Jonah and Micah turned 9 on September 22. This year it was their turn to have a friend's birthday party (we alternate years between a big family party and a friend's party). They both requested having a Pirate's Party, just like Ammon did several years ago when he turned 10. They remembered his party, and wanted to do some of the same activities we did then. They helped me with the entire process. They each picked 3 friends to invite, and they wrote the invitations and gave them to their friends. The day of the party (on their actual birthday this year!), they helped me clean and decorate the house. They were looking forward to the party with great anticipation, and were such awesome helpers preparing for it! They cleaned the living room, the family room, the bathroom, their bedroom, and I cleaned the kitchen and made a birthday banner to hang in the dining room.
They put together their pirate legos ship as a decoration, and found necklaces in their dress-up box for the display, too.
The first game we played when all the boys arrived was "Walk the Plank". They each had to walk across the plank 4 times. Each time they successfully crossed, they received swedish fish candy. Each time, the difficulty level was increased, making it harder for them to earn swedish fish. The first time, it was eyes open. The second time, it was hands behind back. The third time, it was eyes covered. The fourth time, it was eyes covered AND hands behind back (only one of the boys could complete that one!).
The second game we played was Pin the Flag on the Map; there was a treasure chest in the center of the map that they had to place the flag closest to it. They were each double-blindfolded, and they were given a little flag with tape to adhere to the poster. But by the end of the first round, most of the boys could feel where other flags had been put and they were all really close to the treasure box. So for the second round, I removed all the flags off the map, and gave them a marker where they had to draw an 'X' closest to the treasure box. This was much harder for them, because they couldn't feel the other markings! The winners from each round received swedish fish.
The third activity was a treasure hunt. I had created 6 clues that were for spots inside and outdoors. Some of the stops also included pirate items that they got to keep:
CLUE 1: Ahoy there, Mate! Are you ready to hunt for the treasure
chest? You’ll find the next clue where boys lay down to rest. [under Micah's pillow on his bed]
CLUE 2: ARRRR! Put on the pirate bandana before heading for clue #3. You’ll find that it awaits in a big climbing tree! [outside under the big cherry tree]
CLUE 4: Well Swashbucklers, each of you take one sword, And go to the place where fires are made for clue #4. [behind the wood stove]
CLUE 6: X Marks the Spot! You’ve almost completed your quest! You’ll need to go where white & black keys are planked
to find the treasure chest! [under the piano]
Inside the treasure chest was little pirate baggies filled with silver and gold candies: rolos, reese's minis, and hershey's kisses. The boys loved picking up all their pirate gear along the way and had a great time finding the clues. The hardest one for them to figure out was the trailer one, but they got it (with the help of Josh).
Next, we had cake and ice cream. Jonah and Micah had worked together prior to the party picking out what kind of cake and ice cream they wanted from the grocery store. They both liked the multi-layer cake with frosting inside, and they both chose to have chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
We sang to the boys one at a time, and they each had the opportunity to blow the candles out on their joint cake.
They chose to have blue juice served with their cake and ice cream, to go with the theme of the pirate party. All the boys said the cake was delicious!
Next came gift-opening time! Because I don't feel that it's fair for the guests to purchase two gifts, I instructed them all to only bring a gift for the boy who had invited them. Jonah opened up the presents from his 3 friends, and Micah opened up the presents from his 3 friends. It was funny how it all worked out: Jonah and Micah each received 2 legos gifts, and one of the legos sets was identical to the other brother! So they both got similar gifts, even though they had come from all different boys!
I had planned on a 2-hour party, and at this point we were ahead of schedule. The boys requested they go outside and play real pirates, and I said they could for 15 minutes. This was their favorite part of the party, I think, even though it was completely unplanned. There were 4 red-handled swords, and 4 blue-handled swords. They broke themselves up into two teams, based on what color their handle was. Jonah and Micah were designated their pirate leaders, and then they ran around the yard and attacked each other. Boys will be boys! It was hilarious to watch!
The last game we played before I took them home was BINGO. The prizes for bingo were little boxes that were sections of a pirate ship, and each box was filled with spongebob elastic bracelets, candy necklaces, and pirate tattooes. I also had additional prizes of pirate notebooks, and bags of swedish fish. We played BINGO until all the prizes were gone, and then it was time to take the little swashbucklers home.
All the boys had a great time at the party, even Kanyon who played Lego Pirates of the Caribbean on the wii for nearly the entire time the party was happening! Jonah and Micah had so much fun, and were so happy with how their special party had turned out! And I heard complements from several of the mothers later that their sons had thought our party was the "best ever"! I'm so glad!
We have a tradition that the birthday boy gets to eat what they want for dinner. We ate Micah's choice of Shepherd's Pie the evening before the birthday. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for the meal.
Jonah's choice for dinner was Spaghetti Casserole, and we ate that the evening of their birthday. Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Tim & Barb joined us for the meal.
In addition to their friend party, we also had a mini party with family members, too. Grandma & Grandpa, and Tim & Barb stayed after dinner for the boys to open gifts. Cousin Annika came for dessert afterwards.
Micah asked for a remote control jeep, the wii Sports Resort game, and a new jacket. I went shopping, and found all 3 of his requests. Plus, from grandmas and grandpas and other relatives, he received extra gifts, too.
Jonah requested Star Wars legos, a Pokemon DS game, and a new jacket. I was able to fulfill all of his wishes, too. He was happy with the gifts he also received from Grandma & Grandpa T., Grandma & Grandpa P., and Tim & Barb.
Jonah and Micah both received quite the loot! They had a fantastic birthday!
1 comment:
Fun! You throw a great kids party!!
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