Pirate Party Ideas
For Swashbuckling Fun!

There is an immense amount of pirate party supplies out there from which to select. To help get you into the pirate party frame of mind, we've put together some links to the best supplies:

Pirate Celebration Party Supplies
Pirate Pinata & Pirate Party Kits
Pirate Party In A Box
Pirate Party Works
Pirate Kit-N-Kaboodle Kit
Pirate Party Supplies & More
Skeletons Galore


PIRATE PARTY IDEAS INVITATIONS

PIRATE PARTY IDEAS - PIRATE BOTTLE INVITATIONS - Use an empty Coke bottle, salad dressing bottle, or any other bottle that is round is shape with a long neck. Soak off labels and attach your own pirate-themed label. Write out all of your party details on a piece of white paper, in calligraphy, to give it a look of olden day. Photocopy to make additional invites. To age your paper, soak your invites in tea or coffee and let them air dry or microwave on low. Carefully burn the edges. Roll it up and seal it with candle wax or twine. Put it into your bottle. On the bottle's pirate label put, "Ahoy There Matey! or give each of your guests a pirate name like Captain Jack Sparrow, Redbeard, The Black Pirate, Long John Silver, Black Bart, Black Beard, Calico Jack, Captain Hook, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Grace O'Malley, Charlotte de Berry, Rachel Wall, etc. Hand-deliver to guests.

PIRATE PARTY IDEAS - PIRATE GOLD INVITATIONS - Buy ready-made pirate invites, hole-punch upper left-hand corner, run a piece of twine through the hole and tie to a bag of chocolate gold coins or gold nugget gum, and hand-deliver to your guests.

PIRATE PARTY IDEAS - PIRATE SHIP INVITATIONS - Cut out a pirate ship from a piece of brown cardstock. Cut out the sails from white or cream-colored cardstock. Write your party details on the sails and glue them to your ship. Hand-deliver your invites.

PIRATE PARTY IDEAS - TREASURE MAP INVITATIONS - Use parchment paper, brown paper bag, or crumpled cream paper with burnt edges to create your pirate treasure map invite. Draw a map of your home or yard area where the party will be held and indicate with a big red "X" the location of a hidden treasure. Provide your guests with clues to locating the hidden treasure. On the reverse side, handwrite in calligraphy all of your party details. Then cut up your invitation into several pieces. Enclose a note to your guests to assemble their map invitation and to bring it to your party. After everyone has arrived, they can all try to locate the treasure using their map invite clues as a guide. NOTE: Be sure to have extra map invites on hand in case someone forgets to bring their map.

Be sure to use some pirate language when creating your invitations. Here's some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Ahoy Matey!
Avast Me Matey!
Ahoy Me Hearties!
Ahoy There Matey!
Calling All Scallywags!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate Party For Me!
Get Set To Hoist The Rig!
Get Set To Plunder The Booty!
Shiver Me Timbers...it's time to set sail.

Prepare to Set Sail on the Seven Seas.
The Black Pearl Is Setting Sail With Jack Sparrow
Join Us Fer Swashbuckling Fun!
Join Me Fer some Swashbuckling Fun & Grub!
Plenty Of Pillage, Plunder And Kiddie Spirits
Join Me Fer A Buccaneer Birthday Bash
Calling All Scallywags With An Eye For Treasure!

Chart Yer Course for (address) on (date).
We set sail on (date) and we be meetin' at (time)
Don't be Late, or Ya'll Walk the Plank!
Wave Yer Flag If Ye Be Attendin'!
Raise The Jolly Roger If Ye Be Attendin!

R.S.V.P. To First Mate: (Parent's name and phone)

PIRATE PARTY IDEAS - PIRATE PHOTO INVITATIONS - Cut 8 1/2" x 11" brown card stock into 2 pieces, fold in half, and burn edges. Take photo of your child in pirate costume and burn edges of photo. Glue to front of invitation. Put "Captain (birthday name)" above the photo. Type or handwrite on left side on parchment paper or crumpled cream paper with edges burned:

Calling All Scallywags.
Yer presence is requested at my Buccaneer Birthday Bash.
Join me for some swashbuckling fun and grub!
Failure to show results in walking the plank!

