Our oldest turned seven this summer and we celebrated with a fun little pirate birthday party for our family celebration. He now requests some kind of cardboard creation for every birthday. It started with me showing him pictures of cardboard sail boats on Pinterest. I knew we would have a newborn so I didn't want it to be too elaborate. He then of course added his own ideas and wanted a pirate ship. I am not big on the whole skulls and pirate concept but he really wanted it to be the theme. So as I let go of my desires for the sake of my child, the pirate party came to life!
I started collecting ideas early on so I would have most done ahead of time. But as the weeks got closer and our baby girl was sleeping a little more, I found some creative energy to spend on his party. It ended up being a bit more elaborate than I expected but it was so fun to put together. I found some cute pirate themed decor from Meri Meri and I used that as my guide for the colors and style.
For the cardboard pirate ship, I found a few inspiration images online and put this together. I printed out flag images I found online as well. The long box was two large boxes we got from Costco that I hot glued together. In the past I have used packing tape to put these cardboard creations together. Using hot glue this time made things so much easier.
I am really finding my groove when it comes to party and holiday decor. I have a few special spots to highlight some decorations while keeping the rest of the house fairly minimal. It is a happy place to be and proof we have lived here long enough to find my sweet spot.
I loved these simple felt pirate hats I found on Etsy. They are beautifully made and matched my aesthetic. Last minute toilet paper roll telescopes were a huge hit and proof kids don't need anything too fancy.
I have been buying all my balloons from Target. I love that they have muted colors. This also goes for tissue paper for tissue paper tassels.
I asked Brent to pick up some donuts the morning of our party. He tried to get me to be specific with colors I wanted and I was pretty vague. So he came home with these giant sized donuts as well! They were obviously a huge hit with the kids and I managed to make it look good on the table as well. A friendly reminder to be more specific next time! Haha! People are Seattle Seahawks crazy around here so I am pretty sure I just said no Seahawks donuts. ;)
All the pirate decor is Meri Meri. I taped them on sticks and toothpicks.
Napkins and plates are from Target.
Our birthday boy was one happy pirate! Also the giant watch is an old watch of Brent's that broke. I love that he loves it so much!
How cute are my parents? Always such enthusiastic party helpers!
There was lots of "argh!" and "shiver me timbers!" It was adorable.
Baby girl's first party!
We took a pirate party break outside to play with some of his new toys. The reusable water balloons were a huge hit. They are kind of pricey but I am sold on that we don't have to fill up a bunch of balloons, have broken balloon bits all over the yard, and they are totally easy for the kids to fill up themselves. We used them all summer and I found that filling up our kiddie pool was perfect for filling up on their own. We attempted buckets but the two year old would just dump the water out!
We then were back inside for lunch and cake. My kids love Beecher's Mac and Cheese that is made here in Seattle (if you know, you know!). We can get it frozen at the grocery store and it has become a birthday party favorite and so easy to pop in the oven.
I compiled all the pirate donut decor onto the cake and it looked even more fabulous!
I cannot believe our baby boy is seven! Where does the time go? It was a happy day celebrating our special boy.
Here is the template I made for the pirate ship banner. Click to download and print your own!
