The Pirate Party- Food

The food at the party is always looked forward to by the children! The time in which they can stuff their faces with their favourite treats and snacks. However to make your little one's party even more special and memorable, be creative and change the food to make it fit in with the pirate theme! Even if its something simple such as putting little flag skewers into the party sausages, everyone is sure to love it- these are pictured to the right..

The Hot Seadogs!

Secondly, similarly to the sausages and the flag picks, why not re-create a pirate ship from a hot dog and the same sort of idea. Simply use straws to poke through the sausages and cut out 10-15 black cards and stick a pirate sign onto it. As you can see from the picture to the left, it resembles a pirate ship- the kids will certainly be drawn to this tasty treat during the party food! 

The Treasure Chest 
Another idea, to not only add a easy treat to the party, but also a relatively healthy one is this little creative masterpiece! The wooden chest really does fit in with the theme of pirates, and simply fill it with either sweets to resemble treasure or fruit such as strawberries and raspberries! Furthermore decorate marshmallows by drawing pirate faces onto them and decorate with sugar icing to make them look even more spectacular!


If your not feeling too creative, why not buy some salty snacks- Ahoy!

• ‘Pizzas’ of Eight: let the rascals have fun making or decorating their own pizzas
• Fish fingers/chicken ‘gold’ nuggets with little buckets of dip
• Hula hoop gold rings
• Cherry tomato cannonballs (warning: these may be launched at passing enemy ships…)
• Sandwiches cut into shark fins, palm trees
• Crossbones: bake a batch of sticky-glazed ribs in the oven (and provide PLENTY of kitchen paper)

And for the sweet snacks

• Orange segment ‘boats’ with pirate flags in. Or set jelly in hollow orange halves and slice into segments when set.
• Skewers of fruit and veg
• Chocolate coins
• Chocolate wafer scrolls
• A hollowed-out watermelon galleon filled with a fruit salad
• Buried treasure jellies: set little pirate tubs of jelly with fruit goodies or a chocolate coin at the bottom for kids to find

I hope this has given you some inspiration on foods to have at your little'uns pirate party! Be sure to check out more blogs giving you tips about this particular theme

Thankyou

Theme 2: The Pirate Party - Invitations

Carrying on from my recent blogs, I want to introduce my 
second theme which is distinctively different to the Fairy Party. This party theme is perfect for your child's party (mainly the boys!) , of course it can only be the Pirate Party.
From walking the plank, (not literally) to pinning the patch on the pirate, the children are sure to have a fun packed and unforgettable time- so get planning!

I am going to start from the beginning and my upcoming blogs will help you plan the perfect pirate party, but today I am going to talk you through the all important invitations. 


Pirate Invitation

1) My idea fits very well with the theme but also contains a rather fun element to it too- when I think of Pirates I often think of treasure and treasure maps which is I believe can be fitted in to the invitation.

2)To make the map, just use a blank marker to draw some white copy paper. Have some fun and keep it loose and graphic. Make a big island with jagged shores. 

3) Put a giant 'X' to mark the spot of the party whilst adding to it the address of where the party is going to be held. 

4) Make a bold, curving, dashed line for a path around the island and put several obstacles or landmarks along the way, each one giving a clue to the party ( time, date, whether its fancy dress or not, etc)

What to include in the invitation

• The Date
• The Venue
• The times of the party 
• Dress Code
• Theme ( You could introduce the party as  Pirates of the Carribean themed)
• RSVP

Similarly to my tips posted in the Fairy Invitations Post, I always think that adding a sentence that will go along with the theme adds a little fun to the invite! Some examples are below...

- You could use Pirate language such as 'Ahoy Mates' 

- 'aarrrrggghh you ready to have a good time mateys?'

- Call your guest lists 'ship mates'

To be more creative, how about some rhymes...

-'You are invited to an afternoon of fun, for this little pirate is turning one!'

-'Aidan is turning five years old!  And in his backyard there is a treasure I’m told, so on (June 14^th,) he wants you to come round…and no one can leave until the treasure is found.' 

