Tag: Pirate Food

Best Picnic Ever

Pirate GavinThe Pirates found Gold, Well, Golden Cookies.

The idea of having a Pirate Picnic came to me last week.  I’m a planner, so the idea of pulling the Pirate Picnic Plan together in a matter of a couple of days was a bit scary.  I usually start planning for my children’s birthday parties months in advance!  I love to go over the top with my ideas.  Focusing on the little details, making lots of things for décor and gifts for the party attendees is part of the fun for me.  For this picnic/ mini party, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go all out with décor and that bothered me a bit.  I could visualize how beautiful a treasure chest would look filled with jewels overflowing out of it, a hand-made pirate banner hanging from the table and a giant Pirate Flag just had to be flying at the “treasure” location.  Yep, I had an entire buffet in my mind, but I had to hold back.  Instead I focused on designing a day of adventure for my children, that I believe all moms or dads can do with their children with very little planning involved.   In the end what made this picnic our best picnic ever was that I didn’t plan for months and my son is still talking about how much fun he had and asking to do it again!

Today I’d like to take you on our adventure with us by showing you some photos of our special day.

Pirate Picnic InviteGavin and Victoria woke in the morning to find their Pirate Picnic Invite.  This invite explained to them that they needed to find the Pirate Picnic Treasure Map.  To do this, they had to complete six tasks.  After completing each task they would receive a clue.  Once they collected all six clues they would be able to guess the map’s whereabouts.

Hanging CluesWhile the kids were asleep the night before, I put a clue at each of the six locations where a task would take place.  For example, this clue, which is a picture of a house, was on the knob of Gavin’s sock drawer.  One of his tasks was to get dressed and pick up his clothing. All the tasks were things that the kids normally did, but sometimes with an objection.

DSC_1969Finding the first clueBefore that day, Gavin had never completed his school prep work with a smile on his face!  I truly enjoyed this part of the morning.  He couldn’t wait to do his tasks.  Once he was done with his school work, he found his first clue.  I love how this photo catches that moment.

 collected all the clues

Once the clues were all gathered, Gavin guessed that the Pirate Picnic map was at Grandma and Papa’s house.  He was right.

Pirates

Sporting Pirate hats printed from Disney Junior’s website, Gavin now had the Pirate Picnic Map in hand and Victoria was equip with her sword to fight anything that got in their way.  The Treasure Hunt was on!

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on the hunt

Victoria spots the picnic first

Victoria spotted the treasure first!

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Here’s an overview of the Pirates’ Feast.  It’s menu was simple, as I mentioned in a previous post, but there was plenty for two small children and still a bunch of extra grapes, carrots and cookie snacks for the adults to eat.

Pirate Picnic  My mom, so lovingly, put everything out for me before we arrived that afternoon.  Thank you Mom!

Here lies the treasure we left behind… Remaining treasure

If you are planning on having a picnic lunch with your children this summer, turn it into a picnic they won’t soon forget.  Have a Pirate Picnic!

map with sword

Pirate Picnic Party Supplies

Golden Cookies

Gold Doubloon Cookies, Check.  Captain Hook Cupcakes, Check….

I’m just about ready for tomorrow’s Pirate Picnic!  It’s going to be a big surprise for Gavin and Victoria when they wake to find their special Pirate Picnic Invite.  I can hardly wait!  I thought I’d share some of the items that I’ve prepared for the day.  They are really simple things that you could do to theme your children’s picnic lunch too.

The Treasure MapPicnic treasure map

Above is the portion of the picnic treasure map that I very easily and quickly made using Publisher.  I simply searched Publisher’s clip art file for images of the main features of  my parent’s back yard.  Obviously these images are not exact replicas of what my six-year-old sees at his Grandparents house, but he will understand the map very easily as the clip art images are recognizable.  Then I printed the map on regular printer paper and glued the 8.5″ x 11″ map to a piece of oversized construction paper.  I used two Pirate stampers to create a fun border around the map.  Rolled it up, put some red ribbon around it and it’s ready to go.  I’ll be using the same clip art images as the “clues” that Gavin and Victoria will find as they complete the steps listed on their invitation.  After finding six images, Gavin will have to guess as to where the Treasure Map is located.  Once he sees the garden or the pool image, I’m certain he will know that the map is at Grandma and Papa’s house.

Pirate Party SuppliesThe Treasure Map and Pirate Flag Straws are packed and ready for the picnic, now on to the Feast!

The Pirates’ Feast will include:

  • Fish Sandwiches (Peanut Butter sandwiches cut into the shape of a fish using a cookie cutter)
  • Canon Balls ( Red Grapes)
  • Pirate Swords (carrot sticks)
  • Gold Doubloons (sugar cookies sprinkled with bright yellow sugar)
  • Captain Hook’s Cupcakes (Check out Monday’s post to find out how to make these cupcakes.)
  • White Skim Milk with Pirate Flag straws

Can’t wait to share tomorrow’s photos with you all!