Pirate Themed Birthday Party - Works For Me Wednesday

I am constantly getting visitors to my blog because they have Googled something about pirate birthday parties, treasure maps or pirate costumes. So I thought this Works For Me Wednesday I would put links to all the pirate posts in one place in case someone else has a little pirate in their home and would like to do a pirate themed party for them as well.

Last year my son Peter went through a huge pirate phase. He had begun playing with Mega Blocks Pyrates sets and was fascinated with anything pirate, so when it was time for Halloween he went as a pirate, of course.

I was very pleased with myself because I put together an awesome pirate costume for $6. Is he not just the cutest pirate ever?

His fifth birthday was in November and I had never done an official birthday party for him. We had always just done something with family but he wanted a party with friends this year. I think I went a little overboard (pun intended) with the pirate theme but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

We made the cutest birthday party invitations. They looked like letters in a bottle.

I made a birthday cake shaped like a pirate ship. It was really easy and I was proud of how it turned out. Plus my son thought it was cool!

I also wanted to do a treasure hunt complete with treasure map and clues. I can't take credit for the clues because my husband wrote them. Too bad there's no money in treasure map clue writing...he could have a new career!

I think the kids had a great time and I know I had fun putting it all together. I hope these ideas help you out together a fantastic party for your little pirate.

Visit Rocks in My Dryer for more Works For Me Wednesday tips.

Pirate Treasure Hunt

As you all know by now, my son just turned 5 and we had a pirate themed party for him. You have all seen the cool invitations we made for him and the cake but what is a pirate party without a treasure hunt? (I promise, no more pirate posts after this one. I promise, I swear!)

My plan was to have little written clues around the house that would lead to a pirate map and then the kids would have to look at the map to figure out where the treasure chest was hidden.

I was starting to get pretty stressed out about the clues because I wanted them to rhyme like I'm sure real treasure map clues did back in the day. I don't really have any rhyming skills and I was running out of time so I decided to ditch the rhyming clues and just take pictures of places around the house and have each picture lead the kids to another place/picture until they came to the treasure map.

My husband, who is a real traditionalist, felt very strongly that the clues should rhyme so he took it upon himself to write them. In less than 15 minutes, this is what he came up with...

If you’re reading this you’re on the path
To findin’ me hidden treasure at last
I hid it near here many long years ago
When without my booty I had to go

The British, they chased me, never cutting me slack
But the treasure I robbed they’ll never get back
It’s yours for the taking, no doubt about that
But to find it you’ll be needing my pirate treasure map

The map also is hidden near here
If you follow the clues it soon will appear

Here’s your 1st clue – look where you eat
Under a painting you’ll find there’s a seat
Under that seat, I’m happy to say,
You’ll find clue #2 to point out the way

Here’s clue number 2 – go climb a stair
Walk down a long hall, that is, if you dare,
You’ll find a blue chair that moves when you sit
You’ll find clue number three when you sit down in it

You’ve found clue number three, you’re proving quite clever
But you’ll need clue four if you’re looking for treasure
On a small porch there is a small table
You’ll find it there, if find it you're able

Aha, you are smart ones, you’ve found number four
Now look for some gravel and a white basement door
Walk up to that door and give it a slap
By the time you have done so you will be holding the MAP!

15 minutes, people! That's all it took him to whip these out! My husband has so many talents, but who knew!

I printed the clues out on paper with spooky skull clip art around the text and then we dipped them in tea for an aged look. My husband dried them with a hair dryer to get a parchment effect and then he rolled them up and tied them with ribbon so they looked like really official scrolls. On the night of the party he hid them in the appropriate spots and he read them the clues.

We had so much fun watching them run through the house to find each clue and then finally out through the basement and into my parent's yard to find the treasure chest! I'm not sure who had more fun, us or the kids!

I bought pirate hats and swords for everyone at the dollar store because you aren't a real pirate unless you have a sword! I also bought little flashlights so the kids could see as they were running through the dark searching for the treasure.

Here are the kids gathered around listening to another clue.

