Aaargh! A Pirate Party

Ahoy Mateys! This morning my oldest son was reminiscing about his 6th birthday party. It made me smile that he still thinks of it! So, here's a handful of snapshots from his pirate themed party. I hope 'ye enjoy!

Arrgh! Welcome to the party!

Enter at ye own risk!

First stop...Buccaneer Outfitters

Getting our little Pirates suited up for their adventure!

Filling up their tummies before the big battle and treasure hunt!

It rained that morning so the first half of the party was moved to the basement.  The black team gets their 'cannon balls' ready for battle!

We found the treasure maps!! Woo-hoo!

The rain finally cleared up, so our treasure hunt went on as planned outside. 

Searching for gold coins!

We found our treasures!!! Now onto some goodies to eat!

Daddy with two of his little pirates after the party!  Yo-ho-ho-ho!  

Theme Parties: A 1st Birthday Carnival

I just love a good themed party!  It helps bring all the pieces of a fun party together- from the invites, to the decor, games, food, favors- you name it.  In this series I'll share a look at some of the budget friendly, fun themed parties we've had for our kiddos.  

Oh, this was a fun party to host! Who doesn't love a carnival? For our youngest son's 1st birthday we hosted a backyard birthday carnival--complete with carnival food and games. As usual, I hit up the Dollar store for a lot of the party supplies. My splurge on this party was an old fashion popcorn maker--which was a hit! Here's a look at some snapshots from our little guy's 1st birthday carnival celebration:

Welcome to the Carnival!

What's a carnival without cotton candy?!

Setting up the games!

The loot!

The kiddos had to guess the number of Hershey Kisses in the bowl. Needless to say, the boys were relieved that no smooching was required! 

Fishing Pond

Our photo booth

The birthday boy and his cousin playing in the fish pond!

Nothing like a good old fashioned BBQ/carnival with family and friends!

Our "roller coaster!" ;)

A slam dunk!

The spread...

Oh, how we love this birthday boy!

Theme Parties: Mermaid Swim Party

I just love a good themed party!  It helps bring all the pieces of a fun party together- from the invites, to the decor, games, food, favors- you name it.  In this series I'll share a look at some of the budget friendly, fun themed parties we've had for our kiddos.  

Our daughter, whose birthday is in the end of winter, asked for a mermaid swim birthday party this year.  It all started when she asked for one gift for her birthday- a mermaid tail from Fin and Fun.  After talking both sets of  grandparents into going in on the tail with us (it's not cheap!),  I set out to try and make her mermaid party dreams come true... in the winter and on a budget.   Lord help me!

First step- finding a destination.  I called several hotels in the area to see if we could reserve their indoor pool.  Not an easy sell, or cheaply done.  I ended up reserving two rooms at a local hotel that we have points for, due to my husband's travels, so we only had to pay for one of the rooms.  By reserving 2 rooms, it gave gave us access to the pool for 8 swimmers, but didn't guarantee us that no one else would be using it.  So, I basically tried to pick a time slot that would be good for our guests and wouldn't have a large hotel crowd at the pool.  We went with Sunday afternoon from 3PM- 5:30PM, which worked well.  We had the pool to ourselves.  

I sent out mermaid themed e-vites to all of the little mermaids with this wording:

Mermaids Welcome!
Come Make a Splash at Sadie's 8th Birthday Party
Please join us for an under the sea adventure!  
Don't forget to bring your swimsuit!  
Hope you can make it to the shell-abration! :)

We kept the food and drink really simple and affordable, but still fun and on theme with the party!

Mermaid Party Food

The Cutie Clams were made with dollar store cookies and tinted icing...   

Mermaid Party Food

We had fun making the Shark Attack Watermelon using this online video tutorial...

Watermelon Shark

Along with our Shark we also had "Shark Bait" which were Swedish Fish from the dollar store.

Mermaid party food

The girls couldn't get enough of the cheese ball "beach balls"!

Mermaid party food

We also had "Red Coral" which was thinly sliced strawberries on tooth picks, and "Mermaid Punch"...and cupcakes, too! 

Mermaid party food and drink

The dollar store came through again for the favors.  We found these adorable pink stuffed dolphins,  and added some candy (that I thought looked like colorful coral) and necklaces... FUN!

Mermaid party favors

Mermaid party favors

The highlight of it all was swimming!  Especially since there was literally snow on the ground outside... We played some games in the pool...and the girls took turns trying out the mermaid tail...

All in all, I think our little mermaid approved! :)

Theme Parties: Nerf Battle Birthday

I just love a good themed party!  It helps bring all the pieces of a fun party together- from the invites, to the decor, games, food, favors- you name it.  In this series I'll share a look at some of the budget friendly, fun themed parties we've had for our kiddos.  

We'll kick off with the most recent- our son's 10th birthday Nerf Battle. Our son came up with the idea and I ran with it.  The concept was so simple and perfect for this age group.  After searching online for ideas here's what we came up with:

I sent out camo themed e-vites with this wording:

TOP SECRET INFORMATION:
-Your presence is requested at Camp French on Friday, August 21 at 1800 (6:00 pm civilian time).
-At destination you will demonstrate your Nerf gun abilities performing...
    -Target practice
    -Shooting Drills
    -Nerf Battles
-Bring your gun and ammo, too.  If you forget we'll have extras for you.
-If you prove to be on target dinner and cake will be served.
-If you're reporting for duty, just give us the word!

When the soldiers arrived at camp aka our backyard, they checked in at the gearing station where they received nerf ammo, an ammo holder (89¢ Home Depot aprons), and safety glasses.  They also received an orange or tan colored band to tie around their arm to break them up into teams for the big battle.  Finally, we had a camo face paint stick for the boys to really get into character.  Fun!

For party favors, the boys took home their goodies from the gearing station, and a goody bag with supplies for their next battle- a dog tag, more ammo, warheads candy, and Gatorade.

First stop: Training exercises before the big battle...

The artillery...

To create barricades in our war zone, we spray painted free boxes from local stores...

Let the battles begin!!!

The kiddos played capture the flag a number of times, and then we just had a free for all!

 In between the training exercises and battles we had pizza, cake, and gifts.  In the end, our son declared it the 'best party ever'.  Mission accomplished.

(Today I linked up with Inspire Me Wednesday-- Thanks for stopping by!)