Pirates & Mermaids Party -4yr- Octopus Cupcakes

I asked my sister what she wanted for her party and she said a mermaid-Unicorn party, but I just couldn't do that with my budget ($100 New Zealand) so we talked her into just a mermaid pirate party.

For the INVITATIONS - I drew a picture that had a large, pink oyster in the middle with a green tailed mermaid sitting inside the oyster(I intentionally did unrealistic sizes)hugging a pearl to her left (your right) there was a purple tailed mermaid riding a pink sea horse, and on top of the oyster was an orange mermaid doing backstroke, on the left side of the invitation was a pirate ship with two pirates having a sword fight -  there was also a jelly fish, seaweed, and a few other fish. On the bottom right hand corner was a treasure chest (under the water) I made several copies and on the other side I printed a blue oval with two fish and seaweed off the computer, which I did on paint with text.  You are invited to _____s underwater birthday party, Please come dressed as a mermaid or a pirate, we will have a splashing time on Saturday the 24th of September 2pm-4pm at ______ phone _______

DECORATIONS - I brought some light blue colored tissue paper that was about $1 per packet and I bought 2 packets, I cut one up and used it for streamers, which I hung around the walls of the room. I also hung ballons on the walls and I drew pictures of fish, pirates, mermaids, mermen, starfish, treasure chests, gold and silver coins, and seaweed. I cut these out and stuck them on the wall with blue tack (sticky stuff). I made a special backing sheet for our fish tank and put the tank on a table. The walls in that room are wooden boards and the floor is blue carpet. That is our living room and it has two doors that open to the deck. Just off our deck Dad put up a blue gazebo (small tent without sides) and we moved the table into that - we also put a few streamers over the doorway. As the guests arrived my sister opened her presents.

GAMES - when most people were here we played pass the parcel - the prize was a little fishing game I bought for two dollars. We put a lolly in between each layer after pass the parcle. I explained that mermaids can't walk so they have to jump. We had a sack race outside - it was a relay with four in each team. The members of the winning team got a page from a small sticker book I got cheap - I think around $2.  After the sack race I went and got the pinata. We just sat it on the ground and the kids hit it with a stick while blind-folded. I made the pinata by covering most of a balloon with paper mache and painting it gray. I popped the balloon and made the bottom of the rock flat with a paper plate (actually I used the lid to a disposable container) when the paint was dry I covered it with small strips of green tissue paper - It looked like seaweed. After the pinata we had afternoon tea.

PARTY SNACKS: I made some cupcakes. I made butter cream icing with butter and icing sugar. I colored some of my cupcakes blue and some brown. On the blue ones I piped eight legs with pink water icing and put a large size jaffa (lolly) in the middle of the legs and piped a black face on for an octopus. On the brown (chocolate) ones I piped black dots for a pirate map and a pink x at the end. (note that this made the pink look red) I also made some fish shaped biscuits and iced some purple and some blue.(I had some purple and blue fish in decoration) I also did some pink jelly fish biscuits and some round ones that looked like oysters. 

I also made jelly in clear cups with one layer of green, a chocolate and marshmallow fish in the middle and a layer of purple jelly - I scooped Ice cream on top before I took them outside. Dad made some little pies with some leftover pastry and some sushi (no not the flash sushi that looks like animals or fish just average looking sushi - also there was some prawn nigiri and some with seaweed salad that looked kind of cool) I also had cocktail sausage, which I cut into octopuses - I left some usual in case of fussy children. Our guests hadn't seen this before. Many of our guests brought food as well.

After a while we brought out the CAKE:  I made a madeira cake and colored it with un colored butter cream. I made a large muffin from the same recipe as the cake so I put that on top. I covered that in butter cream too. I had cut a small slice out for the doll to sit on. I covered the muffin in blobs of green icing to make it look like seaweed I sprinkled some jelly Crystal over the cake - dripped  food coloring around the rim and pinched it up to look like waves I spread a little very pale blue in front of the muffin with a teaspoon on the side of the cake. I put a little blue going up it was supposed to look like water but ended up being seaweed. Around the side. I put colorful gummy clown fish lollies on top of the cake -  a little mermaid doll I got for $2.50 sat on the chipped muffin. Beside her I put little gummy crocodiles and penguins (which the kids loved).

GAMES CONTINIUED: after the food we played pin the tail on the mermaid  I had my little sister (the birthday girl) lay on a sheet of paper and I drew around her, then I had painted it and made a tail to pin onto the poster with blue tack  I blind folded the kids who wanted to play with the eye (two eye) patch and marked where they put the tail with a pen - everyone got a chocolate coin but the winner got two.

ACTIVITIES:  last we all did a treasure hunt. I led the kids to where I had hidden the treasure by saying "10 giant steps" or "15 steps with feet in front of each other like your walking the plank" at the place where our dogs were tied up. We had to sneak past the dogs, then we had to climb up the steep bit towards the glasshouse where we used to store stuff in, as well as for growing plants. At the end of the trail we got to our paddling pool, which I had filled with the remaining blue tissue paper, cut up sparkly confetti, and some ripped white paper. The kids dug in it and through the confetti up in the air like the ocean spray at the bottom of the pool. I had hidden some little rubber duckies, pirate mazes, and plastic gold coins. There was a little confusion on which ones were edible, but it was ok.

COSTUMES I found a long skirt at a second hand shop, which I wore with a swimming top. I made the birthday girl a pink skirt with sparkely scaly tail fins. I did the same thing for our sister, who will be 5 in a few months, but hers was orange and bigger. Mum wore a striped top and jeans and I lent her my spotted bandana. Dad cut his pants at the bottom because they were old. Our brother went in his normal clothes.

FAVORS I bought some pirate party bags and put in each one a shell or smooth stone from the beach (and some I did in a rock tumbler) a balloon and a lolly. I also had some extra pirate and princess balloons for whoever wanted them - parents were welcomed to stay and have a coffee. It was fun!"