Pirate Party 5yr - Cardboard Pirate Ship

My son's 5th bday party last summer was a HUGE hit!  We had 12 kids and held it in our back yard! I had several parents stay after seeing the decorations, because they wanted to watch.  I even had a guy knock on our door a week after the party, wanted to know if he could buy some of the decorations (our son loved the deco so we left it up for a while for him). For his house boat I gave him a few flags, and my son kept the rest for his room. 

INVATATIONS: I saved up individaual water bottles and peeled the label off.  I tea dyed tons of paper, dried and then iron them flat agin.  I printed pirates only hands off" and burnt the edges with some great wording from a web site.  Burnt edges and tied some twine around leaving one long end.  In the bottle I put a little sand a few tiny sea shells and the rolled up invite with the long end of the string hanging out of the bottle so the kids could retrive the message in the bottle.  I put the cap back on and wond some of the twine around the top of the bottle added a few skull beads to the end of the twine (OTC). 

DECORATIONS:  went to our 2nd hand stores and bought "treasure" old beads old silver platters and goblets coloured bottles costume jewlery all very inexpensive.  Use thease items to "fall" out of the treasure chest (an old steamer chest we have) and arranged in little piles around the yard.  I found online a "pattern" to make a pirate ship out of cardboard boxes ( 8f long ) very cool we added a very tall mast!  I made several different pirate flags on old sheets bought at the 2nd had store for a dollar. 

I printed a 8x10" skull off the net and had it blown up at staples I just slid it under the sheet and traced then panted tea dye a bit and burn / tear edges they looked awsome! Found some plastic luau "scene setters" at the dollar store and hung them up. Found some skeletons in varous sizes on sale and drug out of our halloween decorations.  We also made some paper mache bones -take a paper towel tube and flatten a little roll 4 small balls of newspaper and tape 2 to each end then paper mache using paper towl instead of news print  this makes it easier to paint white. Added colour coded streamers and ballons! 

DRESS UP: kids got a handmade fabric skull motiff bag that had their dress up gear!  Inside was a 3foot piece of red material about 8in wide that they tied around their waist( found for .98cm and it made several per meter) and that held their fabric bag ( for prizes).  There was also a eye patch a skull bandana for their head several strands of beads and tatoos for their arms!  When the kids were dressed up we gave them a sord from my son's halloween costume to pose by the pirate ship and took group and individual photos for thank-you cards later. 

GAMES:  WALK THE PLANK: got two 2 foot buckets and turned them upside down layed an old pool liner across and draped down to look like water (very cool) had a old board that was about 8ft long by 6 inches or so painted back and put on top of buckets( that were under the pool liner).  Added a blow up shark for atmosphere.  Each child got to walk the plank ( we had a spotter on either side just in case!  We made it a little harder for the older kids ( hands behind your back ect).  All the kids had about 100 goes !       

FIND THE CAPTIANS EYEBALLS:  took 2 lg marbles painted white then painted on "eyes" to make it look like and eyeball out of the socket add fine red lines for veins -cool-  Told the kids that the captian of the ship had lost his eye and that they need to find it for a reward.  In a bowl I made the darkest coloured jello I could find added rubber worms and the eyeballs with a few marbles so it was a little harder.  Kids had to put their hands in and come up with a eyeball to get a prize!   

CRAFT_  had kids make pirate necklaces had tons of beads including skull beads (otc)    

TREASURE HUNT:  all clues premade on the dyed / burnt paper each clue led them to another each kid got to "read" a clue. Some they even had to beg the adult pirates for ! Till they found the treasure box full of goodies ( ring pops more necklaces skull rings ect).     

Pinata - store bought - I put invividual bags with prizes inside one for each kid  and a little loose candy for effect! Let kids smash away with broom handle.  Food: ordered pizza ah no work !! Got  pirate ships from white spot (some charge some don't) and filled them full of chips and pirate cookies (walmart movie promo?). Had chilled juice and pop.  Had black and red table ware and found some plastic skull goblets at a discount store.

The cake was a decorated sheet cake we ordered from a grocery store. O.k. so I not so good with food.  NO sew fabric party bags : I see the kids from my son's parties with them all the time still! Get inexpensive fabric (ours had the jolly rogers $3.98M) cut 2 squares the size you want. Use NOSEW ( avalible at most walmarts in the sewing section comes in a tube) to glue 2 pieces together (you can fold cut edges iron and glue for a more finished look) and glue on handle one to each side  made of the same fabric rolled into a "tube" and glued.  You can also sew them if you have a machine ( I do) get as fancy or as simple as you like! 

My big tips - start early very early.            
- hire a teen or two to help $10-20 but well worth it            
- make sure parents know whats involved mess and food wise but most of all PICK-UP time !!            
- try and reuse old stuff and the 2nd hand store is a gold mine for decorations on the cheap.            
- you can make almost anything decoration wise google what you want to make almost always find something

Loot bags: found at wal-mart pirates of the carribean bags 8x12ish for 99c they are plastic( nice though) and stuffed with pirate head paddle balls pirate bubbles skull slinkys silver skull and crossbone necklaces ring suckers various other candies and small toys most from OTC . I have had many people plan around my son's party date if they know their kid is invited because it usually is more that just the buy it from the store invites and décor and the kids have a blast !  I saw a child from my son's party months later walking around a store all dressed in the "costume" from the party !that was a huge compliment!   "