Pirate Birthday Party Ideas

With a little patience and time, you can make this cake at home. Here is what you will need:

2 or 3 cake mixes and the ingredients as per each box, 2 or 3 containers of chocolate icing, 6 large marshmallows, 5 wooden skewers, 1 bag of chocolate chips, Pirouline wafer roll cookies (or something similar), parchment paper, paper, and some pirate-themed figures.

Bake 2 or 3 cakes (3 for a taller ship), as per their directions, each in their own 9x13 pan. When they are sufficiently cool, cut the tops gently off, to ensure that they are flat on the top and not rounded, like they are when they come out of the oven. Stack the cakes on top of each other with layers of icing in between. Then you will cut the bow and stern of the ship, starting at the top of the cake, and angle it down and round it towards the inside of the boat, so that the bow is protruding a bit. Do the same with the stern of the ship. Then you can start icing the cake. If you are having troubles icing the cake because it keeps getting crumbs, give it a thin coat of icing every where, then put it in the fridge for about 30 min. This will allow the icing to harden a bit, allowing you to put another final layer of icing on without the crumbs getting caught in the final layer.

While the cake is in the fridge, or ahead of time, you can prepare the anchor and marshmallows. In a glass dish, melt about half a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave, on high for about 45 seconds. Stir, and if not completely melted put them back in for increments of about 20 seconds until they are melted when stirred. Do not overheat. Lay out some parchment paper, then either dip the marshmallows in the melted chocolate and set them on the parchment paper, or take a knife and "ice" them as you would a cake, whichever is easier for you. Set them aside. In order to make your pirate figures stand up more easily on the cake, you may wish to make a little "puddle" of melted chocolate on the parchment paper, and stand each figure in its own little "puddle" of chocolate, thus proving a stand for them. Let them harden. On a piece of paper, either draw or print off a picture of an anchor, the appropriate size for your ship. Place the drawing under another piece of parchment paper, this will be your guide for making a chocolate anchor, with chains. With your melted chocolate, pour or spoon it into either a piping bag or a plastic baggie. Make sure it isn't too hot, it is better when it is not really hot and runny. Angle it into a corner of the baggie, and when it has cooled enough to not be runny, cut off just the small tip of the baggie's corner and "trace" the anchor onto the parchment paper. This may take one or two attempts. Set aside and let it cool and harden.

For the skull and cross bones on the sail, you will either have to find and print off a picture, or use your own artistic ability. With the skull and cross bones in the middle, cut out a triangle, then cut the top off the triangle, to end up with a shape for the sails, as in the photo. You will need to make 3 small sails, 3 medium ones and 3 large ones. Remember to push them onto the skewers and allow them to billow out as if they were full of wind. Sizing them will be a matter of eyeing them according to how long your skewers are.

Now you can start to decorate the cake. Add the Pirouline wafer roll cookies around the edge of the ship's deck. Place the skewers with the sails into the cake. Make sure that at least two inches of the skewers go into the cake for support. Add the pirate figures, cannons etc. Then you will need to place a skewer into each marshmallow, at least half way in, allowing about 2 inches of the skewer to be sticking out, as you will then use the portion of the skewer to stick the marshmallows onto the side of the ship. When the anchor is hardened, you can rest it up against the cake.

Enjoy !

No pirate themed party would be complete without a treasure hunt! You could draw up a map of your property, then give it an aged look by either dipping it in tea, or very carefully holding it over a flame and allow areas of the map to get browned. On this map, you place an X at the spot where the first clue is to be found. Each clue could rhyme and lead to another clue. For example "One, two, find my shoe. My blue shoe will hold the next clue". The final clue might lead to a pirate pinata, or a treasure box filled with gold coins, necklaces, eye patches and any other goodies your guests might enjoy. These items could be loose in the treasure box, or you could put each child's goody bag in here, as a finale to the party.

Supplies:
large plastic sheet
2-3 cans of shaving cream
blind fold

Instructions:
Lay out the plastic sheet, and define the "plank" by creating shaving cream edges, between which the kids will walk. Blindfold the children one at a time, sping them around and then have them "walk the plank". Who can walk the furthest without stepping in the shaving cream?

Peg Leg Race (3 legged race)
Divide up the children into two teams, and have each child find a mate. Use bandanas to tie the children's legs together and have them race the other team, while their legs are bound together.

Pop the Cannonball
Each child will be given a black cannonball (balloon) that is blown up to about 6 inches in diameter. The balloon will be tied to each child's ankle by a piece of yarn about 3 feet long. Divide the children into two teams, marked by either different colored yarn, or a different colored bandanas around their ankles. When you say go, the children will have to try to pop the cannonballs of the opposing team. The first team to pop all of their opposing teams cannonballs wins!

Pass the Skull to Open Presents
It seems that when it is time to open presents everyone crowds around the birthday child and keeps trying to give their present to the child. Here is a fun and fair way to open the presents. Find a foam skull, or other pirate related item that the kids can pass around in a circle. Have the children sit in a circle, with their presents behind them. Start your pirate music and have them start passing the skull around the circle. Have an adult stop the music, and whoever is holding the skull when the music stops, gets to give their present to the birthday child. Once that present has been opened, start the music again, and continue this until all presents have been opened.