My 6-year-old daughter recently attended a birthday party with a “Jake and the Never Land Pirates” theme. The animated show on Disney Junior is based on Peter Pan, but is much cuter and tamer than the original pirate/fairy movie. My daughter happens to love the show, but is not a huge pirate fan. Rather, she adores Tick-Tock the Crocodile and Skully the bird. Given her affinity for animals instead of buccaneers, I wondered how she’d do at the pirate fest.
Turns out she had a blast, thanks in large part to the birthday boy’s mother’s creativity. Here are just a few of the incredible pirate-themed touches she added to the party:
Food: Instead of trays, all of the snacks were set out in cardboard treasure chests. Items such as chips, pretzels and goldfish crackers were tucked inside the chests while dishes shaped like sea shells held the dip, salsa and condiments. Lunch consisted of golden nuggets (chicken nuggets), mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches held together with sword shaped toothpicks, sea shell pasta, green fettuccine noodles made to resemble seaweed topped with fish sticks, and cupcakes decorated with gummy fish.
Games: The party featured a number of pirate-themed games, including my daughter’s favorites Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate and Treasure Hunt. The latter awarded chocolate coins, beads, and plastic swords to kids after they found all of the hidden items on their lists. The birthday boy’s mom also had the kids do an art project in which they decorated their own small cardboard treasure chests with glitter glue, markers, crayons, buttons, shells, and gems. In addition to the games and crafts, the kids had a sing-a-long featuring some of the catchy tunes sung by the cast on “Jake and the Never Land Pirates”.
At the end of the party each child was given a pail with his or her name on it filled with a shovel and a bunch of candy, plastic trinkets and pirate flags.
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