Fun Pirate Projects

Ahoy Matey! Take a leap into the swashbuckling world of pirates as we show you simple pirate projects you can do at home with your little ones. Not only will you jazz up your pirate party, we guarantee you and the kids heaps of fun!

Project 1: Pirate hat
Project 2: Eye patch
Project 3: Money bags with silver coins
Project 4: Shiny cutlass and hook

We will start with making a pirate hat. No pirate party is complete without dressing up your little buccaneers. To look the part, wear a red & white striped t-shirt with your hat :-)

Project 1: Pirate Hat

1. Fold a large piece of black paper in half. Crease the fold well. Turn the paper so that the fold is at the top


2. Bend the paper over so that the short edges meet. Gently squeeze the middle to make a mark, then open it out again


3. Fold the top left hand corner down into the middle, then crease it flat. Then fold down the top right hand corner too


4. Fold up the top layer of the bottom of the hat. Then turn the hat over and fold the other layer in the same way


5. Cut a circle from white paper and draw a skull & crossed bones on it. The glue the circle onto the hat

How to make a pirate cake (video)

How to make a pirate cake

How to make a castle cake (video)

How to make a castle cake

How to make jungle animal cupcakes (video)

How to make jungle animal cupcakes

Make your own Lion Pinata

Having a pinata brightens up your party - not only does it add to the theme decoration, it is also a hit with children. We wanted a pinata for baby H's jungle party and decided to make one ourselves. It looks way harder than it really is but everyone can do it, even if you don't have crafty fingers.

What you need:

• Balloon
• Tapioca flour to make glue
• Newspaper or magazines
• Cardboard or used carton box
• Orange and brown crepe paper
• Double-sided tape
• Paint
• Ribbons

Instructions:
1. Making the lion head

• Dissolve little tapioca floor in water and stir the mixture over low heat to form a glue paste
• Inflate the balloon and prop it up using a container / bowl
• Tear newspaper or magazines into 1 - 1.5 inch strips
• Smear glue onto newspaper strips and paste them on the balloon. Cover the whole balloon except for a tiny opening at the bottom. Make sure you overlap the strips, and have enough layers to form a strong shell (2 layers at a time to allow ease of drying, 6-8 layers minimum)
• Once the paper mache lion head's complete, allow it to dry completely
• Use a piece of cardboard or old carton box to draw on a pair of ears for the lion (you can draw a circle and cut it in half). Cut them out and stick them on the lion head using double sided tape

2. Decorating the lion head

• Paint the lion head and ears orange
• Cut the orange crepe paper into squares, and stick them onto the lion head and ears, covering every part
• Next, cut the brown crepe paper into 1 inch wide strips. Fold each strips by looping them (like making a fan) and staple the ends together to hold the loops. Use double sided tape to stick them on the lion head to form its mane
• Finally, draw a set of eyes and mouth on the cardboard, cut them out and stick them onto the lion's face using double sided tape

3. Making the hanger and latch

• Prick a hole at the top of the lion head, string a piece of ribbon or yarn through the hole and knot it to form the hanger
• Using the cardboard, draw a circle (the same size as the opening at the bottom of your pinata), and four rectangles touching the side of the circle (top, bottom, left and right). This will form the latch for your pinata.
• Cut out the latch, paint it orange, and stick on the remaining orange crepe paper squares
• Make a hole in the middle of the latch, string the ribbons through the hole and make a knot to secure the ribbons
• To cover the pinata, fold the rectangles inwards and push the latch through the hole. You can use masking tape or cellophane tape to secure the latch if required

Fill your pinata with candies and little goodies and let the fun begin! We thought it would be rather nasty to have the kids bash up the lion, hence the pull string pinata. As most of the kids are rather young, we let them pull the pinata together. But you can always make it into a game. Some people make multiple holes on the latch for the ribbons. Most are loosely stringed except for 1-2, which are knotted. Each child gets a turn to pull a ribbon, the lucky child wins and shares the goodies with his friends :-)

Party Games for Toddlers

Toddlers are happy just to play alongside one another. Don't worry about them getting bored. In fact, they aren't quite ready for organised games, and you'll be surprised how much fun they can have just by running around with their little friends.

