In the fall I was asked to donate the decorations for a children’s party for a Power of Pink auction.  Power of Pink is a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen and breast cancer awareness.  I didn’t realize at the time how close to home this would hit.  My mother-in-law has since been diagnosed with breast cancer and, thank the Lord, is going to have it removed this month.  I worked with three other women on the party and we came up with some great ideas and a great fall fest, cowboy theme.  What? you say.  Didn’t I say pirate party in the header?  Yep, the sweet little boy whose party we planned loved pirates so at the request of his just as sweet mama we changed the theme.  (Hey, I have a little boy too and this birthday party theme is a big deal.)

We hosted the party at Dreamcatcher’s, a center for pediatric therapy.  The setting is absolutely beautiful with a cute red barn, horses and peacocks.  Inside the facility is a child’s dream with a ton of different toys and games.  Dana Cox, the owner, was very equipped for a party and perfect at handling the crowd.  We had plans to do the party outside but had a downpour that day so we got cozy and made the most of the games inside.

As one of the activities for the kids Adrienne Tarrola, with Noah’s Ark Workshop, brought animals (much like build-a-bear) and the kids were able to stuff and dress their own cuddly creatures.  I was like a kid in a build-a-bear store and I really wanted to make one.  Since there were a bunch of pre-schoolers I let them do it.  Really kind of me, I know.

Jullie Wyatt with Gigi’s Murfreesboro donated the cupcakes and the were walk the plank good.  She decorated them into some pirates, complete with beards, skull and crossbones and some had gold doubloons on them.  They tasted as good as they looked.

Of course I took this opportunity to bring out my crafty side.  I made an “ahoy matey” banner, a birthday banner and some cupcake toppers.  I ordered some sweet pirate hats, eye patches, a treasure chest and gold doubloons to use as decorations.  We also had treasure maps so the kids could search for the gold, arrgghhh.  I also made a “B” and had some pirate suckers for the kids.  I had so much fun with this theme that I would love to do it again for my son (or any kid’s party sometime.

I had such a good time planning the party with a great group of women for a sweet family!  The icing on the pirate cupcake was that it all went to a good cause.  The icing on the cupcake for this blog is that I kept the pirate references to a minimum.  It was hard not to throw some “yo hos” and “arrrggghhhs” in there every other sentence.