On the right inside:

Captain: (Birthday Child's Name)
Prison Time: (Date and time of party)
Treasure Island: (address of party)
R.S.V.P. to First Mate: (parent's name and phone)

Pirate Attire Required or ask kids to wear white t-shirts and black pants and you turn them into pirates. (See costumes below for details)

Decorate corners of invitation with pirate-related stickers.

Be sure to tell your guests to brush up on their pirate talk prior to the party, so they can join in with all ye salty Pirate Sayings.


PIRATE PARTY IDEAS FOR COSTUMES

Let your child pillage the back of your closet and create a fantabulous pirate costume. Here's a great how-to video from Family Fun to help you turn your child into his favorite pirate:

Here's Family fun's materials list and instructions:

Materials

Old black pants Gold or white blouse Red scarf Gold costume jewelry Bandana Eye patch Pirate's hook Black face paint

Instructions

Find a pair of old black pants and fringe the edges with scissors.

Tuck in a big gold or white blouse. Tie a red scarf around the pirate's waist and a bandanna around his head.

Clip on some gold costume jewelry, then add an eye patch and a pirate's hook (all inexpensive party store finds).

Dab on black face paint for a beard and missing-tooth makeup.

If you've got a stuffed bird in your toy box, use craft wire to attach it to your pirate's shirtsleeve. Now he's ready to collect his Halloween booty.

Girl pirates could wear a black skirt with a "fringed" bottom with black tights or fishnets and a red and white striped top. Create the "fringed" look by cutting "V's" out of the bottom of the hem.

If you're not up for creating your own costume or a little short on time, here's some great pirate party ideas for various Pirate Costumes for your child, along with options for mom and dad.

Check out our visitor-submitted PIRATE COSTUME FOR KIDS photos and how-to tips.


PIRATE PARTY IDEAS FOR DECORATIONS

When you think of a pirate party, the colors you envison are any combination of black, red, white, gold, silver, blue, and green. To keep things from becoming too busy, it is best to use only two or three colors. Here's some pirate party ideas for your decorations:

• Here's some pirate party ideas for flags. Make a Jolly Roger flag from an old white sheet. Draw a skull and crossbones on it using a black marker. To make it a little fancier," you could cut your scull and crossbones out of felt and glue it to the sheet. Then you don't have to worry about any of the edges bleeding. When done, tie your flag to a stick and display it at your front door.

• Here's a great Jolly Roger Flag that you can use for multiple purposes.

• Place the Jolly Roger Flags noted above, along the walkway to your door.

• Hang the Jolly Roger Flags on the party room walls.

• Staple the Jolly Roger Flags to a long piece of twine and create a "grocery store strip pennant" to hang around your party room walls at the ceiling level.

• Use twisted streamers, clusters of balloons, and curling ribbons in black and silver or black and gold.

• Decorate archways or doorways with black and silver or black and gold streamers.

• Decorate wider walkways with black sheets tied back with silver or gold rope ties or fabric.

• Here's some pirate party ideas for your party tables. Cover tables with burlap or black tablecloths and net topper. Scatter small seashells on top.

• Put pirate placecards at your table identifying each of your pirate guests. You can address them as Pirate Sally or Buccaneer Josh or opt to give them pirate names. Try to make an aliteration with the names like Sea Dog Sam or Sally, Peg Leg Patti or Pete, Dirty Dog Dave or Daliah, Landlubber Larry or Lucy, Freebooter Fred or Francie, Brigadeer Bob or Bridget, etc.

• Here's some more pirate party ideas for pirate words and phrases to help you come up with your pirate names:

  Avast
  Barnacle Breath
  Black
  Bones
  Bucko
  Dirty Lundy
  Gangplank
  Gold Tooth
  Lifetaker
  Long Tooth
  Ol' Sea Legs
  One-Eyed
  Plunderer
  Red Legs
  Scarface
  Scurvy
  

• Place any of your child's pirate-related toys and stuffed animals around the party room as additional decorations. Things like pirate chests and ships, pirate hats, and snakes, parrots, alligators, and sharks work well.