Here is a picture of the kids after they found the treasure chest. My husband spray painted a shoebox black and I embellished it with skulls and crossbones and filled it will beaded necklaces, jeweled rings, gold coins, plastic snakes and spiders, eye ball bouncey balls and lots of spooky
candy that I got 75-80% off at after Halloween sales. It was a really cool treasure chest but the picture doesn't do it justice.

And here they are dividing up all the loot!


I think the kids had fun. I know my husband and I did! I would have never thought I would go to this much trouble for a kids birthday party but it was cool working on a theme and carrying it out. We have always just had family birthday parties for the kids and I have always said that I wasn't going to have a friend birthday party until my kids asked for one. Well, Peter asked for one this year and I guess now, there's now turning back!

Pirate Ship Birthday Cake!

The theme for my son's fifth birthday party is PIRATES! In honor of this them I (with lots of help from my mom!) made a pirate ship birthday cake. I followed the recipe/instructions from Family Fun magazine and I have to say, while mine doesn't look quite as good as theirs, I am very pleased with the results!

Here is the cake right after I made it...

Those are candles coming out of the "cannons" and the cannon balls are Milk duds!

Here is the cake after I put some of Peter's pirate stuff around it. I wish I had thought to put the cake on blue paper so it would look like water.

Peter was pretty happy with it!

Not bad for a theme cake on my very first try!

Ahoy there matey!

My son's fifth birthday is in a couple of weeks! Even though he will be turning five this will be his first birthday party with friends. So far, every year we have celebrated with whatever set of grandparents and aunts and uncles were available. I would cook a nice dinner and we would have cake, ice cream and of course, presents. Peter and Sarah always had a great time and never once asked for a party with friends.

My husband isn't big on celebrating birthdays...he thinks it's a waste of money and that it should be treated just like any other day. (That might be true for a 41 year old male who doesn't like to spend money but not so true for a 5 year old.) And I always felt like the kids should ask for a party with friends before we went to all that trouble. Well, several weeks ago Peter asked, "When do I get to have all of my friends over for a birthday party?" The mere question made my knees tremble and perspiration break out over my brow.

The thought of having a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds over for a party made me weak. And I'm not exactly sure, but I think this would also mean their parents would be coming as well since most people aren't comfortable dropping their four year old off somewhere with someone they didn't know really well. That's too many people for my house (and my wallet!) so I started thinking about other options. I went through them all in my head...

our house - too small for lots of kids and parents

the local inflatable place - too expensive

the skating rink - too expensive and Peter doesn't know how to skate

the park - November could potentially be too cold


After deciding against all of those options I went with a sleepover. I told Peter he could have his two best friends over to spend the night and he was thrilled! I did have to reiterate that this would be the actual party so that he wouldn't be expecting a big bash later with lots of kids and lots of presents. I think I got that through to him and he is still very excited! He just had his very first sleepover at his friend Colton's house. It was Colton's brother's birthday sleepover and my friend Jennifer, who is a crazy woman (she even named her blog that!) decided that all of her children should have kids sleeping over! Peter was so excited by that sleepover that I knew his own sleepover would be good enough.

So we are set for a sleepover and we are doing a pirate theme. Peter is fresh from Halloween as a pirate so he is excited about that. I am making a pirate ship cake (there may or may not be pictures of that later depending on how well it turns out!) and Dan and I will be doing a treasure hunt for the boys. I decided since I was only having two kids over I should at least try to get creative with the invitations. So, I made them look like old messages in bottles.

Here is the actual invitation....

I tried to age it by soaking it in tea and then burning the edges. I think it turned out pretty cool. Then we rolled it up and put it in a root beer bottle filled with sand to make it look like it has washed up on the shore. Here is my son pretending to be an evil pirate while holding the bottles. If only I had the invitations completed in time to take the pictures while he was wearing his Halloween costume he might actually look like a spooky pirate instead of a crazed four year old!

I think the invitations are cute and I hope the little boys that receive them will like them. Although, knowing kids they won't care and will just end up spilling the sand all over their bedrooms.

Sorry Page. Sorry Jennifer. I hope you will let your boys come to the party anyway!