*Note: I don't have all of the pictures I want for this post yet, since this just happened last night, but I'm posting today for the Second Star on the Right Blog Party...I'll update with more/better photos as soon as I have them!
My husband turned 33 years young yesterday.
So, I decided to celebrate by bringing one of his favorite childhood movies to life.
With the help of my friend Tara, I threw a really fun
Swiss Family Robinson Birthday Adventure!
(Oh, yeah, the party was a total surprise to Steve,
and we threw it together in less than a week!)
Here's what we did:
THE INVITES: message in a (used water) bottle
THE VENUE: wooded backyard with awesome tree house...all of the kids loved it!
(I'll have more photos of the tree house in the next post.)
THE CREW: guests came dressed as pirates/castaways/desert-islanders
SEARCHING FOR TREASURE: the pirates searched for buried treasure
...and played capture the flag in teams...using "items that washed up on the beach" to protect their flags!
THE GUEST OF HONOR: was kidnapped by rogue pirates, taken from his home, made up to look more "sea-worthy", blind-folded, and taken captive to his surprise birthday party.
we were all pretty surprised to see his face painted up when they removed the pillowcase from his head! yes, they bagged him before they grabbed him!
COCONUT CANNONBALLS: water balloons doubled as coconut bombs and were used to protect the kids' forts just like in the movie
PIRATE IDENTITIES: everyone took on a pirate persona for the party...I was "one-legged Randy". There was also Twitchy McGee, Lady Killgrew, and Scurvy Legs Jones...
ENDLESS IMAGINATION: as the evening progressed, the princess turned black widow. There was constant sword-fighting, boobie-trapping, and role-playing. So fun!
PLAY, PLAY, PLAY: ...like I said, I only took a few photos, so this doesn't represent all of the guests and fun outfits/play that was happening, but there were pirates, pirates everywhere.
THE FOOD: guests had a nice selection of pirate and islander food to choose from
We made Treasure Map Quesadillas...yum!
Smuggler's Cupcakes that looked like this (found here).
We also served "Cannonball Curry" over rice and ate it pirate-style, with our hands and flatbread.
THE DECOR: items recovered from the shipwreck
...jugs, candles, a grass umbrella, island flowers
THE MOVIE: when night fell, we had an outdoor showing of The Swiss Family Robinson.
The children and adults were so happy!
It was the perfect summer evening!
Happy Birthday, Steve!
And thanks to FawnDear for helping me to tap into my imagination to create some summer fun for my friends and family!
What a fun party! 2 years ago, we had a pirate theme birthday party for my son. We had a treasure map for the kids and they followed it to a buried treasure; we actually buried a chest filled with goodies in the ground! It was fun! But your party looks so awesome and so creative!
ReplyDeleteAHHHHHH! So love this! Loved Swiss Family Robinson as a child, it even motivated me to build my own(very un-safe)treehouse. I'm sure this party will go down in history as one of the funnest for both the young and young-at-heart.
ReplyDeleteI'm so dreaming of being your neighbor now. Truly enchanting.
Thank you SOOOOOOO much for participating in our Second Star Adventure!
Now I've got to go look at all vicarious fun yet again.
Tootles,
FawnDear
This totally takes the pirate party to a whole new level. so fun!
ReplyDeleteOh I need a fun neighborhood like that! That looks like SO much fun!!
ReplyDeletewhat an elaborate production-you could hire out as a party planner, looks like lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteOh what a great party...wanna come live here by me and be my friend and set this kind of thing up for me?! LOL
ReplyDeleteI would say I am stealing it, but I am inherently lazy and know I wouldn't do it. :)
YOUR THE GREATEST!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, such fun, Jocelyn! Your little islanders are adorable in their search for treasure...I've no doubt you husband loved his birthday party. So many wonderful touches...the Smuggler's Cupcakes are brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for stopping by my little party...:)
Lynette
sounds like so much fun. and I see pics of some of my favorite people. What a fun family party.
ReplyDeleteLooks like fun wish I was there
Visiting the Second Star to the Right entries...
ReplyDeleteHow delightful! Looks like lots of family fun!
-Blanche
Awesome party !Looked like so much fun !
ReplyDeleteGreat Pics !
Blessings,
~Myrna
Just looking through your last few posts and had to say that this was an adorable party! I love the movie night part at the end.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like it was such fun.Growing up doesn't mean we have to grow old.
ReplyDelete