Gather up old shoes boxes from friends and neighbors a couple weeks before your child's party. If you can't seem to gather up enough shoe boxes, you can always make your way to Michael's Arts and Crafts Store, or A.C. Moore or use the internet to buy small unfinished, wooden boxes with covers...there are plenty of places out there that sells those and they are very inexpensive...especially if you stick to the kind that are made of very thin, flexible paper wood and not the heavier wood.

Either way, armed with shoe boxes or wooden unfinished boxes, make sure there is enough for you to set the table with one at each child's place. On the table, a few bottles of Elmer's Glue, paintbrushes, paints, and little bowls of different decorations, including feathers, crystals, beads, colored little pasta pieces and bottles of sprinkle glitter.

If you are using shoeboxes, those will require a thicker paint at first that the child has to use to color over the writing and designs on the shoe box. If you are using the premade, wooden unfinished boxes, those will require a less thicker paint.

Put on some fun birthday music, set out the snacks and drinks and give them half an hour or more to turn the boxes into pirates treasure chests or memory boxes.

Buy some little party favors, like the ones we have on our site, and let them choose from the pile to put one or two in their box when they are all done. A terrific and fun way to let them make their own keepsake party favor with toys inside and gives you a good 45 minutes off!