The Pirate Party.....Aaaarrrrrrrr!

The people in our neighborhood here at Skidway Lake enjoy parties.  Each summer, we have a big party with a theme.   In 2006, our theme was Pirates of Skidway Lake. We dressed in pirate costumes and had a costume contest. What a motley crew we were! We decorated our boats as pirate ships and had a parade around the lake. Our boat took first prize. Pirate decorations and table settings were provided by the neighbors. The food was a delicious pot luck, as usual. I made a pirate ship cake.

There were games, including a treasure hunt, for kids and adults. The treasure hunt was a good way to meet people. We color coded and split each treasure map into four pieces. Each person drew a piece and found the other three teammates. The race was on to collect clues and find the treasure. The treasure was gold-wrapped candy coins in a small wooden chest.

We always have a blind auction. It's great fun and provides the money for paper party goods and decorations. Each person brings something wrapped in gift wrap or newspaper. The auction items can be anything new or old. We bid on each wrapped package without knowing what's in it.  We might win anything from a new bath & body set to a roll of toilet paper. There are tools, flashlights, candles, costume jewelry, games, toys and more. It's fun to see what's in each package. A blind auction would make a great fundraiser. The lure of the unknown is irresistible.

The finale of our pirate party was a battle at sea...well, lake... using water cannons. The battle was fierce and those cannons really blasted out strong jets of water, but no ships sank and their were no casualties.

Last summer we had a Western party. Next year, we'll be doing Roaring 20's with flappers and mobsters....but those will be reported in a future article.

Anyone have any good party ideas?