Before Ye Shove Off...
Send invitations 2-3 weeks before the party.
Invitation idea: Pick up designer paper at a craft store and use half an 8-1/2 X 11 sheet for each invite. Draw a map on one side, scribe the instructions, directions, etc on the other, then roll. A neat trick is to hold the rolled ends of the paper against the flame of a stove burner and char the edges. You'll have to roll the paper both ways to get all four edges. Then wad up the invite a few times to make it soft and wrinkly. When you get done it'll look like something that's been around for 200 years!
A really great way to do the invites is to take this "processed" paper and tuck it in a corked vinegar bottle (small ones are less than a $1) and deliver each invite to your guest. Now many party supply companies have plastic bottles with a pre-printed invite; you just fill in the personal info. If you have a lot of invites to send, tie the scroll with packaging string and stick in a mailing tube.
Encourage your guests to dress as pirates, wenches, mermaids, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, etc.
Fittin' Out Yer Vessel...
Traditional pirate colors are red and black, so keep that in mind when you're out looking for party supplies. A lot of the props can be made or recycled from other things you might have. Luau decos work great for pirate parties as do ocean-motif items: Fishing nets, crabs, lobsters, fish, ships, etc. Hang pics of pirate ships, Hang toy sea gulls and parrots. Use inflatable palm trees, shark or crocodile pool toys. Drag out the Halloween decos and recycle your skeletons. Cover tables with black table cloth and scatter gold chocolate coins, or plastic coins and plastic jewels. Use Pirate chest pinata for center piece, break it later. Hang rope lines in lieu of streamers or hang luau nets. Place a few old wooden whiskey barrels around area. Hang various colored flags around area.
Make old looking posters by using brown kraft or wrapping paper. Tear a piece a little larger than you want the poster and then hand tear all the edges to give a worn look. If you are good at hand-lettering, just use makers to write on your sign. Not that talented? You can use an old-fashioned looking font printed out from your computer and then traced onto the sign and finally colored in with markers.
Make one poster for the door that says "Welcome Aboard Mateys" and others placed around the room with phrases such as "Enter at yer own risk!" "Beware! Pirates Lair" and piratey things like that!
Use the same kraft paper to make treasure map placemats.
If you are using your house, protect furniture by drapping with Pirate Flags. Put up a jolly roger flag in a strategic location.
And of course, play pirate music in background.
Store in Yer Provisions...
Activity and booty: those are the two main ingredients for a successful pirate party. Here's some ideas on planning for both.
For pirate's booty use chocolate coins, mini telescopes, plastic jewels, candy, gummy fish, candy necklaces, temporary tattoos and toy parrot beanie bags all tied up in a black bandana or muslin cloth
A cannonball pinata can be made simple by applying papermache a balloon and paint it black. Cut a hole in the side to pour in the "loot" and use a coat hanger to poke a loop of wire up through the "top" of the cannon ball to make a hanging loop.
Treasure chest: Get a big cardboard box (go to a music store or anyplace that sells Carver professional speakers and see if they have any empty speaker shipping cartons. Carver makes a box that looks very similar to a treasure chest). Tape down flaps, cut three sides about 4" from the top and fold open to look like a treasure chest. Paint the box (doesn't have to be great, remember it's been underwater a long time!). Put a sign on that says "Keep Yer Hands Off." and use it to hold gifts. If you have several boxes, make more chests. Fill the bottom with any kind of filler material, then cover the filler with gold wrapping paper. For added touches, throw in gold Christmas bulbs and decorations, Mardi Gras jewelry, gold colored plastic toys like shields, armor, plastic coins, small toys, etc. Just about anything colored gold can be placed in these chests but beware! It's a pirate's duty to hoard booty and if your guests are children they will plunder your treasure chests and play with the "gold." (Make sure you don't use family keepsakes in the chests!)
Goodie bags can be made from lunch bags. Cut 4" off the top, use a marker to make them look like wood. Fold over top and draw on a lock. Tape shut.
