Ahoy, me Hearties { pirate party }

All Hands Hoay!

Jennie Tarver, owner of Sillydilly Kids Entertainment, says if time permits send a pirate to each guest’s house to personally invite them to the party or leave an invitation at the doorstep. One creative idea is to roll up the invitation and stick it into a root beer bottle leaving it partially exposed. Be sure to use proper pirate slang on the invitations. To achieve an antique look on paper invitations, burn the edges. If mailing, include two chocolate gold treasure coins with each invitation.

Dress the part.

Ask guests dress as pirates or have costumes available. “It gets them excited before the party,” Tarver says. When they arrive, use black eyeliner to draw a beard on guests’ faces. Give them each a patch and bandana to finish their pirate look.

Eat, drink and be merry.

Celebrate at a local pirate-themed restaurant dressed in pirate costumes.

Order root beer floats. Go home and play pirate. Decorate the cake with foil-wrapped chocolate coins, Rolos, rock candy and candy jewels. Or make cupcakes and decorate them like a pirate face.

Coconut bowling.

If having the party at home, Tarver suggests digging a small hole in the backyard and playing a game that rolls fresh coconuts into the hole. Have a “hole-in-one” award or “closest coconut” prize. Or before the party, draw a map of the yard and decide where to hide treats, such as pirate patches, doubloons and trinkets. Then go hunting for loot.

Tea Time { porch or garden party }

Have some symphony.

Play classical music, such as Beethoven, suggests Corrie Silvers, owner of Teacups and Trucks. Walt Disney’s Fantasia soundtrack is another great choice of music. To further the prim and proper Lowcountry mood, have the party on a porch.

Mind your manners.

Have a brief basic manners lesson before taking tea. Practice sitting up straight, keeping elbows off the table and putting a napkin in the lap.

Practice asking friends “Would you please pass the finger sandwich?”

Set the table.

Have two teams relay race back and forth between two tables, Silvers suggests. Each racer carries a tray with utensils, cups, etc., and sets each place setting as fast as possible. The team whose table is completely set first wins. Another fun activity is to have guests stack sugar cubes. Give prizes to the guest who can stack the highest or to whomever makes the most creative structure out of the cubes.

Creative goodies.

Use brown paper lunch bags and fold the tops over so they look like tea bags. Attach a piece of string to each bag with a card that says the child’s name on it. Fill the bag with goodies for them to take home.

Groovy gardening.

Step outside and plant a seed. The Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry has a guide explaining how to make a great take-home treat.

Garden Favor Idea!

Materials

√ soil

√ round peat pots

√ pea seeds

√ clear plastic cups

√ Popsicle sticks

√ large round bowl

√ markers

√ clear baggies

√ ribbon

1. Gather your party guests in a circle and encourage a discussion about gardening by asking them questions: What do you need to grow a plant? What types of plants might you find in a garden? Why are bugs helpful to plants?
2. Next, have guests decorate their Popsicle sticks by coloring in the areas between the inches. Let the children know that this is how they will be able to measure the growth of their pea plant. Then, send each child to his/her own planting station.
3. At each planting station, have a bucket of soil available, a cup of seeds, peat pots, clear plastic cups and a watering can. Help guests fill up their pot with soil, plant the seed, water it (make sure the peat pot is in the plastic cup) and then place their Popsicle stick in the soil.
4. Write the birthday guest’s name on a clear plastic bag, place the pot inside and tie it off with a bow. You can add stickers or a lollipop to the bag for an additional treat!*

Courtesy of the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry

The Cat's Meow. { Roaring ‘20s Party }

Come have a swell time.

Lizz Akerman, owner of Southern Protocol, suggests maintaining an art deco feel throughout the planning and party including invitation design, décor and activities. Take a photo of the birthday child posing in front of the Terrace Theater or the Riviera Theater dressed in her best 1920s attire. Use plenty of 1920s slang like “bee’s knees” and “cat’s meow.”

Dress to the nines.

Ask guests to dress up or provide fun outfits for them to wear at the party. Girls should wear a boa, low-waisted dress, long gloves, headband with feather and long faux pearls tied in a knot. Boys can dress as gangsters in pinstripes, white tie and hat. If you wish, provide boas, jewelry and hats and let guests take them home as a party favor.

Get a wiggle on.

Teach guests the Charleston dance, which can be performed solo, with two people or in a group. Play songs like “Charleston,” “Ain’t She Sweet” and “I Wanna be Loved by You.” Have a dance marathon, a popular activity in the ’20s. “It’s such a fun little dance, and it so easy. Anyone can do it,” Akerman says. Click here to download and print instructions for how to do the Charleston.

Learn from the masters.

Show photos or videos of famous jazz musicians of the day like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton. Discuss the time period and its influence on modern day Charleston. Download jazz songs from iTunes. Do easy crossword puzzles and play monopoly. Attagirl!

And how!

Offer finger food, such as petit fours and mini hamburgers. Serve gelato, the Italian form of ice cream, or popsicles instead of ice cream. Baby Ruth candy bars were also wildly popular during this time period; “sell” them to guests for their original price of 5 cents.

Free fun.

Your local public library is a great resource for 20s-era material. Check out a clip art book from the library, use a copier to reprint them onto heavy stock paper to use as decorations or favors.