Get ready to Have your house become the funnest pirate ship in the sea for your child's birthday. This pirate party will be filled with adventure and fun for your kid as well as the rest of your guests.

All the tips you need for a fun pirate party for the whole family have
been split into the following categories:

pirate party invitations, pirate party decorations, pirate party activities, pirate party games, pirate party costumes,pirate party snacks,pirate party entertaiment and cake. Read through our list and pick out the ones you think will be the best for your pirate theme party.

Step 1: Pirate Party Invitations

For the invitations to your Pirate Party Adventure use something that fits your pirate party theme, such as a skull and crossbones flag, a treasure map or hidden treasure. Be sure all the details for your party are spelled out clearly: Party Date, Party time, Party Location, Party directions, Contact number or email etc.

Step 2: Pirate Party Decorations

To make your Pirate party feel just like the high seas you might want to decorate your home and backyard with pirate flags,treasure chests and toy parrots,you may also want to include an X marking special areas at your pirate party such as the driveway or the area were the cake is
waiting,to add to the pirate fun a sign outside of your home such as "Ahoy Mateys" will help your guests know they have come to the right place and it will add to the pirate feel as well.

Step 3 : Pirate Party Activities

Would you like your guests to remember your pirate party after it's over?
Well then a great idea is to have a time for activites where the guests create crafts to take home such as designing small treasure chests and filling them with toy coins or toys or making a treasure
map or pirate flag,this way your pirate party will be remembered long after its over.

Step 4: Pirate Party Games

Every pirate party needs fun games to keep the kids entertained,for a pirate party you should have games that match the theme such as balloon sword fights, walking the plank, finding the hidden treasure or other pirate themed games.
A pirate ship jumper will be a fun addition to your pirate theme party. There are party rentals companies that provide inflatable bounce houses for rent. Check out our party jumper rental tips page for more information.

Step 5: Pirate Party Costumes

A great addition to a pirate themed birthday party is to have all the guests dressed in pirate garb with the birthday child being the captain. The kids may bring their own costumes. The pirate costumes can be sent with the invitations or simple provided at the party.

Step 6: Pirate Party Food And Snacks

A very important part of any party is the food as of course everyone will want to eat, it is best not to include sugary foods as the kids will get very hyper and may ruin something or get hurt. Some pirate
party food examples are:
Seaweed Linguine :green pasta
Gold nuggets: chicken nuggets
Octopus: split hot dogs
Hot Dog Pirate Ships :
spear a wooden skewer through a small piece of paper to make a schooner sail and then pierce it through a hot dog, then add a few Goldfish crackers.
Pirates teeth: White corn

Step 7: Pirate party Entertainment

A professional kids entertainer will make you pirate party fun and memorable.
Make sure to check out your local area's kids party entertainment or check out our family fun page.

Step 8: pirate party Cake and Favors

And now after a fun day of pirate adventure its time for the birthday captain to blow out his candles and everyone to enjoy the cake. A good cake for a pirate party is a pirate ship, you could also use a
treasure chest,X marks the spot or skull and crossbones themed cake as long as it matches your pirate party theme. For party favors such as goodie bags, you can give out goodie treasure chests. Now all your guests will return to shore very happy.

* Key Words to consider:

Copy and paste the keywords that apply to you into your favorite search engine such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, ASK etc.

Pirate Party, Pirate Party ideas, Pirate Party Themes, Pirate Themed Party, Pirate Party Theme, Pirate Party Invitations, Pirate Party Food And Snacks, Party Themes, Pirate Party Decorations, Parties Pirate, Pirate Birthday Party, Party Pirates, Pirate Party Games, Ideas Pirate Party.

Have you ever watched children play Musical Chairs?
When the music stops, the children shove and push each other to get to a chair. The first one to lose, has to sit out all alone for the rest of the game. As the game progresses, the kids become even more aggressive.

The same goes for Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Everyone laughs at the uncoordinated child with no sense of direction who completely misses the intended target. The kid may be a "good sport" and participate in the laughter, but inside they may feel embarrassed and a littlehumiliated.
Some kids will stop at nothing to be the winner, while others may fell hurt and brake out into tears.
The above games are typical examples of competitive games. Competitive games may pit kids against one another. They teach kids to push, shove, tip and trick to win the game. There is usually  just one winner and the rest are losers. Children play games to have fun and be part of the group or team. They don't want to sit out and feel rejected, or hurt.

