So today I finally got around to purchasing the party accessories for my son’s upcoming pirate birthday party. I checked out several different online party supplies stores this year, in lieu of dragging my soon-to-be 5 year old out to the stores in person. He always wants a “treat” from whichever store we happen to be in and equally has an “idea” for why we need to purchase the most odd and completely useless products. Of course my 1st objective was to check out the discount party supplies. The party theme supplies he has his heart set on are the Pirates of the Caribbean so I purchased the plates and napkins. So easy, right? But then I got to thinking that my loathing of those treat bags with all the useless little toys that are overflowing from my boys’ closets (images of me TRYING to slyly throw them out, getting caught and screamed at because every boy must need another super ball, plastic yo-yo that doesn’t roll up all the way, or those little ball game maze things that they NEVER play with UNLESS I am trying to throw them out) and decided that my birthday party planning idea would be to be a helpful mom to my fellow moms and have the children leave the party with one decent pirate party toy. I ended up opting for pirate hats for the boys and pink pirate skull bandanas for the girls. The girls will also leave with matching bracelets (jewelry is always a nice party accessory) and the boys will leave with an eyepatch and, yes, a plastic sword. So maybe I’m not being as helpful as I thought. But let’s face it, boys find ANYTHING to use if they really want to have a sword. Case in point, my oldest took apart my vacuum cleaner today to get a hold of the metal tubing which he 1st used as a sword and then graduated it to being a bazooka.
Archive for Kids Parties
Nate’s 5th Birthday Idea
For months (actually since last year), my youngest son, Nate has talked about having a Star Wars birthday party. Now, 2 weeks before his birthday, he’s decided it has to be a Pirate’s of the Caribbean Birthday Party. Mind you, I had already picked out the Star Wars party supplies, knew what I was getting for a cake, and was just about to grab the discounted faux light sabers that come in a pack of two for the party guests to take home, when he announced this to me. It all started because he decided he wanted a pirate trampoline he saw in a toy magazine. See how birthday party planning can get to be a chaotic experience when one has very fickle children? But I know planning a kids birthday party doesn’t have to be that hard. In fact, with these two weeks to go, I have it pretty easy because I have already thrown a Pirate Party. I’ll talk more about Enzo’s past Pirate Birthday Party that we threw two years ago in more detail later. This birthday party is already half planned for me because we’ll be throwing it at Fun Flatables (a local inflatable jumper fun center in our area). I don’t even really need birthday party decorations because they do all that for me. What I do need to do is to concentrate on creating the party theme, Pirates of the Caribbean, in a place OUTSIDE of our home. I want to make this a Pirate Party that my son will enjoy as a Pirate Party.
Combining Theme Parties
So I have a few friends who know that I am hosting the a kids’ party for St. Patrick’s Day and thought it would be a good idea to combine this party with an Easter Celebration because this year, they fall so close together. I have to disagree. I don’t like combining parties of any kind. Like the idea of combining birthday parties for 2 siblings (I mean if they are completely different kids birthday party ideas…ie…pirates and princesses) just makes me sad for the kids. Unless their birthday falls on the same day, I think their day should be held as important on it’s own. That’s my own opinion but I understand that there are plenty of creative party theme ideas that can be combined so I say, choose wisely. As for combining the Easter Bunny and a Leprechaun, eh….I need to think on that more. Having a little Irish blood, I think I’d like to stay true to letting St. Pat have his own day in the spotlight, but if I can’t find the right party accessories, I might change my mind.
St. Patrick’s Day Party Planning Ideas
I’m planning a St. Patty’s Day Party for the Cool Schoolers of the MOMS Club. The party was originally just going to be a Green Day but I think the more Irish (especially in my case) the better. This is a great theme party idea but I need to make it school age appropriate, as well as consider the younger siblings that may attend.We’ll start off by using email invitations to let our moms know that the kids should dress all in green. We already have a great cd of Irish music we can play throughout the party. Our food will consist of Green River soda (Enzo’s favorite) to drink and green tortilla chips with green salsa as a snack. I’ll also have a tray of green vegetables sitting out to snack on. The kids are getting home from school right as the party starts so it might be nice to have them snack on a little something first.I was originally thinking the kids could make their own leprechaun hats but I could probably find them at some discount party supplies store. This would make a good souvenir to take home from the party, as well. Instead, for a craft I thought we would make our own Blarney Stones. In southwestern Ireland, there is a famous stone, called the Blarney Stone. It is located high up in Blarney Castle. If you kiss the Blarney Stone, it is supposed to give you the gift of eloquence.I got this idea from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/stpatrick/blarneystone/.The next thing we’ll do for a game is to find the leprechauns pot of gold (a take on pirate treasure map game) which EVERYONE loves to do. The map pieces have clues on the back which lead them all over the house until they finally find the treasure. At the end, the “treasure” will be little sacks of gold covered coins they keep. These are available at any party accessories store. If there are young children there, I’ll have one of the moms play hot potato to keep them busy.Finally, we’ll decorate cupcakes for them to take home. I’ll pre-frost them and they can decorate them with candy for rainbows and 1/2 of an Oreo cookie and sprinkles for the pot of gold.
