GRRREAAAT Pirate Party

  Asher celebrated turning 5 in Pirate style yesterday. He invited all his friends, unable to cut his list to the 3 or 4 that I allowed the girls. He ended up inviting 5 boys from in and around our neighborhood and twin girls from his preschool class (seriously, they were the only ones he wanted to invite!). Arrrr.
The party started at 1:30 to a pirate coloring page, they each got a pirate tattoo,  followed by a make the pirate craft and then a make a pirate balloon craft (which turned out to be junk and not recommended). Next on the agenda was the pirate scavenger hunt. Chris even made a pirate map with steps to the hidden treasure. Once they found each location, they found another clue, a clue Alivia helped read to the kids. The kids loved this! They were running and screaming all over the house. The treasure (Which was 10 individual bags of caramel corn and candy with gold wrappers such as Reeses peanut butter cups, gold snickers, etc) was found under the play set with another skeleton and the treasure chest. It was really fun to watch the kids scream about when they found the treasure! Up next, presents while the kids ate their snack. Okay, in hind sight, I should have done the scavenger hunt last...but oh well.
Anyway, Asher had each friend set next to him as Asher opened the present from that friend. It was cute to see the friends watch in anticipation as Asher tore open the present they were giving him. He received a lot of nice toys from his friends. Then it was time for cupcakes, ice cream, cannon balls (cheese balls), more cannon balls (grapes) and the booze (Okay, I did not call it booze. :) I called it pirate juice, aka cool aide in the little plastic bottles. They kids loved them, but they are a total pain in the arse to open!).
The last event was a story read by Pirate Mommy about Asher the Pirate. It was a cute story, and it helped to quiet the kids down a bit before their parents arrived.
As Asher thanked his friends, he gave them a goodie bag or box filled with Pirate Booty, a pirate patch, a plastic pirate, a pirate scope, stickers, a yo yo and more. Birthday in a box was flooded due to the storm on the east coast, so I had to get pirate goodie boxes from another vendor. I actually liked them better, so it all worked out. Oh, and we ended up saving the pirate swords to give to the kids in the end, too, fearing they may take the swords out on each other. We also had pirate masks and patches, but many of the kiddos did not want to wear them in the end.


The Grandparents arrived just in time for pirate cup cakes and ice cream. I am going to try and have the Grandparents over on the kids' birthdays from now on and have the friends over at another time. Sounds good in theory anyway. I am too busy with the kids to ensure the adults get fed and seated and everything.
Asher loved his party and thanked us over and over and over again. He spent the evening playing with his new toys, taking a liking to a big truck and some pirate ships from his grandparents. What a wonderful and fun way to bring in a 5th birthday!