Cooperative games are games that include everyone. Every child is included.  There is no anxiety or fear of losing the game and there is no added pressure to win either. Cooperative games make kids feel good about themselves and about others in the game. They encourage kindness, sharing, self esteem and teamwork.
In this section you will find a variety of cooperative games for everyone to join in the fun.

Tip: for any group planned activity, give the kids only two choices.
Join in the game or sit and watch. Every game needs an audience.

When planning a birthday party you have to choose the perfect venue where everyone can have loads of fun. Choosing perfect birthday party places is not easy.

Below is a series of useful links. I have carefully collected to facilitate the research process.

Funderland Park
Mailing Address: 1350 17th Ave
Sacramento, CA 95822
Phone: (510) 632-9525
Website: www.funderlandpark.com

San Jose Kids Park
Mailing Address: 2858 Stevens Creek Blvd.
#100 Across from Valley Fair Mall
San Jose, CA 95128
Phone: (408) 260-7929
Website: www.kidspark.com

SadieDey's Cafe
Mailing Address: 4210 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA 94602
Phone: (510) 601-7378
Website: www.sadiedeyscafe.com

Lemos Farm
Mailing Address: Lemos Farm
12320 San Mateo Road. (Hwy. 92)
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Phone: (650)-726-2342
Website: www.lemosfarm.com

Children's Fairyland
Mailing Address: Children’s Fairyland
699 Bellevue Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
Phone: (510) 452-2259
Website: www.fairyland.org

The Sacramento Zoo
Mailing Address: 3930 West Land Park Drive
Sacramento, CA 95822
Phone: (916) 808-5885
Website: www.saczoo.com

Habitot Children's Museum
Mailing Address: 2065 Kittredge Street,
Berkeley, CA
Phone: (510)-647-1111
Website: www.habitot.org

Bay Area Kids Discovery Museum
Mailing Address: Bay Area Discovery
Museum Fort Baker
557 McReynolds Road
Sausalito, CA 94965-2614
Phone: (415) 339-3931
Website: www.baykidsmuseum.org

Children's Museum in Silicon Valley
Mailing Address: Children's Discovery
Museum of San Jose
180 Woz Way
San Jose, CA 95110
Phone: 408-298-5437
Website: www.cdm.org

Oakland Zoo
Mailing Address: Oakland Zoo
9777 Golf Links Rd
Oakland, CA 94605
Phone: (510) 632-9525
Website: www.oaklandzoo.org

Funny Clown Shoe Puppet

Hey! Check out this funny clown shoe puppet. Clown shoes are an excellent allocation of the clown costume.
This accurate puppet was called the laughing shoe. It's a chatting shoe with bad breath. This funny combination is not easily detected at your regular clown supplies store. I have used this puppet for an original story that I wrote titled: "The cricket and the Laughing Shoe". It's a kids story that I am hoping to get announced someday. I have also used the clown shoe at many gigs that required a clown for birthday parties. The puppet was composed of poly foam that was dyed with fabric dye. Thanks for visiting.

Party ideas for your special baby

How to plan a First Birthday Party for your child

A special "First" Birthday is a milestone in your child's life and needs to be celebrated. Your baby is not going to remember his or her first birthday party, but they will come a point in their life when it becomes important for them to know. The celebration is equally as important for you as parents and for all of those friends and family members who will be present in your child's life for many years to come.

Everyday of life should be a time of celebration. However, a Baby's 1st Birthday is unique and should be celebrated accordingly. Think of it like, it is one year ago that this adored Baby was brought into your world. Of course, at a one year of age the Baby doesn't seem to know what is happening, but it is still a time to celebrate. It is an event that you can look back on for years to come. It is as much a celebration of your achievements in the baby's life as it is an achievement for your baby's development.

Here are some 1st birthday party ideas to help you better plan your kids first birthday party.

• decide early whether or not you want a particular birthday party theme. Birthday themes make it easier to shop for birthday supplies and birthday decorations. A theme will also bring a sense of harmony to the whole atmosphere. A typical baby blue for boys and pink for girls theme could do the trick. But any theme could work : Jungle party, Safari Party, princess party, pirate party, Animal party, train party, character party, just to name a few.

• You can serve cupcakes, a sheet cake or make a cake to match the party theme.

