A rope frame, a brass compass, an anchor in the corner and a little sailboat riding paper waves: this is a nautical party drawn the way a six-year-old imagines a ship. A cream chart panel between navy stripes keeps the words easy to read from across a room.
The card suits any birthday near water, from a lake house weekend to a harbor-side pizza place, and it works for adults who sail as well as kids who dream about it.
Give every guest a paper sailor hat at the door and run a boat-building table with corks, toothpicks and paper sails, then race the fleet in a kiddie pool. Fish-shaped crackers, blue punch and a cake with a fondant sailboat finish the deck. If a real boat ride is possible, keep it short and keep the life jackets on.
