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Shiver me timbers!
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What kid hasn't fantasised about skimming across the waves in a fast clipper, a Jolly Roger snapping in the breeze off the mast as they sharpen their cutlasses and dream of chests laden with jewels, dubloons, and golden treasure?
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Even the adults might enjoy swaggering about for an afternoon, growling "Ye' scurvy dog!" and "Arrrgh, matey!"
Swab the decks and batten down the hatches in preparation for a Pirate Party worthy of the Seven Seas! For all you sea dog pirates out there who are searching for pirate party ideas for their young swashbuckler's birthday bash...scroll down for ideas on invitations, decorations, games, costumes, loot bags, pirate food and pirate cakes.
And get ready to transform your home into a Caribbean port...
We have made up two free printable versions of a pirate party invitation for you to download. One is to be folded if you want to send it in an envelope and the other is to be rolled and tied with a ribbon or piece of string and to be handed out.
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Or if you are short on time, you can buy some special pirate theme invitations.
Celebrate Express have a great selection of Pirate Party decorations to choose from. I've used this party supplier before and can highly recommend them.
Have red and black balloons and streamers around the house and yard for your pirate party.
Hang a fishing net
Hang a large pirate flag across the door, or you can hang one from a pole set outside the house. Use this free printable Skull and Crossbones to stick on to black fabric for your flag.
Put a sign with a skull and crossbones on your front door, saying "Beware, Pirates Ahead!" or "Enter If Ye Dare". (If you are printing these from your computer, use Blackadder ITC font).
Put another sign on the toilet door saying "Lil Pirates Room".
continuously. You may be able to get some from your local library, for example, (Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, Wiggles and Muppets Treasure Island are some).
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- Make pirate pants from old trousers with jagged cut-off legs.
- Add stripey t-shirts and tie handkerchiefs around your head as a bandana.
- Tie a bright red sash around your waist.
- Pin a big loop earring (or any big earring) to one side of the bandana (near your ear).
- Or you could make a paper pirate's hat with skull and crossbones.
- If you have a toy parrot handy, tie him on your shoulder.
- Top it off with some pirate tattoos.
- Add to the look by carrying a dirty mop.
Mutter "Aarrgghhhh" a lot!
Eye patches are cheap to buy at $2 shops and you can dab some black face paint on for a stubbled beard.
And there are some great pirate costume accessories around that you can buy.
As pirate party guests wait for others to arrive, you could offer face-painting services - a scurrilous selection of scars, beards, curling mustaches, and skull-and-crossbone "tattoos" to complete their piratical disguise.
Treasure Hunt: Start or Finish the pirate party - up to you - with a Treasure Hunt around the house or garden for the kids to find hidden chocolate coins.
Walk the plank: Using a couple of bricks (or if the pirates are a bit bigger, milk crates) put one on each side of a kiddie pool. Lay a piece of wood (the plank) over the kiddie pool and rest it on the bricks. In the pool place plastic floating sharks and alligators. The kids can walk the plank and then go to the treasure chest and get a treat. (Make a treasure chest from a styrofoam ice cooler. Paint it dark brown and glue plastic jewels on it. Fill it with cold drinks or prizes for the games.) This can be varied for older kids for example, Walk backwards, hop on one foot, jump over obstacles, etc.
This game can be saved for those losing teams from the following games:
Sink the Enemy: Divide the kids up into 2 teams giving each team a set of 'cannonballs' made out of balled up newspaper covered in black electrical tape. Also give each team a large box or container, which is their 'ship'. The idea is that when the whistle is blown the kids have to throw as many cannonballs as they can into the other ship. When the whistle blows again all action stops. Cannonballs are counted and whichever ship was sunk (most cannonballs in the ship) that team has to walk the plank.
Pop the Cannonball: Using black balloons have the kids race across the lawn to sit and pop the balloons. Most kids bounce right off of the balloons. This can be hilarious. Do this a couple of times or until all the balloons are popped. You could make paper towel roll spyglasses and hand them out at your pirate party. The kids could stick them into their sash to hold them.
