Peter Pan Party -8yr- Croc & Clock Relay

My son Jack will be turning 8 and has requested a Peter Pan party - I am VERY excited to put this on for him!  This is what I've decided for now:

INVITATIONS (printed on Neverland map paper) will read: Calling all Lost Boys and Indian Princesses! You are all invited! Jack is turning 8! Join us in the Nursery Please do not be late!; All it takes is faith and trust We'll provide the Pixie Dust; With favorite costumes in our hands We'll be off to Neverland!; Tiger Lily and Wendy The Crocodile and Hook Will all make appearances As well as a book!; Mr. & Mrs. Darling and of course Peter Pan Will wait for your reply Let us know as soon as you can!; So clap your hands three times Yell "I do believe in fairies!" Follow the Second Star to the Right Hooray for JM Barrie!" then the date and time will follow.

DECORATIONS will be out front inside the house and in the backyard and will include signs at each "station" our dog "Nana" Capt'n Hook on the balcony Mrs. Darling to greet guests and Jack dressed up as Peter Pan. Inside the house the decorations will consist of a bed and a book and a sheet on a clothes line for shadow-making. The backyard decorations will include fake flowers/foliage vines and lights (Dollar Tree & Target). We will have a teepee a pirate's ship (pvc pipe rope sheets for sails and two walking planks with a skeleton strapped to the bow) mermaid's lagoon and Smee's Banquet table. 

ACTIVITIES will include ARRIVING TO THE PARTY: our dog will be wearing a nurse's cap and will be tied to a stake with her doghouse in the front yard with a sign that reads "Nana" Captain Hook will be up on the balcony yelling out things like "Where's Peter?!" "Smee!" or "Blast!" to each guest as they approach the door and I will be dressed as Mrs. Darling and will greet the guests (if they don't have a costume I will have a trunk full of different pieces available); 

THE NURSERY: the story of Peter and Wendy will be read by "Wendy" (my 15 yr old daughter) and "John" (my 13 yr old son). Next to the bed will be a sheet hanging on a clothes line where "Peter" will be hiding and waiting with dad (and a light source). When the guests arrive Wendy will read the story. When finished my son Jack who will be dressed as Peter Pan will stand up behind the sheet and his shadow will be cast upon the sheet - Wendy will say something like "Oh my! Who could that be?!" and the guests will guess "It's Peter Pan" at which time "Peter" will jump out from behind the sheet and yell "Hello!" and welcome all his guests.

We'll make shadows using black butcher paper (or a certain paper I found on a science website a couple months ago if I can find it again) or play a shadow guessing game (each guest will be sprinkled with Pixie Dust) before heading outdoors to NEVERLAND (the backyard): Our pergola will be totally decked out with fake flowers vines lights small tinkerbells birdhouses and baskets etc. MUSIC will be playing - my husband will download different music such as "Following the Leader" Native American Indian Pirate etherial mermaid music etc.  In one corner of the yard we have a treehouse so that will be The Lost Boys' Hideout and Peter's chair will be there (a wooden chair made into a sort of haphazard throne) and there'll be swords waiting - that will be where we play "Following the Leader" with Peter being the leader.

Then we'll go over to Tiger Lily's teepee (borrowed from my oldest son's scout troop) where inside Tiger Lily (my daughter's friend) will do FACE PAINTING and Wendy will help the kids make NECKLACES using acorns (soak the acorns overnight ahead of time to make the crowns soft enough for a hole to be made for a string of leather to go through) or thimble necklaces. At the Pirate's Cove we'll have a pirate ship built with two planks. The guests will break off into two teams and each team will have a relay race WALKING THE PLANK (just a foot off the ground) while holding a clock with a hook (inexpensive plastic ones). The goal will be to take a ticking clock to the end of the plank then bend down and place the clock into a small inflatable pool of "water" (balloons) and an inflatable crocodile then walk back to their teammate hand off the hook to the next player who'll then go back and retrieve the clock - this goes on until each teammate has had a chance - the team that goes through their line first wins!

The team that loses will be tied up to the mast where they will be interrogated by Capt'n Hook. Peter will come in with the winning team of Lost Boys and a swordfight will ensue complete with canonball shots (my husband made two for my older son's pirate party last year - pvc pipe hairspray and styrofoam "canons" - really works and is loads of fun!) They'll scare away Hook with the ticking clocks then free the Lost Boys. They'll pass Mermaid's Lagoon (just a display with sand and seashells and a rock) on their way to Smee's Banquet Table where I'll have shrimp cocktail canonballs (meatballs) chicken legs Pirate's Booty pineapple and the cake (Jack found a pirate ship model at a thrift store and wants it placed in the middle of his cake - I'll try to do the Neverland cake idea) and "Peter" can open his presents. I'm considering installing a zip-line so they can all "fly home" but we'll see how that works out.

The favor bags will be top hats filled with pixie stix gold coins eye-patches and a copy of the book Peter and Wendy (I always include books as favors for my theme-parties). I love the ideas I've read on this website (thanks to you all) and I hope you like my ideas!