• Here's some pirate party ideas for your walls. Here's a fun colorful, Pirate Treasure Map Mural that would be perfect to decorate the wall behind the cake or gift tables.
  

  

• Hang fishnets on walls and attach plastic fish, lobsters, crabs, and sea horses.

• Hang fishnets from the ceiling and fill with plastic crawfish, crabs, lobsters, seahorses, etc.

• Here's a wonderful Pirate Scene Kit that will instantly transform the backdrop of your party into a swashbuckling soiree!

• Add signs on walls that read: "Pirate's Cove Do Not Enter!", "Dead Men Tell No Tales", "Pirates Only", "BEWARE, Pirate Turf", or "Enter At Yer Own Risk!". Post "Keep Out" or "Walk the Plank" signs any place you don't want people to go into.

• Create treasure maps out of parchment paper, brown paper bag, or cream paper crumpled and burned on edges and hang on walls.

• Another option for creating "treasure maps" is to gather up all of your old street maps and soak them in tea or coffee. Hang them up to dry on a clothes line or the like. Once dry, crumple them up and burn the edges to give them an aged look. Now they're ready to hang on your walls.

• Put pirate posters on walls or fences.

• Here's some great Pirate Wall Graphics that you can put on your party room walls. After the party is over, transfer them to your child's bedroom walls.

• Instantly transform your party room into the high seas with this fantabulous Water Gossamer. You can use it to cover your furniture, ceiling, walls, tables, etc.

• Scatter gold coins or chocolate gold coins on top of table.

• Use pirate plates, cups, napkins, tablecloth, pirate hats, honeycomb centerpiece, and wall cutouts.

• Here's a fun Pirate Mug the kids can use to drink their grog and keep as a party favor afterwards.

• Attach mylar pirate balloons to birthday pirate's chair and helium balloons in black and silver or black and gold to other pirates' chairs.

• Start setting the tone for your party with this fun Pirate Yard Sign.

• Attach black and silver or black and gold balloons to mailbox, hang from tree, or tie to car antenna to alert pirates of birthday bash location.

• For a fun addition, this Inflatable Treasure Chest is a perfect theme piece that doubles for keeping your drinks cold. If you would rather have an Inflatable Pirate Ship here's a great one.

• Create a centerpiece with a bunch of helium-filled balloons tied with curling ribbons. Attach them to a weight and place the balloons into an upside down pirate hat.

• Either buy treasure chest or make one from Styrofoam chest. Paint it brown or black and decorate with plastic gems. Use it to hold birthday gifts. If you aren't up to making your own chest, here's a great Treasure Chest.

• To create a special Pirate Photo Op, here's a great pirate-themed standee for kids to take a photograph with.

• To create an extra special photo-op add a Personalized Pirate Ship and have each pirate pose while saying "Aaaargh!"
• Add a dry ice fog machine to create foggy atmosphere for ship.

• To add eerie feel to party, hang skeletons on walls and at front door to greet guests.

• Here's some fun Skeleton Lights that would be a perfect accent for an eerie pirate party.

• Hang a skeleton at your front door to greet your guests. If you want to jazz it up a bit and make him look a little more pirate like, add a black eye patch, a pirte bandana around its head, a gold hoop earring, and colorful Mardi Gras necklaces around its neck.

• Add some cobwebs and spiders throughout the party room to maintain the eerie feeling.

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MONEY-SAVING TIP

Before you purchase anything, be sure to check out the Finding Nemo birthday party ideas for party supplies that are being offered on eBay. Many times, you'll find great new items at a fraction of the retail price.


PIRATE PARTY IDEAS FOR GAMES & ACTIVITIES

Here's an entire page with nothing but Pirate Party Games and Activities, such as:

• Pirate Flags
• Sword Fighting
• Pirate Ship Race
• Marooned
• Walk the Plank
• Swab the Poop Deck
• Floating Cannonballs
• Before the Bomb Blows
• Dig For Buried Treasure
• Pass The Parrot

Here's some pirate party ideas for your party food:

SEA DOGS - Serve hot dogs with Jolly Roger paper flag skewered into dog.

