Pirate Day...Arrrrrr!

Summer holidays already and it's always a struggle to fit in full time work with two little boys and the other daily chores. Luckily, we have THE best grandparents on hand to help out. I try to get days off when I can - the thought of missing out on sunny days with our boys, makes me so sad so I work extra hard and long hours to get those precious days off.

On one of these days, I promised the boys a Pirate Day, so last week we did just that!

They chose the theme and I set out to fill the day with pirate-y puzzles, games, food and fun.
But first..we had to get into character!!

Yes...even me!! Oh dear....

The day started fairly overcast so it was the perfect time to make our 'jewel' biscuits (cookies with smarties that is)

Next it was time for the pirate treasure hunt. In the garden, I set out different sections..

Creepy Cabin - the wooden playhouse, complete with skeleton and ghosts made from old sheets

Whirlpool - the trampoline, covered in furry sea creatures

Pirate Ship - I painted a skull and crossbones flag, attached it to a broom with string and propped it up in an upturned plant pot. This is where the 'cannonball catch' took place

Smugglers Cove - the pop-up play tent filled with pirate books, blanket, pirate ship toys and hidden gemstones (bits of old jewellery)

Splat The Rat - I brought a couple of cardboard tubes home from the workshop, taped them together, then made two ship's rats out of grey school socks and added string for the tail and button eyes.

Walk The Plank - I balanced a plank of wood on sandcastle buckets over a small paddling pool and added starfish, shells and plastic sea creatures to the water

Shark-infested water - the bigger paddling pool was full of sock sharks - the old grey school socks came in very handy!

There were also stepping stones using the cushions from the garden chairs and a pirate puzzle chalkboard - I found an old A-frame being thrown away so I rescued it and painted it with blackboard paint..voila! Good as new.

The boys followed all the clues and finally found 2 golden keys which 'opened' their treasure chests...(not really..the treasure chests were made from old ice cream tubs but they were delighted all the same!)

The 'treasure' consisted of a medal, various silver and gold chocolate coins, other sweets and some moshi monsters!

We all had flipper dippers and waffle life rafts for lunch and watched pirate themed films before tea. We all had such a brilliant day and it was all done on a budget. Lots of these ideas you could adapt for a Pirate Party..with a little it of imagination, it's amazing what you can do!

Next time, we're going to be Cowboys...YEEHAW!!

Shifting seasons

September is here again and with it, my favourite season. I've always had such a love affair with Autumn..the colour, the smells, the brand-new-back-to-school feeling and of course, the excitement of Christmas! (oh ok, I know it's a bit premature but still. Christmas!!)

Tomorrow our gorgeous eldest son goes back to school in his final year at infant school...where has my baby boy gone? I  love September, it's a beautiful month, but these days my heart feels slightly sad walking up to the school gates and knowing that my little boy is growing up so quickly.

We have had THE most brilliant Summer though and the weather has been glorious for once! I've had to do a lot of hard work in the evenings and late nights to make sure I could have some time off with the boys but I am so grateful to have been able to share so many wonderful experiences with them. These Summer days have been so precious and we even managed a week's holiday to the seaside.

There have been lots of trips to the park, the cinema, playing in the paddling pools, baking, barbecues with friends and family, parties, treasure hunts, playing with our kitten Betty and friends round to play..and we've loved every minute!

Alfie has been keeping a record of his activities in a special album that he has been filling in with his Nanny & Grandad. He particularly enjoyed the 'make your own volcano' experiment in Nanny's garden but his biggest achievement this holiday has been learning to ride his bike. He was SO proud of himself! 

We took his stabilisers off some time ago but hasn't had much interest in trying to ride his bike since. Until one day this Summer when we suggested he have a go around the garden...suddenly he was determined to get this bike riding thing sorted!!

One sunny morning I took him off to the park and once he saw me riding around, he got on his bike, rode it down a small slope and he was off! Straight across the field with no stopping..he did it!

So tomorrow, it's back to school and nursery runs, packed lunches, hectic mornings and homework but we've packed so much into the Summer holidays, I think that happy feeling will last right up to Christmas!