OT~Pirate birthday parties.. need tips, ideas etc..

[ampc3]

Hi I am in the begining stages of planning my sons' 7th bday party in March.
He wants a pirate party at home.. (I haven't totally agreed yet b/c it isn't always cheaper to do it at home) So I am researching it now.

Help me plan please!

I have found all sorts of birthday party sites and have some ideas.
I am looking for tips from others who have thrown one of what worked really well (meaning the kids loved it) or what didn't (meaning YOU thought they would love it but didn't go over well) in regards to games and activites etc..

Any help in this area would be GREATLY apprecitated.. Cost is and will be a concern. Thinking there will be a mix of ages (3-10) and b/t 15-20 kids....want the parents to stay, Want this to be outdoors as well.
any great advice for me??

 

[fireworks fan]

Hi,

We did a pirate and princess bday party for DS 2 and DD 5 this past summer. We used a bunch of ideas I found here, and other websites. Some of the pirate activities that worked well: walk the plank (put a board over a plastic pool-we had toy alligators in the water and covered the board with beach towels because of the toddlers), dig for treasure (this was part of the goody bag-we had plastic bead necklaces, gold and silver coins, and plastic jewels buried in the sand table and the kids took turns digging and got to take their treasure home), and my favorite was the invitation. We had a treasure map invite that my husband drew, then we aged the paper with coffee and burnt edges. Hope this helps-we had a lot of fun with it

 

[maxtomsmom]

Oriental trading company (they're online as well) has a lot of activities. They have treasure chests that the kids could do at the party and then they can fill them up with goodies. They have eye patches, hats etc. all the things you would need to set-up your party.

 

[ampc3]

Thanks for the replies... but I am looking more for "what worked " etc... I am aware of the sites and ideas out there.. But sometimes ideas don't always go over as planned or implemented..
Thanks again..

Anyone answer what was a hit or a bomb??

 

[maxtomsmom]

Sorry! The kids loved dressing up like pirates and making treasure chests. I had the kids do these activities as they came in. We also gave them pirate names and made name tags. The kids went up to each other and introduced themselves with their new names. My son is Max and he was Mad Dog Max. The chests took about 25 minutes so I highly recommend making them early. They are a great activity and two of my son's friends brought them in for Show and Tell.

We also did a pirate scavenger hunt where I hid the "jewels" they were actually little toy trinkets and treats. Each kid got to find three toys and at least three treats. They put them in their loot bag. We couldn't do my original plan which was to bury the jewels in our sand box and use plastic spoons for shovels as it was raining the day of the party. So I had them pretend to be pirates and "dig". They also liked playing some traditional games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey but we did put the Eye Patch on the Pirate. We also played a version of Hot Potato - but called it Hot Parrot. We used a stuff parrot. Then we had a pinata. Between all the games, activities, and food the party lasted slightly under two hours perfect for 5yr old boys. HTH

 

[bigbabyblues]

DS' friend had a pirate party last year, the kids loved it! One thing the mom did was to get plastic Pirate cups and other things from Oriental Trading. They also had a scavenger hunt.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

My son had a pirate party for his 4th birthday in October. It was a HUGE hit.
I made two cakes...pirate themed. I can post pictures if you'd like to see. I also did a treasure hunt that was the highlight of the party. I had rented out an area at a local park and had the clues hid around the park as the party was going on. At the end of the hunt the kids found a treasure chest with their goodie bags in it. I had a tattoo station where the kids got to pick a simple tattoo to put on. We played pin the patch on the pirate. The party was sooooo much fun and I got so many compliments on it. Let me know if you'd like me to post some pictures.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

I forgot to mention...I had bought wooden treasure chests at Michaels for about 39cents a piece...the kids loved painting them. I also had thrown a bunch of pirate treasure coins in the sand at the playground and the kids really went nuts when they'd run onto one.

 

[ampc3]

sure would love to see some pictures Do you remember any of the "clues" you used to do the Hunt??

Thanks again

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Actually I think I might have the paper still. I can look and let you know. I'm uploading some pictures right now....give me a couple minutes and I'll post them

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Here are some pictures....
Everyone loved the cake. It was really a lot of fun to make. I had to make a second one since I knew the pirate ship one wouldn't feed everyone. So that's where the "island" cake came into play. I did make a trial cake first to see how it was going to turn out. I was pretty satisfied with it. Almost everything was edible, except the characters and a few other accessories.
I will look to see if I still have the treausre hunt clues....if I do they are in the room where my son is napping but I'll look and let you know.

 

[ENSOCK]

Actually I think I might have the paper still. I can look and let you know. I'm uploading some pictures right now....give me a couple minutes and I'll post them

I just wanted to tell you that the cakes are great!! You did a wonderful job!

 

[ampc3]

Yes thank you,... love that mickey was on there too ... your little boy is adorable.. looked like a fun party... would love the "hunt" ideas..
Thanks again!

 

[PJinNYC]

For outdoors, how about a treasure hunt? You can find lots of ideas for these online. Maybe make up maps with clues for the older kids and something fairly simple for the little ones.

You can do a decorate a treasure chest as an activity and then fill it with candy and treasures for the take home gift.

 

[lovebuzz]

At Target in the clearance section of toys I saw a paint your own pirate ship craft. It came with 8 individual ships with everything you need to decorate for $9.99. It was 50% off the regular price of $20. This was just this week.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Thank you so much. I looked for the treasure hunt clues and I didn't find them where I thought they were. I have one more place to check so I"ll keep you posted.

 

[ampc3]

just bumping to see if anyone else had some tips!

 

[brymolmom]

Not sure if there are any left - but a week or so ago I bought Pirates of the Carib. twirling light-up toys at TDS for $1.50 each - I got 10 of them in anticipating of a pirate party for my ds5 in May!