Invitation: Pirate Hats: Using a piece of newspaper, fold it into a Pirate Hat. See here for directions on folding. Let the children decorate their hats with feathers and gold colored crafty supplies. But beware of Captain Jack. He’s still looking for his lost gold. You’ll be on a hunt to find it!
Food:
Pirate Pita Pockets – filled with red blood sauce and golden cheese Pirate Punch – red fruit punch with a black pirate drinking straw flag. Using a black paper rectangle, cut 2 holes into the paper and slip it on the straw. You can decorate your drink flags with a skull sticker or use a white crayon.
Cake: This was my sad attempt to make a pirate cake a few years back, the green writing gel didn’t work so well. I’m sure there are other more fabulous cakes, but this did the trick for us. I decorated it with half water and half land. The ship’s mast and the treasure box came from a pirate toy set we have. And the treasure is chocolate gold coins and the canon balls are chocolate malt ball candies.
Games:
Walk the Plank – We cut a large piece of cardboard into a long plank, about 1 foot by 5 feet. I set it on top of 2 blue mats and had the children walk along the cardboard. They jumped from the edge of the “plank” onto the “water”. This was a great activity for 3 year olds, they really were nervous about jumping off!! That’ll teach those lazy ship mates to mess with the captain!
Find the Lost Treasure – Take the little pirates on a treasure hunt to find the gold. I wrapped some golden Rolo candies into some fabric and tied it with a ribbon. I gave them a few clues to it’s whereabouts, and then the little pirates were off searching for the lost treasure.
Toss the Treasure – Toss toy coins into a large treasure box. I spray painted a white styrofoam ice chest with brown paint to resemble a treasure box. Or you could simply use a cardboard box with the top open. Have the children toss plastic coins into the chest from a 3-4 foot distance away. See how many coins they can toss in without missing. Pin the X on the Treasure Map – Draw a map onto a large piece of white poster board. Here I am explaining this treasure map to the kids. They each took a red paper X’s and tried to pin in on the treasure!
Pirate Booty Party Bags: Each child will get to go home with their pirate hat, as well as some pirate goodies. I found a pirate costume kit at the dollar store that I picked up for each child. It came with an eye patch, plastic sword, a hook, and a telescope.
