How to Party like a Pirate...

Tucker's birthday falls on Thanksgiving day this year. Because of that I wanted to do something a little bit extra special for him to celebrate his day. After all of his talk for Halloween and wanting to be a pirate (which he didn't even end up being!) It got me thinking about a pirate party for him. I didn't even realize that pirate parties were so popular, but I found a TON of ideas on line to throw the best pirate party ever! :) (That and the dollar store had a TON of pirate stuff as well, which was a bonus!) Kathryn offered her house for the venue and we got to work planning.

First, you need the perfect invite. I found these at target, and fell in love! I told him he could invite 5 friends, no more! He chose his friends and they each got one of these babies... :)

Kathryn decorated her house so cute! I know Tucker felt special. Here was her front door as you walked up to it...

Up close, good use of an extra invitation...

The table was set to have some good pirate's grub. Pizza and veggies and apples and dip. All thanks to Kathryn and my dad who provided the food! It helped out a TON, so THANK YOU!

When you first walked into her house, this is what you saw. The boys were a little weary at first. Ben told them that it was his brother, Deadhead Larry skin and bones. My friend Danna pointed out that SKIN and bones doesn't really fit the skeleton. So we changed his name to Deadhead Larry had skin and bones. :) By the end of the night the boys had warmed up to him and he was a hit! :)

Cupcakes I made with pirate flags (homemade-toothpicks, stickers and black construction paper)

Oh, and you also need a great host. Kathryn and I wore our pirate best for the occasion! Thank you again Kathryn for letting us destroy your house!

I also made this treasure map for the treasure hunt that I put together for the boys. I had three games set up that they had to do and after they did each activity they got a clue to where the next activity was. The first one was a game I found that is pin the treasure chest on the treasure map. Whoever got closest to the X won. Then they went and put together a pirate puzzle-one that I already had at our house. For their third activity, they had to walk the plank. I borrowed a kiddie pool from a friend, and put this together. I was going to fill it up with water and put toy alligators in it, but we had to move it out of the way a few times, so it was empty. Not the same effect, but the boys still had fun! :)

Here they are walking the plank:

After walking the plank they got the final clue to find the treasure. The treasure was in the ship in the basement. Yes, I made this out of a refrigerator box! :) I searched everywhere for one and finally found one at Home Depot. I've heard they are hard to come by, so always check Home Depot! :) I also found a Youtube video on how to turn a refrigerator box into a pirate ship. That came in handy! A little Duct tape, some scissors and a Sharpie, and viola! :) I was pretty proud of myself! :)

In the treasure chest in the ship each boy got a goodie bag with (chocolate) gold tab-loons, an eye patch, a pirate hat, and some treasure! They loved it! And they almost destroyed that ship by the end of the night! It got lots of wear and tear! :)

Kathryn had a huge wrestling mat in her basement, which is what the ship was on, so of course, the funnest thing to do on it was this:

And here are all the boys with deadhead Larry...

After lots of running around and playing and being crazy pirates, we finally got to enjoy the cupcakes. (notice my sweet frosting job, I'm a pro!) :)

Cute birthday boy...

And that is how you party like a pirate, my friends. The End.