Pirate Birthday Party Theme
Pirate Party Theme
Ahoy Mateys!
Even before the rising popularity of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Pirate Themed Parties have long been a favorite among children and adults alike. The lure of discovering hidden treasures, secret coves and sailing the seven seas brings out the adventure seeker in us all!
Planning
It’s best to begin planning for the party at least 4 – 5 weeks in advance. This will ensure that you have enough time to send out invitations and purchase or make the decorations.
The first consideration that often comes up when planning a birthday party is where to have it. Your backyard or even inside of your home can be magically transformed into a secret pirate hideaway with a few choice decorations. If you’re near a beach or lake, and if weather permits, these too make excellent selections for the party location as well.
If you plan on making the decorations or invitations yourself, be sure to allow enough time to gather materials and complete the crafts. For those of us on a more pressing time schedule, there are companies that offer everything from pre-assembled pirate themed birthday kits to dozens of trinkets and party favors—just be mindful of the shipping dates/times.
Tips
- Pass out red, black or skull & cross bones bandanas to guests as they enter. Later, teams can be formed for games based on which bandana they received. Eye patches and clip-on pirate hoop earrings complete the look.
- Consider renting large or rarely used items such as large treasure chests, tables/chairs or karaoke machines from party rental supply stores to save money.
- Allow for extra guests by having a little extra food or a few extra goodie bags on hand.
Invitations
As with anything, first impressions are vital!
The invitations you send guests will set the mood for the party to come. This is your time to be creative. Why not set the tone for the party by wording the invitation in “pirate-speak”. A few well placed ‘arg matey’, ‘swashbuckler’ and ‘jolly roger’ references will get your invitation off on the right peg leg!
For truly unique and memorable invitations try the following:
- Send your guests an invitation in a bottle. This is a clever and imaginative way to give partygoers a sneak peek into what to expect. If you want to make the invitations yourself, take empty glass soda bottles and remove any labels. Tightly roll a handwritten scroll with all of the party information, tie it with a thin rope or piece of raffia and place into the bottle. Lastly, plug the bottle with a cork. Just don’t forget to make sure the scroll is wound tightly enough so it can be easily retrieved from the bottle!
Message in a bottle invitation kits are not only inexpensive, but make quick work of this important task. If you’re mailing the bottles, be sure the pack them well and include a few chocolate gold coins and faux pearl strands in the box.
- Try drawing a rough ‘treasure map’ of your neighborhood on construction paper or a beige heavy paper stock. You can search online for a treasure map image to print or draw one yourself. Crumple the paper slightly or fray the edges a bit to give it a ‘worn’ appearance. Be sure to include a couple of pieces of chocolate gold coins in the envelope. Last but not least, a pirate sticker makes the perfect finishing touch for a sealed invitation envelope. On party day, X marks the spot at the front door or wherever guests enter.
Pirate Party Decorations
The most important factors of any great party are the decorations. Decorations need not be expensive to be dazzling. A few key and strategically placed items can make a world of difference. Have fun with it, maybe watch a pirate movie to get some ideas and take a look around your home for things you may already have.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Create your own castaway’s island from an inflatable kiddie pool, sandbox sand purchased from a home improvement center, and an inflatable palm tree. Add various gold coins (a mix of chocolate, bubble gum or plastic), toys such as crabs or little buried treasure chests, and sand castle toys and let the digging begin. Not only does this make a great decoration, it’s also a fun activity as well.
- Scatter mardi gras-type beads, candy coins and other little trinkets such as sea shells and strings of faux pearls around the tables.
- Affix “nets” on top of table cloths or walls. For extra added effect, add little crabs or plastic fish from them.
- Hang the Jolly Roger near the front entrance where guests enter and place smaller pirate flags all around or on tables.
- A good color scheme for decorating a pirate themed party would be red/black/gold. Mix a few pirate skull and crossbones balloons in with solid red, black or gold ones for a nice touch. Also, try to maintain a consistent color scheme throughout decorating.
- Don’t forget the birthday banner! Sometimes this simple decoration is often forgotten. Birthday banners are easy to make, or if you’re in a time crunch try purchasing a pirate themed birthday banner. For a cut above the rest, surprise your swashbuckler with a personalized birthday party banner.
Foods
This is your chance to let your inner creative chef shine! If you aren’t so inclined to do the food preparation yourself, by all means have it catered or even make it a potluck. Challenge guests to come up with pirate themed main dishes, salads and beverages.
If you want to come up with small snacks or ideas on your own, here is some inspirational food for thought!
- Imitation crab salad made with shell pasta
- Bowls of gummy fish or sharks make nice table snacks
- Make a chex mix type snack and add goldfish crackers
- Root beer floats served from frosty mugs make perfect toasting drinks
- Pirate Planks- fish sticks and tartar sauce
- Hidden Treasure Cupcakes- fill a cupcake paper halfway and place a frozen Hershey’s kiss or other mini candy on top of batter. Fill with more batter until about ¾ full. The candy will melt and create a gooey, chocolatey center!
- Pirate Punch- 1 ½ C. lemonade, 1½ pt. lemon seltzer water, 2 (12 oz) cans frozen cranberry juice concentrate. Mix ingredients together and serve chilled.
- Chicken Gold Nuggets
- Castaway Cove Calzones- smaller parties can make these tasty pizza pockets for a real treat. Allow children to fill their own pizza dough (can be obtained from a local pizzeria) with various toppings for baking.
- Set out plastic swords instead of toothpicks to skewer chunks of fruit or cocktail sausages
Game/Activity Ideas:
What is a party without games? Many of the old standard party favorites can be given a new pirate twist just by altering their names or rules.
Face Painting
Set up a pirate face painting station. There are many websites you can find online to show you how to paint pirate faces. This helps everyone get into the spirit! Children can sport scars, stubbly beards and scruffy moustaches- Argggg!
Costume Contest
Encourage children to dress up in pirate attire and have a costume contest. Don’t forget the prizes!
Pass the Plunder
This is a take on the party standard “pass the parcel”. To make the package, wrap a prize (toys, candies or other party favors) in gold foil. Next, take another trinket and place it on top of the currently wrapped one. Wrap this layer and continue in this manner until all of the treats for the children have been wrapped.
Begin playing music and allow the children to “pass the plunder” until you stop the music. Whoever is holding the plunder when the music stops is allowed to unwrap one layer and have the treat. Continue this until each child has received a trinket. Be sure to notice that each child has gotten one chance to unwrap the plunder!
Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate
No party is complete without some version of this beloved party game. In this version, the goal is to… well… pin the eye patch on the pirate.
Treasure Hunt
A pirate party is just not a pirate party without a treasure hunt!! They don’t have to be elaborate- a roughly drawn map or even just clues can send teams on the adventure of a lifetime for hidden treasure. Teams can be picked according to bandana color or by the birthday buccaneer’s choice. Hide treasures in little chests or slightly hidden out of sight. The treasure can range from strings of faux pearls and candy coins to gold Dollar coins and even little gift certificates.
Piñatas
A pirate ship or treasure chest piñata is a great way to round out the party. Children can line up according to size and all take a chance at whacking these suspended party favors. Fill them with candies, confetti, or anything else you can think of. These are a great hit with kids!
Favors/Goodie Bags
For a pirate themed party, favors and goodies such as temporary tattoos, eye patches, pirate pencils or erasers, plastic compasses and candy gold coins or sea shells make excellent choices.
With a little planning, you can throw a birthday party everyone will be talking about for months to come!
Here Are A few Pirate Party Videos:
Here Are A Few Helpful Articles for More Pirate Birthday Party Ideas:
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