Friday, June 25, 2010

ARRGHH It's a Pirate Party!

Wow.....how much work could a children's birthday party be anyway???  After 4 years of getting off easy by having Ike's party at the waterslide (it just doesn't get much easier than that)......it was time for another at home birthday party.  Thank goodness the rain stopped long enough for all the outdoor activities!  All said and done I think (I hope) that the kids had lots of fun! 
Ike got it into his head that he wanted to have a treasure hunt at his party, which prompted him to think that a pirate party would be an appropriate theme.  So after a bit of thought we decided that the 'treasure' at the end of the hunt would have to be a treasure chest filled with good pirating booty.  I fashioned a rather quick treasure chest out of a hinged top shoe box and filled it with chocolate coins, ring pops, candy necklaces, mardi gras beads, play tiaras, gem stone rings,  tootsie pops and little butter finger bars. 
First the kids searched the front yard for 'gold nuggets' (spray painted landscaping rocks) with which to buy their foam pirate sword and eye patch. Then the treasure hunt started.
The kids found 10 hidden clues.....each leading to the next until they found the map which revealed the location of the chest.  It worked out quite well and more organized than I'd imagined as they took turns in a circle choosing an item from the chest to put in their 'booty bags' to take home....until the chest was empty. 
Then we played pass the present, crush the canon ball, and a few games of hot potato.  After pizza, cake and ice cream.....the swords created all kinds of entertainment.  As a word of caution....ten 9 years old kids with swords do need a bit of supervision:)  We'll see if we all feel up to this next year.  The party started at 2:45pm (right after school) and the last two guests departed at nearly 8pm.  I think they had a good time!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That sounds like a blast, you sound so creative and organized- what a fun mom you are. Happy Birthday Ike!

LittleRed said...

HMMMMm I like to think I'm organized....but the jury is still out on that one:) Loved the treasure hunt and would highly recommend it for a kids party activity. It took them about 15-20 minutes to complete it and another 10 to divide up their loot....all good fun!