Although when you give some thought to the bloody, barbaric origins of these characters, still around today, it does give you pause. How have we managed to romanticize violent criminals? Hmm. Will children of the future have "Crips and Bloods" birthday parties? Wear red or blue, dawg!
That said, I wasted no time wallowing in guilt. Instead, I got to work on some fun activities and decorations. A treasure map, a fabric garland, pin the patch on the pirate game, drawstring loot bags and a pirate craft. All things made very doable by the diminutive list of Drew's friends. We invited three boys. Two made it. It was relaxed and fun for all.
Keith and I came up with a fun game where the kids had to hunt for clues hidden outside, using his telescope and binoculars. The clues were letters, color-coded to make up a word which spelled out the location of hidden treasure. It was a big hit.
Truly the best part was later that evening when Drew said sincerely (and apparently, out of the blue), "Thanks for my party, Mama." Later, I learned Ethan had coached him to thank me but I was still impressed. There's hope for my little outlaws.
2 comments:
It's amazing how a child saying "Thank you" -- even when you know he's been prompted, cued, or even coerced -- really, really brings a breath of blessing with it...Oh, you mean I'm not slave labor after all? Oh yeah. How nice!
And of course, as always, amazing party. I let my boys look at these pictures: I don't know why, but thankfully somehow it doesn't seem to occur to them that I could do things like that, and don't.
If they ever catch on, I'm going to have to block your blog you know : )
Awww, I love his little big thank you, I can just hear it, too :)
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