• Birthday party favors for the children that attend your kids party are great way to end your party. You can put together goodies bags that match your theme very cheaply by shopping online. A simple search under birthday party favors, party supplies, birthday decorations, kids party supplies, kids birthday, birthday theme, could turn great results.

• You can just as easily personalize your first birthday party invitations to fit your theme or style.

• choose the best children entertainer for your 1st kids Birthday party, a professional children entertainer can add a lot of value to your event and make it especially memorable.

• Pictures:

Take lots of pictures, remember this day and remember how easy and stress-free it was. As they get older they'll have time to celebrate with big parties and actually remember them.

• Food:

Pizza is a favorite food for kids. If you want to keep this short and sweet, finger foods are perfect. Cupcakes at the end are great. Everyone gets the same portion, and your little one can be as messy as they want with their own private cake.

• Allowing your baby to open his or her presents maybe cute for 10 seconds but your guests are going to get bored very fast.

• Toddlers love their Cheerios! Put out a bowl of cheerios for the toddlers and pretzels, crackers for older kids. Placing the bowls next to chips and dip for the adults can be fun for kids! Use your judgment.

As a kids birthday party entertainer and father of four kids, my best advise for new parents who are putting on their very 1st kids birthday party is to relax during the party. You have planned your party well, you have recruited some friends and family to help organize your party. There will be a few surprises during the party, if you take it with ease. Your guests will sense that you are calm and relaxed and will automatically follow suit.

Safety Tips for Birthdays:

• Balloons, If they burst they can be inhaled and cause a child to choke.

• Hard candy, bonbons or Finger Foods like raisins, M&Ms or popcorn can cause chocking as well.

• Be careful where you put your matches or lighter for the birthday cake.

• Save any sweets until the end of the party, other wise the kids will have to run wild during the party.

Enjoy your child's party because there will never be another "first" birthday party for your baby.

Check out this m&m hand puppet we did for a promotion. Very colorful and very tasty. We made all the m&m colors for this children's entertainment gig. With m&m's "Always Fun" modo, it was a blast. The hand puppets were made entirely out foam; with cut out pieces for eyes and mouths. The pieces were then died with a rit dye formula and then airbrushed for a final touch. Sponge Bob style arms and legs can be added for extra fun. I took this particular one as a gift to a girl's 7th birthday party, after I performed with it as part of the puppet show, I gave her it, she just loved it. It's so easy to operate, she just started puppeteering right away. She left me a comment on the testimonials about how this was her favorite birthday party ever. That really made it all the worth while and she is now my bay area's favorite puppeteer
Thank you for looking!

Jungle Joe was featured on a the Korean KBS television station

Jungle Joe was featured on a the Korean KBS television station. The TV crew followed California Puppets onto several sites. The crew filmed the California Puppet workshop and a couple of San Francisco Bay Area kids event Parties. The clown fish puppet held by the TV host was made by California Puppets as well. The child that was interviewed on the tape was from a kids birthday party entertainment in San Jose CA. Jungle Joe was also featured on a TV program aired in North Africa during his Visit to Africa tour. The tour was sponsored by the  charitable organization "Sod'Espoir". Translated to mean Smiles of Hope, the tour was to benefit undeserved kids stricken with cancer and other chronic diseases. Please check often for new videos and photos of the tour to be posted.

Patrick Puppet from the sponge bob TV series / Foam Puppets

Hey check out this Patrick Puppet from the sponge bob TV series. This puppet is made out entirely of foam. With his cute swimming trunks. I made this puppet for a country club pool party. It was a children's party puppet show around the pool. Patrick had to fight a pirate during the puppet show. With his low voice and slow reflexes, patrick makes a great puppet character, especialy for a pirate theme birthday party. They did a great job at the country club decorating with kids party supplies. We distributed birthday party favors, kind of like party goodie bags at the end of the show. we filled them with finger puppets made by us. Similar to the finger puppets that I had posted before. My Nemo the clown puppet fish was part of the show as well. The clown fish was featured on the Korean National TV, KBS. I will have that video up on the site soon. Running late for a San Jose Puppet show. I will write more later. Thanks for looking!

How to choose the best children entertainer for your kids party

As a professional kids entertainer and parent of four, I would like to share some of my experience with parents who are looking for entertainment for their kids party. Folks usually turn to professionals for solutions, they are willing to invest their hard earned cash to put on a kids party that would be fun and memorable for both their child and their guests alike. The purpose of this article is to shed some light on some key points to consider when hiring entertainment for your child's party.