Play dough
We had a good mix of kids for baby han's birthday. Aunty Leanne made these candy coloured 'Rainbow Dough' for the little ones to play with. Play dough is a hit with kids of all ages and suits just about any party theme. We gave the kids animal shaped cookie cutters for baby han's jungle party. But you can use anything you have in the kitchen for the kids to use as 'tools'. If you are doing a princess or fairy party, add glitter to the play dough and the little girls will be thrilled!

Bubbles
All kids love bubbles. Provide plenty of these and your party will be a hit!

Water play
Water play is another hit with young children. Put out an inflatable pool with your kid's bath toys, water balloons and all kinds of bottles or containers (big and small) and allow the kids to play freely. Just remember that adult supervision is required when there is water play. Try to set the pool out on the grass so that the kids are less likely to slip and fall. And even if they do, the soft grass patch will cushion the fall. And don't forget to ask parents to bring an extra set of clothes for their kids.

Music & Movement
Gather the kids into a circle, play your child's favourite CD (preferably songs with actions), and lead them with actions and movements! Songs like 'Hokey Pokey' or 'We're going on a bear hunt' are perfect for kids. Hear them laugh and giggle as they move & groove to the music!

DIY Favour Bags

Plastic loot bags just aren't our cup of tea. For baby H's first birthday, we made these cute little favour bags out of brown luncheon bags (you can get them in most convenient stores). All you need are:

• A hole puncher



• Yarn, strings or ribbons



• Animal pictures (we cut them out from an animal gift wrap)



• Glue

Fold the top of the luncheon bag in and punch holes for the handles. Tie the handles on, and glue on the picture. Ta-da! You now have a cute little favour bag that not only matches the jungle theme but is also environmentally friendly :-)
This is what we gave out to our little guests - a little stuff jungle animal in our little DIY favour bag.

How to make Jungle Animal Cupcakes

I came across this recipe while looking for inspiration for baby H's jungle party. The cupcakes are just too cute for words.

Recipe:
Prepare Frostings

• In small bowl, mix 1/2 cup chocolate frosting with black food coloring to make black frosting. Place in resealable food-storage plastic freezer bag; cut small tip off 1 bottom corner of bag. You will use black frosting to decorate lions, tigers, monkeys and zebras.
• For Lion and Tiger Cupcakes: In medium bowl, mix 1 cup vanilla frosting with enough yellow and red food colors to make orange. In small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon orange frosting with 3 tablespoons white vanilla frosting to make lighter orange for muzzles.
• For Monkey Cupcakes: In small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon chocolate frosting and 2 tablespoons vanilla frosting to make light brown.

Decorating the Animal Cupcakes

• Frost 12 cupcakes with darker orange frosting. For muzzle, spread or pipe small circle of lighter orange frosting on each cupcake.
• Lion Cupcakes: Place caramel corn around edges of cupcakes for mane. For eyes, add brown candy-coated chocolates. For whiskers, break about 1/2-inch pieces off each end of pretzel sticks and insert in cupcakes. For ears, add cereal pieces. Using black frosting, pipe on mouth and nose.
• Tiger Cupcakes: Use black frosting to pipe on stripes , nose and mouth. For eyes, add brown baking bits. For ears, add gumdrop halves.
• Monkey Cupcakes: Frost 6 cupcakes with chocolate frosting. For muzzle, spread or pipe circle of light brown on each cupcake that starts in middle and extends to edge; pipe small tuft of hair on opposite edge. For each eye, attach brown baking bit to marshmallow half with frosting; place on cupcakes. With black frosting, pipe on nose and mouth. For the monkey's ears, add mints.
• Zebra Cupcakes: Cut small horizontal slit in top of 6 cupcakes near edge of paper cup. Insert edge of vanilla wafer cookie into each slit to create elongated face, adding small amount of vanilla frosting to cookie before inserting to help stick. Frost cupcakes with vanilla frosting. For muzzles, frost cookies with black frosting. With black frosting, pipe on stripes and mane. Add brown baking bits for nostrils and eyes. For the zebra's ears, add black gumdrop halves, cut sides down.

This was our attempt (or should I say Grandma's attempt)... hehe... and they turned out great! Not bad for a first timer eh?