Birthday on a budget: Neverland treasure hunt
It has always been my aim to plan and hold special birthday parties for my children, but generally we were strapped for cash. If I wanted to throw the parties I wanted, I had to be creative. It has always been important to me to make memories and build bonds. Birthdays are the day we can really celebrate each other as individuals and to share these special days with the right people.
So in this series of throwbacks, we will share with you what I did and how I did it, maybe with a bit of how I’d do it again given the chance.
And to kick us off, the one that started them all!
Neverland: Fairies and Pirates ~
4th birthday - 2007
For Millie’s very first birthday party with all her school friends, I wanted something that felt magical, playful, and full of imagination. Millie originally asked for a princess party, but since we were inviting boys too, I thought a theme with more variety might keep everyone engaged. That’s when Neverland came to mind—a world of pirates, fairies, mermaids, and adventures that has something for everyone.
Peter Pan has always been one of my favorite stories. There’s something about it; the idea of flying off to a place where you never have to grow up, where every day is an adventure and magic is always just around the corner. It felt like the perfect theme to celebrate Millie’s 4th birthday.
With a head full of ideas, the hardest part was deciding where to begin. Pirates? Pixie dust? Lost Boys mischief? Mermaid lagoons? There were so many directions to go in, but I knew from the start that my main goal was to keep the day fun, whimsical, and budget-friendly. Sometimes the simplest touches can bring the most joy, and I wanted Millie and her friends to feel like they’d stepped straight into Neverland—even if it was just for one afternoon.
Invitations
Once we had finalised the guest list, I knew I wanted to create invitations that felt on-theme and set the scene for the adventure ahead. This was long before Canva (my current obsession!) and back when our family computer was still fairly basic, so I went old-school. Handcrafted, homemade, and full of heart—that was the beginning of the magic.
I created a treasure map using very dodgy Microsoft Paint skills. Once I had printed out as many as we needed, I made a big pot of tea. I took great delight in painting the invitations with the tea and made the maps look old and torn.
*Artist’s reconstruction, 2025.
Venue
We were very fortunate that at that time we lived very close to a beautiful spot in the New Forest. It was a spot we knew well from walking our dog, bike rides and family expeditions. It became the perfect backdrop for a Neverland adventure with it’s woodland walks, gentle stream and small ‘beach’. With ample parking for our guests and picnicking space, we were set. The best part: it was absolutely free!
On the day of the party, Liam went up half an hour ahead of the guests’ arrival and set up each activity along our pre-planned trail.
Dress Code
With the Neverland theme, costume options were abundant. Although fancy dress was optional we still had a vast array of fairies, princesses, pirates and tribal people. Even I dressed up as a pink fairy, and Liam was a pirate leading his crewmates down through the treasure hunt.
Activities
Naturally, this theme and location was absolutely perfect for a treasure hunt and that was the basis of our party.
Given that it was so long ago, I can’t remember the clues that we wrote back then, but at each stop, the children had small tasks to complete or games to play.
The two stand-out activities were butterfly catching and fishing in the stream. I had made an array of butterflies out of card and hung them in a tree, each with a child’s name on it. The children had fishing nets to catch their own butterfly. A few clues later, they reached the stream where they had fish to catch. In a hook-a-duck style game, with plastic fish, they each had to catch a fish before getting their next clue.
Following all the clues led them back to where we started. Whilst on their adventure, led by Liam, I had set up a chest full of treasure. This formed a part of Millie’s birthday present, a fairy treasure chest for all her keepsakes. But on the day it was used as the great reward at the end of the adventure. We filled it with chocolate coins, candy necklaces, bracelets, watches and child-friendly jewellery including beaded necklaces, bangles and tiaras.
For their party bags, they took home a selection of treasure, some bubbles and some birthday cake.
Food
At the same time, I also laid out a picnic lunch. The children had built up quite the appetite after all that treasure hunting!
We feasted on:
ham, cheese and marmite sandwiches; a selection, not all-in-one.
crisps,
sausage rolls,
cocktail sausages,
fairy cakes,
and of course, the Birthday Cake.
What would I do now?
Actually, mostly probably the same!
Invitations
I would make all my printables on Canva, though - Paint was handy but we’ve evolved now. And create a design theme, probably a ‘party logo’. I love for things to match and co-ordinate with one another. Though I’d definitely still tea-stain the invitations…why change a classic?!
Activities
I always think back on this party with fondness and I love the ideas and activities we had planned to make it fun. I would just use up-to-date methods and thematic design as I said above.
Food
The main thing I would do completely differently is the food. There is more to think about with individual dietary requirements nowadays that I would pack individual picnic packs for the guests. I’ve done individual snack packs for other parties and it can work really well. The options for lunch boxes is so varied now too that you can provide a really beautiful on-theme and individualised package that doesn’t cost the earth.
Venue
Of course, I can’t find any photos from this party, so last month I went and visited our spot in the forest and found it to be very different. There was a stream running all through here; the picture on the left shows where we finished with our treasure chest on the island by the tree. The picture on the right shows where we went ‘fishing’. I was standing in the ‘stream’ to take this photo.
It was lovely to go and visit as this place, my son came with me. It has lots of happy memories for our family and it was lovely sharing it with him.
Given that I live somewhere different, I would choose somewhere local to me but that fits the same parameters. Actually…watch this space for Treasure Hunt 2: Pirates and Princesses. We did a similar party for Lucas when he was 3, at one of our favourite spots in New Zealand. I’ll write that one up sometime in the future.
