A Pirate’s Party for Me!

It be time for me account of me pirate party, mates!
No, I don’t think I can write an entire post in pirate speak. You’ll just have to enjoy the occasional pirate outburst. I’m going to give you the guest’s view of the party today. Next week, I’ll break it down and give you the behind the scenes, DIY tips, with my resources and ideas. So come on back, if ye be planning yer own pirate party. (It comes and it goes.)
Our little scalawags were sent word of the gathering by a message in a bottle. It contained a rough map of our neighborhood with a big red X, where our house would be.
This was the scene when the guests arrived. (Minus the serving girl and the miniature scalawag in pink).
“X” Marks the spot!
Inside, the “Jolly Roger” hung from the banister to let them know they were in pirate territory.
First stop: “The Buccaneer Outfitters”

Here, the lovely Kristin (my SIL) outfitted each fledgling pirate with a bandana, a tattoo, an eye patch, a miniature telescope, and for those who were man enough to wear make-up, a little temporary facial hair.


Next, each pirate went to The Carpenter’s Shop, to make their special chests to carry the treasure they were sure to find before this adventure was over. They decorated them with jewels and gold coins.

Then it was time for a hearty meal before hitting the high seas, at Trenton’s Tavern:

On the menu was “Boiled Cracken” served on a bed of seaweed with a sprinkling of fish.
(OK. You all better chuckle at this one, since I don’t think any of the boys had seen “Pirates of the Caribbean” and had any frame of reference for the Cracken. The deviled egg is a sailboat about to get destroyed by the Cracken. Well, I thought it was pretty funny!)

The Captain, (a.k.a, the birthday boy), was brought a special dessert, in honor of his special day, but before the guests could partake, he had to put an end to the miniature cannon battle that ensued between the two cake ships.

After the table was cleared, our young pirates, soon realized that the table cloth they had been eating on was actually a treasure map. And it looked something like the backyard er, ocean out back of the tavern. So they headed out on their adventure…

The mast of a ship taking shelter from the storm (it actually rained all morning—hard—preventing much of the set-up that was intended for the outdoors, but pirates have to sail the stormy seas, so the adventure continued)

The treasure map on the table in the tavern, led them to the shipwreck (boat-shaped sandbox, where they found another treasure map in a bottle.

…But those pirates are a scurvy bunch and soon had taken to the high seas again, in two different boats and quickly got into a waterballoon cannonball battle (and not a single photo of the battle came out, Arrgh!) When they ran out of cannonballs, they drew the swords that they had earned upon completing their adventure, and continued their ferocious battle…