Age appropriate:

What is the age range of the kids that you are looking to entertain? Usually, a parent would want entertainment not only for their child but for the guests as well. We know that your child likes Elmo, but you have invited other kids to the party as well. You may want to consider entertainment that would cater to the appropriate age group invited as opposed to just the birthday child. A professional entertainer would know how to make the birthday child feel special without making the other kids feel not included.

A clown isn't just a clown:

Please consider the person behind the make up. Performers vary greatly in approach and style. The best example is when people hire a costumed character, let's say Elmo. Please, consider the person who will be wearing that costume. Kids have an amazing intuition and can pick up on each others fears. A seasoned professional will know how to calm those anxieties very early on and bring the group together into the fun zone.

Use your best judgment:

Do some homework on the performer before you commit:
Are they a full time kids entertainer?
Are they patient and genuinely like children? (Kids require a lots of patience)
Do they project a professional image? (Website, Demo, Costume etc.)
Can you find reviews or testimonials on them? (Websites reviews, Local library reviews, etc.)

Budget:

Like any other service, you sometimes get what you pay for. Consider entertainment into your budget, a good entertainer can make your party all the worthwhile. It's not about quantity, it's about quality. If you want someone to do a magic show, a  puppet show, sculpt balloon animals and do face painting for $150, then hire your neighbor's teenage son. Make sure to give him a $50 advance to get the supplies from the dollar store. But if you want a professional, make sure that they are specialized in their field and they are at the top of their game.

Logistics:

Consider to ask the performer these logistical questions before you commit:
How much space do you need?
Can you perform indoors and outdoors?
Do you provide your own sound equipment?
What do you need us to prepare for your act?

Key Words to consider:

Let's assume that you live in the San Francisco Bay Area
Copy and paste the keywords that apply to you into your favorite search engine such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, ASK etc.
Consider using broad geographic terms such as Bay area, San Francisco Bay Area. If you live in a large metropolis consider using your city name like : San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Ramon, Marin, Daly City, Menlo Park etc.

San Jose Kids entertainer, San Jose children Entertainment
Bay Area birthday party entertainer, Birthday party entertainer
Kids birthday party entertainer, Bay Area Puppet Shows, birthday party balloons
1st birthday party, boys birthday party, bay area birthday party character, magic shows
Party Entertainers in the San Francisco Bay Area, birthday party venues in the bay area
birthday party ideas, party puppet shows, corporate entertainment
party favors for kids, kids party favors, 1st birthday supplies, birthday comedian
bay area birthday party themes, entertainer bay area, entertainers bay area
clown, clowns, magician, magicians, mime, bay area party clowns, entertainers
San Jose children entertainment for kids, bay area birthday party themes,
the entertainers, the bay area entertainers, wedding entertainer, event entertainer
Bay area kids events, bay area kids party, Clowns Childrens Entertainers Bay Area
children party bay area, kids party San Francisco, Magicians bay area, Magic shows bay area

A professional entertainer can bring your guests together into the happy zone and create an atmosphere of joy and laughter. A committed kids entertainer can also add magic and theatrics into the memories of kids and grown ups alike. As a Bay Area entertainer, I have committed myself to making my next child's party the only party that counts.  Now, it's Show-Time! 

Sponge Bob Foam Puppet & Puppet Shows

Check out this Sponge Bob Puppet. A real sponge, made of foam from head to toe. We made several of these for a festival booth puppet show. The puppet was a great hit with the young crowd at the puppet show and the strolling puppet session. One little boy insisted on taking him home, almost took the puppet arm with him. Lucky I had a spare. You should see the kids faces when he talks to them and how honestly they answer. Besides the festival, I had only performed with Sponge Bob at a couple of San Jose Birthday Party entertainment gigs. These were folks that saw the show at festival and got my contact for birthday party entertainers. We also made a Patrick, I can't find the picture, I still have the puppet, I will snap a photo and post it later.
This spong bob puppet was inspired by the clown entertainer puppet that I posted earlier. The clown puppet was also part of the same San Jose art and craft festival. We had a puppet show booth, with puppet shows running at different intervals all day. Bon Bon the party Clown stopped by to say Hi to the puppet clown, that was a great moment. Very funny interaction between a real clown and a puppet clown. Bon Bon the Clown specialises in San Jose Entertainment for Kids. Thank you for looking.