I hope this has inspired you to start planning a Pirate party for your little'un- Check out my upcoming blogs that will give you some more tips on how to create a party for your child to remember. 

You can of course contact us, (Once Upon A Time Parties) if your feeling a little lazy- we are more than happy to come entertain your child bringing along this theme! 

Thank you 

The Fairy Party - Take Home Gift

After all the carefully worded invites, the tastefully decorated party venue, the (hopefully) tastier food and the entertainment itself there is just one more hurdle to cross - the take home gift!

Now it is very very easy to go to a local party or pound store and stock up on plastic yoyo's, toys and other 5 minute wonders, but why not finish off the party in style with some of my top fairy party take home gifts:

1) Pop to your local Claire's accessories and pick out some child friendly pretty pastel nail polishes for each of the children.  Add to this a homemade glitter dust vial and this is a fantastically fairy way to polish off the party!  (Tip: See my earlier blog post on how to make a glitter dust pouch!)

2) For a magical way to end the party, give each child some fairy wings and a wand to take home!

3) For a really personalised memory of the day, take a picture of each guest with the birthday child when they arrive at the party (or a big group one!) and get them developed whilst the party is taking place.  Put each one in a pink or sparkly photo frame and send them home with a lasting memory.

4) Another personalised present, as well as a great way to get the birthday child involved prior to the party, is to make homemade jewellery.

• You will need the following: ribbon or thread, beads with letters, colourful beads.
• Simply pierce the beads through the ribbon or thread to spell the name of each guest. Be sure to add pretty coloured and shaped beads and gems to the bracelet and tie a know at each end to secure the beads.  Ensure that there is enough ribbon / thread left over to tie the bracelet into a bow on the child's wrist.

5) Send home each child with a fairy book (Flower Fairies, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan etc). You can find many great deals on websites such as amazon, and the parents will be grateful that you are not sending them home with a bag of 'E' numbers but a good excuse for a lovely bed time story.

I hope you will find these take home gift ideas useful and I would love to hear some of your ideas to!

Please keep reading my blog as the next theme I am going to cover is Pirate and Mermaid Parties! 

Once Upon A Time Parties x

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The Fairy Party - Food

Being a bit of a foody myself, the party food is one of the best things to me about having a birthday party! But all to often it is just to easy to bulk buy crisps and sausage rolls from Tesco and call it a Birthday tea... But no more! Here are some fantastical fairy-like food ideas for your child's party.

Firstly work out where you are going to set up the party tea.  Opt for the traditional long tables and chairs and decorate these with fairy themed table cloths and bows. Or for something a little more exciting, set up a fairy woodland space and have a picnic / tea party sitting on toadstools or rugs and surrounded by trees (real ones or cardboard cut outs), fairy lights and streamers. If you are blessed with  good weather, try adding canopies and bows to trees to create a lovely backdrop to the fairy tea party.  

Now for the food... Personally when I think of a fairy tea party, I think of old fashioned English afternoon tea (think cucumber finger sandwiches and scones) mixed with a good handful of sparkles and magic (pink jelly, cupcakes with glitter and cute cakes).  Don't forget fairies love colour, so firstly I would make sure to add lots of vegetable crudites and a big fruit salad to add a splash of rainbow to the day.  

* Use cookie cutters to turn sandwiches, cookies and cakes into the shape of fairies, wings, butterflies and hearts

* Cut star shapes out of fruit and vegetables and put onto skewers to make fairy wands

* Sprinkle cupcakes with edible glitter

* Make a fruit punch bowl and float flower petals on the top

* Freeze orange, apple, cranberry and blackcurrant juice in an ice tray and add to the fruit punch to make floating jewels.

* Fill meringues with berries and a bit of cream for a different dessert idea

* Use a skewer and alternate ripe red strawberries with fluffy white marshmallows

* Make or buy mini quiches and vol-auvents, scones and savoury wraps

* Try adding jars filled with jelly sweets for a colourful and tasty table centrepiece

* Finally, use vintage looking tea cups, plates and pots to make a truly fairy like magical tea!

