Involve children in planning the picnic from the start. They can help make pirate costumes, such as an eye patch by tying two lengths of string to a small piece of black card, or silver shoe buckles by covering card with tin foil. Now just put on a pair of long socks, carry a cardboard sword, and they're ready to hit the high seas.
For the eats, make Shark Sandwiches by pushing a triangular tortilla chip into the top piece of bread for a fin, and take along bottles of rum by covering the labels on their favourite soft drinks with a skull and crossbones. Don't forget to include plenty of chocolate coins as well!
Cover your picnic basket with card to make it look like a treasure chest, and make a pirate map of the garden or local park by rubbing a sheet of paper with a wet teabag to give it an aged appearance, and marking your lunch location with a big black X.
Then, if you dare, play Cannonball Run - a rather wet version of 'tag'
where instead of simply touching each other to become 'it', they must hit another player with a cannonball (a small, water filled balloon.) At the end of the day, tired pirates can follow their treasure map home, and write about their adventures in their very own ship's log - a few pieces of paper stapled together with a Jolly Roger on the front. Ha-har!
Tommy Donbavand is a children's entertainer and the author of Quick Fixes, More Quick Fixes for Bored Kids and Boredom Busters, published by How To Books.
