And just like that we have another 4 year old in the house! We celebrated Judah’s 4th birthday with a pirate party based on one of his favourite books, ‘Pirates Love Underpants’. We kept it simple by inviting five friends from school (plus a few siblings), doing a quick obstacle course and treasure hunt in the sandpit, having some soft play fun and making party packs that were the kids’ snacks for the morning. 

I’ve never felt less stressed about a party, it almost didn’t feel right. I left everything to the day before and it was so manageable – I bought chocolate coins from Clicks, bought the party food from Pick n Pay, party pack boxes from King Cake and the small decor and dress up items from Osmans. I had planned my trip and my shopping list and so it really didn’t take long. It also helped that I didn’t prep a whole food table for the kids, I just had to pack their party packs and the kids were more than happy to assist with this. I included a packet of chips, a box juice, an apple, a fizzer, two ‘fancy’ marshmallows (they were cream soda flavoured) and a few sweets. Simple, no fuss. The adults didn’t have to eat fizzers though, they got some decent coffee and adult snacks – I roped my mom in to help with this.

Softly Does It arranged the soft play and mats for us which added some real colour and fun to our drought-stricken garden. The mats went a long way in covering up our sandy grass patches and the soft play blocks and pieces provided endless entertainment and made a party in our small townhouse garden a possibility.

Scroll down for some more pics from the party:

Let’s talk about birthday cakes. I’ve learnt that you should add the word ‘easy’ into your Pinterest search when looking for themed cake inspiration and this treasure chest pirate cake was a real winner. This home-baked attempt was made possible by Ina Paarman’s vanila box cake, some coffee chocolate icing, lots of Kit Kats and some gold coins from Clicks. The glittery red candles were from good old Osmans for R8 and the pirate figurine was R10 from Osmans.

So there you have it, another birthday party in the bag. Judah has already started talking about his next birthday and has decided he wants it to be a Black Panther party, so watch this space!

Thanks again to Softly Does It for the soft play fun. Keep an eye on their Facebook page as they regularly advertise specials and offer budget packages for toddlers from R250. So if you’re in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town then give Melody a shout for your next party – their range is great quality and the service is friendly and 100% reliable. They have ball ponds, toddler jumping castles, themed soft play and bubble machines too!