by Katie Madigan
We recently held my daughter’s fifth birthday party at the Phillips Recreation Center through the Urbana Park District. For her theme she chose the Pirate Party which is appropriate for ages 4-8, as stated in the guide book. We had ages 4 to 7. Most were entertained for the entire 2 hours, but a few ran around a bit. She chose this theme because she has friends who are boys and girls and we wanted to be sure all of her guests were amused.
The first hour and a half was spent doing craft after craft to make the kids look and feel like pirates! They made their own eye patches, bandannas, treasure boxes, pirate flags and hooks. They even gave the kids pirate tattoos, hats and a pirate vest. Both boys and girls enjoyed making these crafts and when they were finished they had quite the pirate get-up for pictures.
My one and only complaint is that the leaders only planned crafts, which were ok for most of the kids, but some needed to run off some steam. I think an active game or two would have been appreciated by all.
After the first hour or so they assembled the kids for cake and ice cream. The cake was adorably decorated with “Jake and the Neverland Pirates.” They served it on pirate themed plates and napkins. After cake and ice cream, the leaders set-up two chairs by the gift table. The child whose present my daughter was opening was to sit next to her while she opened it, but with eight 4 to 7 year olds, it was a bit of a mob scene.
As the guests were leaving they were given a small treasure map to hunt for their “treasure box.” This “treasure box” (goodie bag) held an assortment of pirate themed items, none of which was candy!!
My husband and I agreed that while the price tag for this party was maybe a bit hefty ($180 for 8 children + extra for the themed gift bags), it was well worth it:
1. We did not have to stress about cleaning our house and playing host to 8 potentially wild children and their parents.
2. I had nothing to do with planning the party and only showed up with the birthday girl and our cameras.
3. The party planners planned, set-up and cleaned everything. I only had to hand out invitations (that the park district made) and take RSVPs.
4. Our daughter has a peanut allergy which I indicated on the registration form. Erica, who coordinates these programs, promptly emailed me to ask questions about cake and ice cream. They typically order from County Market, which has some nuts in their cakes, and they were easily accommodating when I asked for Walmart bakery instead and a particular brand of ice cream.
This party was really great from start to finish and my birthday girl had a blast. I have had so many wonderful experiences with the customer service at the Urbana Park District that I am continually glad we chose to move here. This is truly one of the gems of this town!
Katie Madigan is a Speech-Language Pathologist, aspiring educational leader, and community volunteer. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Champaign-Urbana and loves this community she has adopted as her own. She shares her dream home in Urbana with her husband Jared, daughter Madeline, and dogs Scooter and Max.