
Disney’s Jake and the Neverland Pirates is my son’s favorite cartoon. It has been since he was very little. In fact, I would put on clips of it on YouTube to get him to sit in the high chair and eat when we were in Italy. On March 1, the Disney Junior cable channel celebrated Jake’s birthday with a special episode and free online printables (coloring book pages and games you could print out for your kids). If you were making a different theme for your party, you could conduct a Google search to find all sorts of free party and activity printables for kids. Since I was off from work that afternoon and my niece and nephew came over, too, we decided to make a day of it. We actually threw Jake a birthday party at our house.
Since Baby Boy is a big pirate fan, I had paper pirate hats and pirate birthday sign leftover from his party, so I took those out and reused them. You could use any supplies you have on hand or you could make hats and signs with some paper and creativity. My niece helped decorate the house. The kids colored the pages that Disney had on its site for the occasion and hung them on the wall. I put Baby Boy’s Jake tees on him and my niece. All three kids got into the pack and play to watch the show. You can’t see them in the photo, but all the dolls – the entire cast of Jake – and a Mickey pirate are joining them for the episode, along with all sorts of other soft toys.
Finally, we made red velvet cupcakes (from a box) in Jake’s honor (see photos below). The fun for the kids is in making the birthday cake or cupcakes, so I would just buy a semi-made boxed mix of your choosing. My niece helped me; she even cracked the eggs. We all decorated them, but Baby Boy mostly just ate icing. My niece did, too, but every so often she would make a design on a cupcake to give me a hand. And she looked adorable in her apron. Everyone had dinner and then the whole family, including grandparents, sang, “Happy Birthday,” to Jake and my niece and Baby Boy blew out the candles on his behalf.
By far, the best part of this party in a pinch was the red velvet. The kids all painted themselves with it, and we had to throw them in the tub all together after dessert. My bathroom looked like there had been a massacre with red velvet bits caked into the floor, and the red water the kids left behind. Perhaps, we can save this happy accident in our idea vault for our next Halloween party. Still, I learned I can make a memorable fete with very little supplies and on a very little budget. And I’m sure the kids, at least my niece, will hold dear to the memory of Jake’s bash.
Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