Jewel Pickup: - Each child has about thirty seconds to pick up as many jewels (marbles) as they can and place them in a bucket. The catch is each child has to use their toes. This may be difficult for 5 year olds, but they give them a go. If it's too hard, they can always do it with one hand behind their back.
Swab the Decks: This hilarious relay race contest challenges crews to herd 5 ping pong balls across an expanse of floor using a broom. The captains split their respective crews onto opposite sides of the room. After one crewmate successfully shepherds the balls across the room, he turns the broom over to the next crewmate, whose job is to shepherd them back. First crew to swab their ping pong balls across the finish line wins the bag of treasure. If this sounds boring or easy, you haven't tried it! (Give each team different colored ping pong balls, because they will roll all over the place and separating one lot from the other team's will be half the fun!) To make the game easier, use only one ball, or use larger balls. To make the game more difficult, use black balloons.
Pin the X on the Treasure Map: This one is self explanatory really. Use a treasure map and make an 'X' out of cardboard. A typical pirate party game.
PIRATE CRAFT ACTIVITIES
To make a Hook Hand, cut a slit in the bottom of a plastic cup. Cut a hook shape out of cardboard, wrap with foil, and slip it through the slit in the cup.
To make a Telescope, cover the end of a rolled cardboard tube with a square of colored cellophane and fix it in place with glue or a rubber band.
The Hook Hand and Telescope can either be part of the pirate party loot bags or part of a group activity, if that's yer thing.
The children can make their own
Treasure Chest
which can double as a party loot bag at the end of the shindig.
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LOOT BAGS
Every pirate party needs loot bags. Chocolate money, candy necklaces, small plastic ships, eye patches, chocolate coins, plastic or inflatable swords. Use brown paper bags and write "Pirate Loot" on them and tie them with raffia or string, bandana, pirate stickers and tattoos, plastic compass. Fill with the trinkets and treasures.
Feel free to use our free printable Pirate Drawings below for the kids to either colour in at the party or to take home in their loot bags.
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You can buy some great pirate party supplies which include plates, cups, favor boxes and a various assortment of pirate party trinkets for your pirate party.
Pirate Cupcakes Using our cupcake recipe, add the skull and crossbones using white fondant icing.
Make Jelly Boats see this recipe and place them in a large oval shaped dish filled with mashed up blue jelly (like the ocean). To make sails for the boats thread popsticks through a triangular shaped piece of paper or cardboard and place in the middle of the boat.
Serve 'Ships' made from halved oval shaped bread rolls. Cover with cream cheese or peanut butter. Thread paper sails onto popsticks and place in the middle of the 'ship'. You can use the same sail idea and use hot dogs instead.
Scary fish made out of a watermelon. Cut small v's at one end of the watermelon to resemble a mouth with teeth and scoop out the insides into little melon balls. Then fill the fish mouth back up with the melon balls, grapes, etc.
Marinate Chicken Wings with honey and soy sauce and bake in the oven for 30 mins.
Potato Faces with one eye filed in with tomato sauce for an eye patch.
Golden Nuggets: Crumbed fish nuggets Skeleton Bones: Fries Red rubies: strawberries Cannon Balls: Red grapes Pirate Teeth: Corn niblets
Shark's Blood: Use red fruit punch to freeze into cubes the night before your pirate party. Then pour sprite in see-through plastic cups. If you put the sprite in at room temperature the red ice will melt faster. This way, when you drop a few cubes in it will swirl red in the clear soda. They'll love this.
PIRATE CAKES
This Pirate Ship Cake was really easy to make.
Ransacking the kids' toy box was their job.
These fantastic cake photos were sent in by some of our readers...
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SOME PIRATE PARTY NAMES
You gotta have pirate names at your pirate party. Try these on....Scarface Chase, One-Eyed Andrew, Cutlass Katie, Matt the Black, Brian Bones, Dirty Dog Daud, Long Tooth Tony, Peg Leg Pete.
Go from Pirate Party back to Theme Parties
