Argh Matey Jesse's Pirate Birthday Party

Jesse turned 4 on November 8th, 2011.  I love themes.  They inspire me!  I got inspired for this party when Stampin' Up clearanced the Pirate Party kit from a couple of years ago down to $2.99 last spring.  At the original price of $16, it was a bargain, and now they were practically giving it away!  

Little did I realize the Pirate theme was going to be so popular this year.  So much for being original.  

But here are my little spins on the theme and what we did for his 4th birthday party.

His Invite {created on My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up then just printed as a 4 X 6 picture at Sam's!}. 
Picture of Jesse was taken by Nate Mundell Photography at another Pirate {& Princess} party we attended a month prior.

First, our tradition is to go to Walt Disney World on our birthdays since we have passes.  Had to take a few "pirate shots" while we were there!

 I did a "Candy Barge" on a taller dresser and had bags for the parents to fill for the kids. I tried to get candy that was either wrapped in gold or jewel tones or sea related. 

The sign that read "Beware Thar Be Pirates" was made by my husband from a pallet broken apart and rough looking on purpose.

The banner hanging is 2 kits put together and then I embellished with chunky glitter to add a little something to half of the flags.  I also hung another of this banner over our sliding glass door that lead to the bounce house. Sorry, it's no longer available for purchase.

My mom made the costumes for my 2 littles.

 The "Pirate booty" came from random metal items mom or I had laying around, along with the wooden boxes and gauzy material. When draped together with the beads and such, it reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at the Magic Kingdom, which is the look I was hoping for in this area.

 The girls had headband bandannas with red polka dots and the boys bandannas had a pirate print.

The treasure boxes also came in that kit from Stampin Up.  Since I had so many kids coming, I put out tags for the parents to tape to the treasure boxes.  This didn't happen.  

And the boxes kept {mysteriously} opening to be pillaged.  

So I wouldn't recommend having the boxes within children's reach or untagged.  

If you want the name on it, put it on.  {What was  I thinking?}

I like to name the food served with the theme because I am that cheesy.  So we had "Submarine Sandwiches" {and yes, I know that subs are more current than the typical time period when we think of "Pirates" but go with me..};  Deviled Ships {Deviled Eggs that kind of resemble a boat thanks to the flag from the kit}; Pirate Booty ~of course; and Shipwrecked Salad made with Sea Shell Pasta. 

Pictured here is also the Salted Caramel Cupcakes {Salty Sea..get it?}.  I loosely followed the inspiration of this recipe.  But I used a normal yellow cake mix with a pinch of salt and used a jar of caramel ice cream topping for the filling.  I did use her recipe for the frosting.  Great stuff!

The Treasure Chest Chocolate Cake turned out pretty good despite me waiting to the last minute.

 I didn't really do games other than the "Search for Buried Treasure" using an under the bed type storage box filled with a bag of sand, beads, rings, & other small trinkets.

We asked the kids to wear pirate gear if they had it and some of the girls wore princess outfits, too.  We provided the bandannas & eye patches in case they didn't already have something. Dress up always makes it more fun and I love to incorporate that for the guests and {of course} the party honoree!

Friends let us borrow their home bounce house which gave the kids another outlet to play.  Highly recommend!

Jesse had a great time and I think the kids did, too.

Click Here for my Pinterest Board I used to collect my inspiration.

Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for looking!