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" Cost: Under $100 All the loot that little buckaroos can get their hooks on is up for grabs at this swashbuckling soiree. Invitations: Cut black construction paper or card stock into the shape of a pirate hat. Use white paint pen to write. Suggested wording: Ahoy there, matey! Captain [name of your child] invites you aboard his pirate ship for a buccaneer birthday party. Pier: [location]. Set sail: [date and time]. Dress like a pirate, if you dare, but leave your weapons behind. Decorations: Pirate ship: No self-respecting pirate would ever dream of venturing anywhere without his ship! If you don&amp;#039;t happen to have a real boat docked in your backyard, an empty cardboard refrigerator box will make a handy substitute. Lay the box on one side and cut the top down the middle. Fold the flaps out to create a pointed bow. Use painter&amp;#039;s tape to mark where to paint ocean waves on the long sides of the box. Coat the box above the painter&amp;#039;s tape with black tempera paint. Paint three round white or silver circles in a row (to resemble portholes) on both sides of the box. Remove the painter&amp;#039;s tape and paint blue and white waves. Attach pirate-themed flags to a yard stick or other long wooden rod. Duct-tape the stick to the interior front of the box. Make a helm by cutting a large wheel shape out of cardboard. Use a staple gun to attach it to the front flap of the box. Perch a stuffed animal parrot on the ship as well. The ship should be large enough to hold a captain and a crew of two at a time, so be sure to have an adult on hand to supervise turn-taking. Activities: Walk the plank: Place a sturdy board on the ground (oor elevate it slightly by balancing it on a row telephone books; secure the board to the books with duct tape). Create the ocean below by laying out blue sheets or blankets. And, of course, don&amp;#039;t forget a toy alligator. Award each child a handkerchief and eye patch for passing the &amp;quot;pirate plank test&amp;quot; once he safely makes his way across. Older guests might be game for walking the plank blindfolded! Island hopping: A tropical twist on classic musical chairs, the name of this game is teamwork, not every man for himself. Lay out several hula hoops on the floor. Turn on some music and have the children walk, hop, or jump onto the hula hoop &amp;quot;islands.&amp;quot; When the music stops, every child must be on one of the islands. Two or more players on one island are acceptable. Take away one hula hoop and turn the music back on. Repeat the sequence until everyone is huddled together on (or close to) one island. Scavenger treasure hunt: The captain and his crew will no doubt enjoy pillaging and plundering their way through your backyard with the help of an ancient treasure map. To make an ancient-looking map: Soak a legal-size sheet of paper in coffee. Allow it to air dry in the sun. Burn the corners of the paper with a lighter. Draw the map and add a series of simple directions such as: &amp;quot;Go to the swing set and find the blue bucket.&amp;quot; On the last clue, put an &amp;quot;X&amp;quot; to mark the spot where the buried treasure is located, such as in the sandbox. Fill a plastic treasure chest with individual bags of chocolate coins, silver- and gold-foiled chocolate kisses, plastic rings, temporary tattoos, and stickers. The loot can double as your party favors.  Pirate Cake: Bake a rectangular 13&amp;quot; x 9&amp;quot; x 2&amp;quot; cake. Frost the cake with chocolate icing. Use white icing to pipe a skull and crossbones, black icing to make the eye patch, and red icing to make the bandanna. Decorate the cake edge and sides with candy &amp;quot;jewels&amp;quot; such as gumdrops, M&amp;amp;amp;Ms, and jelly beans. (Avoid hard candy to prevent choking.) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/entertaining/a957/pirate-party-kids/>