Jacob's 4th Birthday Party

Jacob celebrated his 4th birthday in November with his first ever friend party. In order to keep it under control as far as numbers go, he invited a select group of friends from Rogy's. The problem is that he is so social, his close group of friends was 14! I was amazed that eight came and we ended up with a total of 12 kids including Jacob and Bailey and two of their cousins.

At the time, his favorite show was Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so a pirate theme it was! I worked on prepping for his party about two months prior and collected a million items for the party. The Internet is a beautiful thing and I got so many great ideas from other people who have been through the same party.

I had a craft/snack table set up for the kids when they arrived in order to help transition the kids as well as allow for late arrivals. The kids got eye patches, necklaces, pirate tattoos, and made spotting scopes. The kids LOVED it all and I made a rookie mistake by cutting this time short in order to move on to the next activity. I created a minute-by-minute schedule and I was bound and determined to stick to it!!

The next activity was a cannonball game set up in the basement. I divided the kids into two teams and had them try and sink the other's ship (bucket decorated as a ship) with their cannonballs. The losing team had to walk a plank that I made. I thought this game would be a hit.... nope. The game was probably too over their heads and they were more excited about playing with the other toys.

Next, the kids went on a treasure hunt that started inside, went outside, and then ended back inside. I made treasure maps with picture clues and told them which one was the first location. At each location, a picture of the next location was attached. Near the end, they found an empty treasure box with a note that Captain Hook stole their treasure and they had to follow his clues to where it was hidden. The final location was a toy box with a treasure box filled with treasure for each kid. This game was a HUGE HIT!!

The kids ate cupcakes next and then watched Jacob open his gifts. We actually had about 15 minutes to spare and the kids had a good time running around and playing. A few of the parents stayed to help and I was grateful for our family members who were able to help out too. It was definitely a team effort.

I made dinner for family afterwards and then Jacob opened family presents in a much calmer setting.

I was completely exhausted, but the party went really well and Jacob has a great time. I'm not sure I have it in me to do this each year for both kids, but we'll see.

Jacob's Pirate Party