Pirate Girl Party -3yr- Invite in a Bottle

For my daughter's third birthday we decided to host a pirate party for 60 people!

Invitations-I purchased a message in a bottle kit from Oriental Trading and then made my own invitations using bright pink paper.  Inside each bottle was the invitation,a pirate ring, eye-patch and confetti.  The bottles can be mailed right through post office.

Decorations-I stayed with a black and pink theme and purchased pirate theme packs from Birthday Express in both the boy's and girl's style.  Bright pink and black balloons hung all around the yard and we had pink and black tableclothes on each table where people could sit and then pirate tableclothes on the tables for each activity station.

Activities & Games-To get into the party, kids had to walk the plank".  I had used chalk to color the driveway blue and then we had two different sized boards (one wider than the other) on concrete blocks and the older kids walked the narrow plank.  When they got to the other end they received their eye-patch and entered the party.  The children could then go to any of the activity stations they chose and the parents had a chance to sit and visit.  At one station was spray-on temporary tattoos another was a design a treasure box activity. 

The treasure boxes were purchased from Oriental Trading and then I bought glue dots and lots of gems.  The kids used water colors and sponges to paint the box (they dry very quickly) and then decorated with gold trim and gemstones.  Another station was to pin the treasure on the pirate's map. Costumes-Some of the children wore their Halloween pirate costumes that they had and then when other people (children & adults alike) arrived they were given a plastic pirate's vest and bandanna to wear.  These got lots of laughs!

Party Snacks-We served lunch and used our hot dog roller to cook a lot of them at one time.  The kids got a kick out of watching them roll.  Chips macaroni salad and beans completed the lunch.  The cake was made by a friend and it was a treasure chest.  She made the bottom out of cake and then shaped rice cereal treat mix into the lid.  She had beads and gold coins spilling out of the cake.  It was beautiful!

Favors-After opening the presents the kids had a pinata and put all the candy and toys they gathered into their treasure chests they had made earlier.  I included bubbles activity pads and pencils to their loot as well. We are still hearing positive comments about this party and have heard too many times that they can't wait to see what we come up with this year!  "