Pirates of Caribbean 8yr - Buckaneer Bash

I love this site! This year my son wanted a Pirates of the Caribean birthday party. So I decided to go all out. For the invitations, I found some brown crumpled looking cardstock paper. It was 12x12 so I cut it in half and made them long and thin. They read...  Ahoy Matey's....Ye be invited fer some birthday spirits at Captain Brody's Buckaneer bash! There be plenty of grub and swashbuckling fun for everyone. Be prepared to do battle with the mighty Davy Jones! And yes, we will be huntin fer buried treasure! But beware me hearties, you might end up walkin the plank!.....Chart yer course fer (address)...We be meetin on (date)...Wave yer flag if ye be attending, or have yer mum send a message by phone....Come if ye Dare!

I printed them in brown ink using my computer, then I tore the edges and used aging ink on them to make them look old. Everybody wanted to know where I bought them, which made me feel good.      For decor, I took our skeleton used at Halloween and put a patch on him and tore up an old shirt so he looked like a dead pirate. Oh I also stuck a sword through his body. The kids table was decorated with Pirate's of the Caribean party decor from the party store. The gift table had an orange cheap table cloth(the colors of the party were orange and black). I also ordered a banner from birthdayexpress.com and had it printed Happy Birthday Captain Brody. It had Jack Sparrow on it and was really cool.           

When all the guests arrived, I took the kids to the back yard. I told them that they needed to become pirates. So they completed an obstacle course which was going down our slide, through a play tunnel, jumping over a crocodile(pool toy), and finally walking the plank( a 2x10 on cinder blocks). After they completed the course, I had some of the adults stationed at the end to pass out the gear. They were each given a sword with eyepatch, a bandana and a new pirate name(which they all loved). We pinned their names on them with safety pins and a piece of cardstock. Some of the names were Mad Eye Maggie, Bootstrap Brody, Peg Leg Gabe, One-eyed Wyatt and so on. I used the internet to search for pirate names, and some I just came up with. This took me several days. After they were all pirates, I showed them the Pirates code of Conduct which I had written on poster board. It said, No Whining, No hitting other Pirates with your Swords, etc. I then told the pirates that if they broke the code, they would have to walk the plank.

This worked out well. One of the pirates would say, so-and-so hit me he needs to walk the plank! It was quite funny, and it was a good way to keep order. Next, they were directed to the ships for a cannonball fight. I took a trampoline box lid and bottom with some duct tape and formed them into kind of a v shape for the kids to stand behind. I spray painted one black (Black Pearl) and the other brown(Flying Dutchman). Each had a flag and a box filled with crumpled newspaper balls held together with tape. We had purchased the sound track for Dead Mans Chest, so when the music started the were to fire, and stop when the music stopped. They loved it! After 2 rounds, we got some of the adults to participate and did adults vs kids! Unfortunately, the adults sunk the Pearl (the kids got so excited their box was knocked over!). After this we went in to feed the pirates and give them drinks cause it was a pretty warm day.      

For food, I made sloppy joes. It was fairly inexpensive. I did a google search for sloppy joes for a crowd" and found a great recipe. I then prepared it that morning and left it in my crock pot on warm. We also had chips and dip macaroni salad and baked beans.      

When the kids were done eating I gathered them up for the treasure hunt. Pryor to the party I hid clues around my house. My husband had also buried the treasure in the rocks in the backyard. The treasure was a coffee can filled with coins (OTC) and martigras neclaces. The kids had a blast solving the clues and running throughout the house. I purposely hid all the clues inside so my husband could spread apart the rocks out back and place the X on the spot(2 strips of black cardstock taped in the shape of an X). The clues were piratey like….Buck up me hearties and come ashore your next clue is by the front_____. They had to fill in the blank.

The final clue read… Yo Ho Ho you need to make haste Head fer the back yard there's no time to waste. Make fer the booty you know there's a lot and remember young pirates X marks the spot! After they ran all over the back yard the finally found the X with a shovel next to it. It was so cute watching all kids as the birthday boy dug up the treasure! They then all put on a neclace and took some coins. At that point I gave them their goody boxes so they could put their coins in.

The goody boxes were treasure chests that I ordered off of birthdayexpress.com. We filled them with a skull key chain a pirate drum toy thingy a telescope(OTC) and tatoos. These were the party favors along with the neclaces coins and candy which they would get from the pinata. The kids then wanted to open presents so we did that next. After presents I took the kids into the other room and told them each to get a black balloon. It was time for the cannonball pop. They each popped a balloon and inside each was a quarter!

I had placed a quarter in all the black ballons before I blew them up. The kids were happy to get real money. We then went back outside for the pinata. It was a tresure chest I bought at Target. Once all the little pirates collected the candy we went in for cake and ice cream. I made him a pirate ship cake and I had ordered the cake pieces for pirates of the carribean (jack sparrow will turner a wheel and rails). It was really cute. I put my ship on top of 2 sheet cakes frosted blue for water so we had enough to feed everyone.      

The party ended up lasting almost 4 hours. But it went so smoothly. The key is to take charge and keep the kids moving. I also gave the adults plenty of tasks to help out. It was a lot of work but I am looking forward to the next one! "