The Pirate Party - Fun Craft Ideas!

If you are hosting a Pirate Party for your little ones big day, a great activity to keep the guests entertained is crafts!  Not only does it let everyone get involved, children of all ages, boys and girls, get to take home something they are proud of, and add a competition for the 'most sparkling treasure chest', or for the 'ugliest pirate mask' are fun and light hearted.  Read on for some fab ideas:

Homemade Treasure Chest

• You will need: paint, craft glue, egg cartons, beads, sequins, coloured feathers, novelty jewellery,  gold chocolate coins
• Give each child an egg carton and tell them to paint their pirate treasure chest! You could try doing this at the beginning of the party while guests are still arriving as an ice breaker, and to allow time for the cartons to dry while you run other activities.
• After the egg cartons are dry, tell the children to decorate and fill up their treasure chest! Stick gold coins, novelty necklaces and rings, feathers, sequins and sparkles to make it as tantalising as possible!
• Put the finished treasure chests on display for the children to proudly show off their creativity!

Pirate Mask 

• You will need: paper plates, craft paint, stick on goggley eyes, felt tip pens, material for a bandana, craft glue, stick on eyebrows, glitter pens, sequins, thick cardboard cut into rectangles (to make into handles)
• Give each child a paper plate and tell them they are going to make a pirate face! They can opt for ugly, scary, funny, silly or even a pretty pirate and they can use the items supplied.  This will keep them well amused but parents will have to be on stand by to help with the tricky bits such as sticking on material bandanas and cutting things out.
• Once all the children have finished their masks, award the best (or worst!) ones with a prize!
• Get the children all together to take some hilarious snaps of them holding their masks in front of their faces.

** If you are planning a Pirate Party for your child's next Birthday Party and live in London, Hampshire or Surrey, contact www.onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk and we will do are best to get one of our Pirate friends to sail to your venue and teach some new Pirates how to have fun!!

info@onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk

Or call Emma on 07969 841770

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 :)

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