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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Jake and the Neverland Pirate Party



This year for Kenzley's 4th birthday she wanted to have a Jake and the Neverland Pirate's party. She has been talking about it since her party last year and hasn't forgotten about it since. I was really worried about how I would be able to pull off the theme because the tv series is so new and it made it hard to find things. I knew I didn't want the party to be to boyish, especially since we were only inviting girls. I started on my search for a cute girl invitation and I found this one on etsy. The lady did an amazing job, she was fast, offered free printables for other parts of party, and most importantly she was inexpensive. One of Kenzley's main requests for her birthday was that we had glow in the dark cotton candy. I hadn't ever heard of it either, but apparently she saw that Katy Perry had it at her party and so that meant that Kenzley had to have it at hers. This was probably the hardest idea we have ever tried to pull off. I could find images of the cotton candy all over the internet and on pintrest, but I couldn't find anywhere to actually purchase the sticks that needed to be used. For the cotton candy you can't just use any glow in the dark stick, it has to be certain ones so that the cotton candy lights up the right way and also so it will stick. I came across a cute shop in Kentucky and the lady was willing to make them for me and overnight them to me. After talking to my husband but the cost involved we decided to keep searching for the sticks so we could do it ourselves. There is a guy in californing who sales the sticks in bulk, like 500 in a box, and so I called him to see if he had any idea where I could buy them individually, because I only needed 12. He gave me the number of a guy in north carolina and that guy was willing to sell them to me individually. For the cotton candy part we decided to purchase a cotton candy machine of our own instead of renting one because it was more cost efficient that way. 

They really are pretty neat, they are battery operated and very durable, we were able to reuse them when the kids were ready for more cotton candy. With being pregnant and having so many problems with my pregnancy I was really nervous about how this party would turn out. I wasn't feeling up to much and I feel like my guests may have noticed but I still tried to make it a great birthday for Kenzley. Once our guests arrived I had each child start coloring their pirate bandanas. I was able to find these on oriental trading and the girls loved coloring and designing their own bandana. 
When they were done coloring their bandanas I had them go to the pirate make up table, where they could get their pirate make up. None of the girls came out looking like a ragged pirate of course but it was a good excuse to put on some play make up. Each girl also got an eye patch and some pirate tattoos to put on their body. Once everyone was dressed like a pirate we took their pictures.
 Here are our cute little pirate ladies.
After we were dressed like pirates, it was time to go dig for our treasure. I purchased a small plastic swimming pool and filled it with play sand and then hid necklaces, rings, bracelets, and golden coins throughout the sand. I gave each girl a bag put their treasure in once they retrieved it.

Once everyone got their treasure we decided it was time to eat. We had shark's blood to drink (hawaiian punch), fresh fruit, cupcakes, and of course the cotton candy. I purchased plastic Jake and the Neverland Pirate cups that I found at Wal-Mart for each child to drink out of and take home after the party.

Once we were done eating it was time to open presents and just let the birthday girl enjoy playing with her friends. Thanks to everyone who came and supported us!