Pirate water table, we had plenty of themed free play fun to do as well.
Our guests all left saying they couldn't wait for their next birthday, and of course neither can the twins.