Top 5 Pirate Cakes

So, I'm hoping you have all read through my blog that revealed my top 5 fairy cakes! Today, I am going to share you with my top 5 Pirate Cakes- involving any thing from a huge showstopper or just miniature cupcakes, I want these cakes to give you some inspiration when planning your child's big day, or if you like the look of any of these cakes but your feeling a little lazy, you can contact Once Upon A Time parties to bring you along something similar. 

At number 5 we have this 'Arrrrrr'mazing Layered Cake

                                

To make this cake you need a little skill but why not give something similar a go. Decorating the cake is always the fun part so once you've baked the cake and put on the icing, try some pirate patterns such as the skull and crossbones. Like the decorations on this cake, the red and black balls reflect jewellery/treasure from a treasure chest- Try it!

Number 4

     This cake clearly represents the theme of the party! However it is very difficult to replicate- However once you've baked the cake and done the king, you simply need to cut out hard icing of different colours and make the pirate face! Along with that you want to add dots of icing for the stubble and of course chocolate gold coins to finish this masterpiece off.

Your little one would be more than happy to show this off to all of their friends.

Number 3- Cupcakes!

Cupcakes are a winner, this is because they are easy to just hand out to everyone! Theres no need of cutting through a magnificent looking cake that you don't want to ruin. Whats better than making individual showstoppers that look the part and taste delicious? Once baked, decorate with them with pirate themed toppings such as an anchor, a treasure chest, a pirate of skull and crossbones. These are very fun to look at and the children will absolutely love them.

Number 2- Wow!

Yes, this is a treasure Chest made out of ACTUAL chocolate. 

Filled with golden coins and other sweet treats, this looks incredible to eat! I'm not entirely sure how you would eat the actual chocolate chest covered in golden icing, but it is very impressive.

If you don't want to have a go at actually creating a chocolate chest, then simply buy or use an old box, and fill it with golden coins and anything else including chocolate dust to resemble sand.

At number 1 I had to give to give it to this pirate ship made out of chocolate. The detail given to this cake as well as the amount of work given to make the actual ship is amazing.

To add to the detail create an edible flag, however don't let the children eat the plastic pirates or the canyon. 

If you don't' feel like you could recreate this, try and make a smaller pirate ship cake and if it goes well, eventually make it bigger and bigger until you are happy!

I hope you take some inspiration from my top 5 pirate cakes- they may look difficult to make, but give it a go! Remember, you can always contact me and we can organise one to come to your little one's party.

Thankyou

                                                                                                                             

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

The Pirate Party - Decoration Ideas!

One of the most fun parts of a Kid's Birthday Party is decorating the venue to match the theme! Now is not the time for subtlety and a Pirate theme is one of the best for decorating! Think underwater, think pirate flags and of course, pirate ship!

A simple way to transform the venue to a Pirate wonderland is to hang blue and silver steamers from the ceiling of the room and to drape blue ribbon or crepe paper along the ceiling to make the waves of the sea.  Try hanging blue balloons from the ceiling and even some cut out and painted fish, octopus and other underwater creatures! Getting the children involved will make the party even more special to them and they will be sure to enjoy painting fish and hanging them up!

Next, hang skull and cross bone flags on the walls - you can pick these up from any good fancy dress or party store - to bring the theme to life!

At the main table, cover it in a green table cloth and a fun idea is to fill a treasure chest with sweets and other goodies and make this the centrepiece.  Place chocolate coins on the table and around the table, think about adding some cut out palm trees to make this area into 'land'.

Try adding nets to the table and make sure to use pirate bunting and lots of stripes to decorate in a pirate style!!

I hope that this gives you a few ideas to get started with the Pirate theme! Keep on reading for lots more ideas on decorations, cakes, food, games, crafts and take home gifts in the Pirate theme!!

Don't forget - if you are planning a child's party please contact us at Once Upon A Time Parties for entertainers and party planning services...

www.onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk

Thanks for reading :)

Glittery Take Home Gift

A child's Birthday Party is never complete without a take home gift or party bag and is something that finishes the party off wonderfully and can be a lovely reminder of the party.

However, all to often these party bags are full of expensive tat that serve as a 5 minute wonder to the children and an extra expense to the mum and dad.  A lovely idea which is particularly effective at fairy and princess party themes is take home fairy dust.