Try serving the food on layered cake stands and be sure to add ribbons and table decorations, flowers and streamers... Add edible glitter, cupcakes and teeny tiny sandwiches and you have got yourself a perfect party tea!

Recipe 2: Fruit Stick Ideas

Chocolate, sweets, ice and candy-floss ALL taste better on a stick (according to children anyway!) so why not choose fruit stick recipes to make with the children, either at a party or in my recipe take home gift book that I discussed a few blogs back!

Not only is fruit super healthy, the array of colours, shapes and sizes make fruit a kid friendly ingredient and there is no need to do any actual 'cooking'! I hope you will find joy in the recipes below:

Blingy Bananas

Ban boring bananas from the kitchen and instead jazz them up with some colourful sprinkles and all round yumminess...  Simply freeze some bananas on a lolly stick and then let the kids decorate them by rolling the frozen banana in their favourite chocolate sauce, sprinkles and nuts!  

Frozen Fruit Kebabs 

Fresh, sweet, juicy and refreshing... Get with the frozen fruit trend NOW! These frozen fruit kebabs are a proven hit with kids and so easy and healthy.

Use any fruit but a favourite of many is frozen grape and frozen berries.  Simply pierce fruit onto the skewer (cut the ends to make them child friendly and not to sharp) and freeze for a couple of hours - perfect for Summer days!

Chocoholic Fruity Treat

One sure way to get kids to eat more fruit is to add chocolate to the mix! Simply cut up an array of tasty fruit, add yummy chocolate sauce, a couple of skewers and get dipping! Children and adults alike will love this treat, and there won't be a single piece of fruit left over!

Brand New Website

Happy Saturday!

I am very excited as after many months of changes and designing, my brand new Once Upon A Time Parties website is up and running! Check out the link below:

http://www.onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk/

For any more information about the parties I do, email me at info@onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk.  We cover South West London and are running very special offers to our new customers at just £99 an hour.

Now enough self promoting, and I promise lots more tips to come, including some delicious fairy cupcake recipes next week!

Enjoy your weekend,

Love Once Upon A Time Parties x

Cheap Party Idea and Take Home Gift for Older Kid's

Wouldn't it be nice if children could stay at those magical ages of 5 and 6, where they are easily pleased by traditional parties and everything is exciting and new for them... But sadly they don't, so you  have to get more creative. Here is a party idea for slightly older children (7+) which should keep them well entertained and best of all, combines the entertainment AND the party food!

I am talking about a cooking party!

There seems to be a bit of a trend for baking and making at the moment, but for a fun party I would recommend keeping it simple - we are talking more decorating rather than flambéing!  Personally, I would opt for pizza and cupcakes, as both pizza bases and cupcake bases are easy to buy and would suit a tight budget.  

For the pizza you will need the following:

- Pizza bases

- Sprinkling cheese

- A large variety of vegetables

- Tomato pizza sauce

- Tuna

- Olives

- Different meats

- Onion

- Whatever else you can think of!

For the cupcakes you will need:

- Plain individual sponge cakes

- Frosting

- Edible glitter

- Sweets (dolly mix, jelly tots)

- Edible decorations - go to any baking section in a supermarket!

And then let the children create their own foodie masterpieces, encouraging them to add their favourite ingredients to the pizzas and cupcakes and challenging them to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible! 

While the pizza's are baking, you can play some party games with them, or send them on a scavenger hunt around the garden or your house (or both!), and then sit down to a lovely party tea.

A great idea for a take home gift that goes well with the cooking theme is a home-made recipe book.  Put together some yummy and simple recipes that children can make with their parents. Google or check out my next blog for some great ideas.  Get the birthday child to design the front page and then copy and print your pages and bind them, staple them take them to a copy shop to get them bound professionally.  

For some great recipe ideas to put in your cook book, check out my next few blogs!

For some great scavenger hunt ideas, keep reading my Once Upon A Time Parties Blog!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x