Pirate Party Ideas

Parteaz would like to help make your child's party a memorable one. An afternoon of swash-buckling Pirate fun is a spine-tingling way to celebrate your child's birthday!

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PIRATE PARTY TIPS

Invitations

• Pirate party invitations can take the form of a treasure map or scroll (rub a used teabag over paper to make it look old and tear the edges), a treasure chest that opens to reveal the party details or a Pirate flag with the skull and cross-bones.
• You can have real fun writing the invites out using sentences like

- "Ye be invited for some spine-tingling birthday fun at Captain (child's name) vessel"

- "We be meetin' at (address) for swash-buckling thrills, fine food and blood-curling grog"

- "Be there or ye shall walk the plank"

• Alternatively, if time is short, you may prefer our preprinted Pirate party invitations.

Pirate Party Invites

 Food and Preparation

• You've enough to do on the day so why not prepare the food in advance and serve in handy colour co-coordinated or treasure chest Food Boxes to match your theme. Pirate stickers can be used to decorate any plain food boxes, get the party boy or girl involved this is a job they'll love to do. If it's hot food you want and on the quick, you can take your pre-prepared food boxes to a local Fish n' Chip shop and have them deliver your order.
• Alternatively create your own spine -tingling Party Grub!
  • Chicken Legs
  • Seaweed pasta - Green Linguine
  • Hotdog ships - Create a sail with a cocktail stick and piece of paper
  • Peg Legs - Carrot sticks
  • Cannon ball grapes
  • Red rubies - Fruit salad consisting of red fruit (strawberries, raspberries, grapes etc)
  • Golden Nuggets - Chicken Nuggets
  • Pirates fingers - Chocolate biscuit fingers
  • Treasure chest - Chest (bought or made) filled with sweets and chocolate gold coins.
  • Seawater - Apple juice with blue food colouring
  • Sharks blood - Lemonade at room temperature with ice cubes made from red cordial/juice
  • Pirates Grog - Any dark based soft drink

Décor

• Use tablecloths, napkins, balloons and other decorative items such as streamers. You can also look for Pirate Party Plates, Cups and Balloons that carry images of Pirates on them.
• Use black table cloths with either black or red plates and cups
• Cover the table with treasure and turn place mats into treasure maps
• Hang fishing nets with fake fish, shells, crabs and seaweed trapped in it, on the walls.

Things to do

• Cupcake decorating - Set up a table for children to decorate their own cupcake with the following

- selection of cup cakes in various flavours

- icing in various colours (red and black is always good for Pirates)

- large selection of toppings in separate bowls (gummy snakes, chocolate gold coins etc).

- the cupcakes can double as party favors

• Treasure hunt - Hide prizes and pieces of gold or gold chocolate coins in different rooms and give out clues. As an alternative to clues you may wish to design and hand out "treasure maps".
• Dressing up - Why not make it a fancy dress party or just simply give the children a pirate eye patch as they arrive.
• Face Painting - Adding extra stubble and scars to go with the eye patches and moustaches creates a superb photo opportunity. Face Painting can be done professionally or alternatively you can purchase a set of of Face Paints and do it yourself.
• Ask an adult to dress up as a Pirate to hand out the Treasure Chest favors at the end. Take a photo of each guest with the Pirate and send out with the Thank You notes.

PIRATE PARTY GAMES

To keep a party going, it’s always advisable to have a numerous supply of activities planned as the playing time of each game often far exceeds the time spent in planning them.

Keep the children busy - here are 10 of our favourites….

1. Alligators cove

On foam board, draw an alligator with its mouth open. Cut a hole inside the mouth that will fit a ball or beanbag. Get the children to compete in getting the ball through the hole.

2. Islands

This is played like musical chairs. Each child gets a sheet of newspaper and places it on the floor. When the music starts they have to "swim" in between the islands (newspaper). When the music stops they must stand on an island. After each round take a piece of newspaper away. Any child who doesn't have an island is out. The winner is the last person left in the game.

3. Pin the Flag on the Ship or Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate

Each player takes it in turns to be blindfolded and is given a flag/eye patch with his/her name on it. With lots of encouragement from the other players the blindfolded player locates the Pirate/Ship and places the Flag/Eye Patch on the picture. Leave all the flags/eye patches on the picture until everyone has has their turn. The winner is the person who gets closest to the correct place.

4. Pass the hidden treasure

Start with a present wrapped in successive layers of paper with small prizes in between. Sit all the children in a circle and enlist one adult to be responsible for fair play! And another to control the music. Hand the fully wrapped parcel to the birthday child. When the music starts the parcel is passed around the circle from child to child. At random intervals pause the music. When the music stops the child holding the present unwraps one layer as fast as possible. The child that reaches the prize in the iddle wins. (Remember the person controlling the music can peek to ensure everyone has a go at unwrapping).

5. Captain Jack says

An adult or the birthday child is Captain Jack at first. Captain Jack faces the rest of the group, who stand where they can see Captain Jack well. Captain Jack gives commands for the children to follow such as "Captain Jack says...Clap your hands" or "Captain Jack says...Kick your feet". The children are to obey only those commands that begin with the words "Captain Jack says". If the command does not begin with these words (for example "Jump up and down") the players should ignore it. Anyone who does it is out.

6. Sailor, Sailor, Pirate

Get all the children to sit in a circle. Choose one child to be "it". This child should then walk around the circle tapping the other children on the shoulder or head saying either "Sailor" or "Pirate". If the child taps someone and says "Pirate" the child that has been tapped must get up and chase the child that is "it". If the child who is "it" gets the whole way round the circle and sits in the other space without being caught, the child who is Pirate then becomes "it".

7. Follow the Pirate

Get the children to follow a leader (maybe start with an adult to get the ball rolling). The children have to follow whatever the leader does as they move around. Suggestions: hopping, hands on head, jumping, running, skipping, silly walks, turning round, waving arms, being an animal, being a posh person etc.

8. Cursed Treasure

Get all the children to sit in a circle. Pass a toy treasure chest around the circle to the music. When the music stops whoever is holding the Treasure Chest is out. The person left at the end is the winner.

9. Golden Treasure toss

Have several shoeboxes painted like Treasure Chests. Get the children to try and throw bean bags into the chests from a stationary point (the same place for each child although leeway maybe given for smaller kids). Award different prizes for different chests.

10. Missing Treasure

Hide pieces of treasure throughout the party area. Explain to the children that Captain Jack has lost his treasure and he needs their help to find them. Get the children to search for the treasure. The child who finds the most gets a prize.

Prizes - If you want to give away some prizes for your Pirate party you should be able to find some Pirate related colour books, or Stickers, something that the kids will be able to do while home.

Party Favours

• Create treasure chests from old boxes. Fill with their Pirate cupcakes, treasures, sweets and chocolate gold coins.
• Alternatively, use our Pirate Party Bags and either fill with your selection of party bag fillers or purchase them readily pre-filled.

IN SUMMARY

As you can see hosting a Pirate party can be much easier than you’d think. We hope you found our list of Pirate Party Tips and Game suggestions useful for hosting your birthday celebration.

You may wish to view our extensive range of Pirate Party Supplies by clicking a specific theme below.