All you need for this is: 

• Vials with a lid, jar or a drawstring bag (small sizes - think Tinkerbell sized!)
• Different coloured glitters. Craft stores will stock these in abundance and they are cheap!
• Sequins
• Dried flowers
• Ribbon
• Labels or tags

Step one: Fill the vial with different coloured glitters, sequins and dried flowers such as little roses.

Step two: After putting the lid on securely, tie a ribbon around the neck of the vial. Again, craft shops will stock pretty ribbons of all colours.

Step 3: Put a label, or cut out some fancy shaped tags using card and write the party and the name of the child who will take home this particular gift.

Et voilà! A simple, cheap but pretty and sweet take home gift.

Another idea that works really well with slightly older children (6+\) is to set out a fairy dust making station at the beginning of the party and get them to fill their own vial with glitters and sequins, much like a coloured sand activity.  To get the glitter into the vial with the least amount of mess, use a long thin spoon (latte) and put the different coloured glitters into separate containers.

                                    

Rules to Planning a Fabulous Children's Party

So you have decided to be brave and run the party yourself - congratulations! But before you get carried away and finding yourself running to the nearest party store to stock up on face paint, glitter, fairy wings and sparkly trinkets, ask your child what THEY want.  More often than not, you'll be surprised at the theme or activities they suggest.

Take my friend Sam for example, who decided he knew what was best in terms of pleasing his 5 year old daughter Daisy and her friends instead of listening to Daisy's pleas of playing teachers and having a school themed party (strange, I know!) and instead opted to book a puppet show for the group of youngsters.  On arrival Daisy desperately tried to take a 'registrar' while the puppet show was overshadowed by the cries of frightened children confronted with those creepy dolls and the Birthday Girl trying to 'teach' them a lesson by locking them in the bathroom until they had done their homework.  But fear not as this kind of disaster is an exception if you follow these rules:

Rule Number 1:  Plan ahead with the birthday child

Firstly, sit down with the Birthday Child and find out what he or she wants.  As a general rule, children up to the age of 8 are happy with traditional parties and games where as the older they get, the more niche they become.  

Not only will the Birthday Child be super excited about their upcoming party, they will very important to have picked the theme and activities.

That is another thing: theme. Pick one and stick to it relentlessly. Common themes are fairy and princess parties, pirate, football, and super hero themes. 

Rule Number 2: Get organised with the help of a check-list

I LOVE lists. Actually, more accurately I LOVE ticking things off my list, even though it does seems like I tick off one action and two more crop up... regardless I hope this check-list helps:

• Date. 
• Ideally it is best to arrange the party on the day of the child's Birthday or the weekend before or after.  If the child's birthday falls in school holidays there is a good chance that some of the children will be away, so make sure you plan it on a day where the best friends can make it.
• Length
• Decide on the length for the party as well as thinking about the general structure.  Two hours is a great length, and works well when the first hour is taken up by party games, followed by a birthday tea and for the remaining half an hour arranging crafts and colouring in competitions.
• Start and finish time
• Location
• Guest List
• Invitations (stick to the theme)
• Essential supplies 
• Tablewear - plates, cutlery, cups, serviettes, table decorations, table covers
• Party banners, balloons, birthday candles, music, music player, party bags, prizes, sweets
• Party games such as pass the parcel, treasure hunts, piñata, pin the tail, craft game
• Food and drink
• As a rule I tend to find less is more.  Children don't tend to eat a huge amount at parties so stick with a few varieties of sandwiches, crisps, chopped vegetables, sausage rolls, cheese sticks and some sweets such as party rings, cupcakes and fruit.
• AVOID fizzy drinks! Opt for water and squash.
• Games
• This is probably the most daunting part of the party for the majority of mums and dads.  After working out the structure of the party, plan 4 - 5 games.  An ice breaker game at the beginning to warm everyone up is a great idea, followed by musical games (bump, statues), a treasure hunt, pass the parcel, and my personal favourite - sleeping lions! Try and match the games to the theme and use role play to really get the children involved and enjoying the party.
• Birthday Cake 
• Volunteers - get all the adult help you can get! You cannot be in ten places at once so don't be shy asking for a hand throughout the party.
• Thank you notes

Rule Number 3: Relax and Enjoy the Day

Make sure you have your camera ready, your nerves steady and a well earned bottle glass of wine!

TIP: At the beginning of the party, thank the parents for the present and swiftly take it out of sight. You do not want a pile of presents becoming a huge distraction throughout the party!

Thank you for reading and stay posted as I am going to be sharing a lot more tips about games, themes, cheap party ideas and venues.

Emma x