Yo-Ho-Ho!

Another year has passed and my Cash is 4!  To celebrate we went with a pirate theme!  I thought it would be a totally fun theme but I quickly realized that pirates are kind of...well...inappropriate for kids.  I had already purchased the supplies before I came to this realization so we kept the theme and did out best to clean it up and make it kid friendly and age appropriate.  We decorated treasure maps, played Pin the Treasure on the Map, walked the plank and followed clues to find the hidden treasure.  It turned out to be a success and my kiddo loved it.  In fact, all of the kids had fun.  And in the end that's what really matters.

My big 4 year old...Captain Calico Cash!

The cake was chocolate with buttercream frosting.  I used scrap-booking stickers for the ship & pirates, graham crackers for the sand and piping gel for the water.

Who would have thought a piece of wood on the floor could be so much fun?  The kids loved walking the plank!

We played Pin the Treasure on the Map.

Keely of the Caribbean decorated her own treasure map.

We also went on a treasure hunt around the house to find the pirates' treasure.  The kids had to solve riddles that led them to the next clue.  It was a huge hit but I've got to say, writing up the clues proved to be very tricky...ARRR!

The kids also got tattooed!

My little Gun Powder 12 Gage.

This is our tradition!  The guest book is a storybook that goes along with our theme.  I'm terrible at saving cards.  By having a guest book that doubles as a storybook we can always remember who celebrated with us and what kind of party we had that year.  These books will be something I hope my kids cherish.

I always like to have a personal favor for each child.  I made pirate posters with each child's pirate name.

I printed names & photos on card stock then tore the edges all the way around.  Next I burned the edges and crumpled the paper up.  Last I dipped the paper in coffee and dried it in the oven for a few minutes on a cookie sheet.  The end result is very old looking paper; paper that a pirate would have!  

We did the same technique for the invitations.

Here is the party spread.  I chose the black and red clip art as well as the Jolly Roger.  I repeated it on everything.  It was cheap and easy.

Another tradition is displaying a photo for every year.  It's fun to look back at previous birthdays.  And I'm not going to lie...it's kind of a tear jerker for me too.

All of the glassware was purchased at the dollar store.  I use them at every party and store them in a tub in between.  I  always keep them in mind when choosing which types of food I will serve.

The water bottle labels are on of my favorite things.  Again, I just used clip art and printed them right off my home computer.  Little details like this make the party all come together.

Even though I wasn't sure about this whole pirate theme, it all came together and ended up being quite fun.  The kids loved it and several adults commented that they had a good time too.  I know my son had a wonderful time.  In fact, my favorite part of the whole party was when Cash announced his wish to everyone.  He blew out his candles, looked up at the crowd around him and he said, "My wish is that my birthday would never end because this is the best birthday I've ever had". I guess that says it all.