GOLD NUGGETS - Chicken nuggets become pirate's gold.

PEG LEGS - Fish sticks.

BOOTY BURGERS - Hamburgers.

GOLD TREASURE - Macaroni and cheese.

POT OF GOLD - Melt Velveta cheese and dip cut-up pieces of French bread.

PIRATES TEETH - Corn.

CANNONBALLS - Grapes.

SWORDS - Pretzel sticks, carrot sticks, or breadsticks.

FISH BAIT - Goldfish crackers, gummy worms, and Swedish fish.

PIRATE SHIPS - Cut celery into 3" pieces. Mix chopped pecans into cream cheese and fill celery or use peanut butter. Make small Jolly Roger paper flags on toothpicks and insert into filling. Add raisins "pirates".

FRUIT SWORD KABOBS - Fill either sword-shaped picks or bamboo sticks with fresh cut-up fruits like strawberries, applies, pineapple chunks, cantaloupe, grapes, etc.

SHARK MELON - Cut small V's at one end of a watermelon to create shark's open mouth. Scoop out inside into melon balls. Fill shark back up with melon balls, grapes, strawberries, pineapple chunks, etc.

FROSTY ALE - Root beer.

SHARK'S BLOOD - The day before the party make red ice cubes by freezing red punch into the trays. When it's time to serve your Shark's Blood, pour Sprite or 7-Up into a clear cup and add a red punch ice cube or two.


PIRATE PARTY IDEAS FOR BIRTHDAY CAKES

Here's some pirate party ideas for your birthday cakes:

JOLLY ROGER CAKE - Make or buy a sheet cake and frost it black. Top it off with a white skull and crossbones cut from fondant. Put an eyepatch and bandana on the skull with piped out frosting. Decorate the sides with candies pressed into the frosting to serve as "jewels."

PIRATE CAKE - Make or bake a sheet cake and add a pirate cake topper to instantly give you a pirate theme cake.

TREASURE CHEST CAKE - Bake loaf cake and let cool. Cut off top third of cake. Trim 1/2" off one long side of top. Place chest base on foil covered cardboard. Scoop out portion of chest bed. Frost outside of chest with brown frosting. Fill chest with gold and silver wrapped kisses, candy necklaces, chocolate gold coins, etc. Frost "top" of chest and place on top of bottom with plunder falling out of chest. Decorate outside with M&M and Skittles. Create "straps" across chest using fruit roll-ups.

PIRATE SHIP CAKE - Bake cake in ship cake pan and decorate with brown frosting, toasted coconut, and any combination of edible glitter, sprinkles, sparkling sugar and gel icing.

Check out our visitor-submitted PIRATE CAKE IDEAS photos and how-to tips.


PIRATE PARTY IDEAS FOR PARTY FAVORS

Fill pirate cellophane bags or a Pirate Chest Favor Box with pirate stickers and tattoos, glow sticks, a bag of chocolate gold coins, ring pops, candy necklaces or Mardi Gras necklaces. Other pirte items that would make great favors are pirate hats and swords and an eye patch.


PIRATE PARTY IDEAS FOR PARTY SUPPLIES

Here are several options for Pirate Celebration Party Supplies. Lots of fun items and designs to select from!

Here's some great Pirate Party birthday party supplies including ideas for partyware, invitations, favors, and lots of decor!

If you didn't find everything you were looking for, here's another option for some more Pirate birthday party supplies.

This party won't be complete without a fun colorful Pirate Pinata. There's also some fun pirate party kits and partyware to select from.

Here's a fun Pirate Kit-N-Kaboodle Party Kit. Click around this site and you will find lots of pirate paraphernalia.

If you haven't O.D'd yet on Pirate Party Supplies, here's another load for your purusal. Lots of great theme items to help you create the party of a lifetime!

If skeletons are your thing, here's Skeletons Galore with everything skeleton immaginable.





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