Princess and Pirate Party of the Century

Dressed as Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates

For months now Ruby has been planning her first friend birthday party (she may have a little bit of her mama's attention for detail and planning).  It started out as a princess party, but once I realized that she wanted to invite boys I suggested we do a princess and pirate party instead.  And in a momentary lapse of judgement, I might have invited 23 3-5 year olds to my house. lol

It was great, though.  I'm so glad we did it.  Everyone had a great time-- adults and children alike.  It just required me to plan lots of activities.  And for the record, we had 16 kiddos altogether and about 14 adults.

Pin the crown on the princess-- Ruby's favorite game.

We played pin the crown on the princess, pirate/princess/scully (basically, duck, duck, goose), went on a treasure hunt, colored pictures of castles and pirate ships, ate cake and ice cream on a "pirate blanket," opened presents, and even played tag and red rover outside.

Treasure hunt around the house!

It was fun to play with all the little pirates and princesses.  I have to admit that I occasionally miss teaching, so when I get the opportunity to do something like this a little piece of my heart is really happy.

Uncle Casey wins the prize for most authentic pirate look.

Oh, and the cupcakes were AMAZING (thanks to my friend Cherie who taught me her tricks).  We had strawberry with strawberry cream cheese, dark chocolate chip with vanilla cream cheese, and french vanilla with dark chocolate cream cheese.  I just might have gone overboard and made way too many!  I still have 24 left in my freezer-- good thing Wyatt's birthday is right around the corner...

Most importantly, Ruby felt really special and had a wonderful time with her little buddies.  A birthday is a big deal.  I'm just glad they only come once a year-- I need at least that long to recuperate. lol