Use paper towel tubes for telescopes. Kids can decorate them with anything! Stretch cellophane across the ends and secure with a rubber band.
Mustering the Crew...
Use dressing up as an activity. As children arrive they can dress up using inexpensive items you've supplied. (www.partybox.co.uk)
For non-dressed guests, men get eye patches, bandanas and women get lots of beaded jewelry, bandanas and bangle bracelets. Draw a beard with eye liner. If very young, color the eyepatch on with eye liner or face paints.
Setting Sail...
Guests need plenty of things to keep them busy. It's usually best to start out with activities they can do individually, or let them "free play" until the majority of guests have arrived. If you want to keep them from running afoul the furniture, here's ideas for games, starting with ice breakers and progressing through to team play.
Ice Breakers
Kids can make their own flags from construction paper or foam sheets. Cut the sheets to size if necessary before the party, then have shapes with sticky backs or shapes and some glue bottles for kids to make their own flags.
Make pirate hooks from plastic cups and cardboard. Cut a hook shap with a long handle from cardboard, wrap with tin foil. Cuta slit in the bottom of teh cup and insert the hook. Swords can be cut from cardboard and decorated by kids.
Walk the plank: Place a 2X4 on the floor, or nail it to some cross peices for a stands on each end and let people try to walk the length of it.
Make a cave by taping several big cardboard boxes together and filling wtih balloons. Kids crawl through and you can even hide Pirate paraphenalia inside.
A f ishing booth just like the ones at carnivals are fun. Have loot bags or small toys behind the booth that pirates can "catch" with a fishing pole.
Group Games
Treasure Hunt: Every pirate party should have one! There are several variations on the theme. The simplest is to hide a box of treasure somewhere and let the kids hunt for it.
Another is to make a map they have to follow to the tresure.
A third is to leae clues hidden about that lead the pirates to the next clue. These can be notes, pictures, etc. that the priates must follow.
Another way is to make treasure chests from diaper wipe boxes. The kids can make their own boxes. Then while the kids are playing other games, hide the boxes and each child has to find his own treasure chest. (Or, he gets to keep the first one he finds, whether he made it or not!)
For treaure make "gold nuggets." Just spray paint rocks gold, hide. Give kids leather pouch to put rocks in. Send them out to hunt.
For young children, wrap tiny, inexpensive presents in different types of paper. then give a sample of one of the papers to each child. They search for the gift that matches their paper.
Sunken Treasure: get all the old MacDonald's toys out of the toybox and closet. Put in a small wading pool, kids get to fish them out with shovels, tongs, etc. but NO hands!:
Let Sleeping Pirates Lie: One pirate sits at the front of the room with his eyes closed. All the other pirates form a circle behind him. Everyone starts to creep toward the lone pirate; he turns around and tries to catch people moving. Anyone caught moving must walk the plank. Winner is the one who reaches the sleeping pirate first.
Pass the pirat hat: Played like hot Potatoe. Whoever gets caught with the hat must walk the plank.
Marooned: one person is chosen as shark. Marooned sailers go from one "island" to another one at a time. They run back and forth between the two islands until only one sailer is left. When caught by Shark the sailor becomes a shark.
Musical Islands: Same as musical chairs, but use hoola hoops, mats or squares of cardboard scattered about for islands.
Pirate Pinata: use the cannonball pinata or purchase a pirate-themed one.
X marks the spot: Like pin the tail on the donkey but use a big treasure map with an X drawn it like it's marking a treasure. Then the players take a turn trying to stick a flag pin in the map trying to get closest to the treasure. or, give the kids a crayon and let them draw an x on the map. Or do "Pin the Parrot on the Pirate."
Treasure toss: Decorate a box as a treasure chest, open the lid and get a few bean bags. Then use it just like a bean bag toss. For older kids, if the chest is made from a cardboard box, cut holes in the box for the bean bags to go through. If it's a real chest, open the lid, cut a piece of cardboard about 6" longer than the chest is wide from front to back and cut holes in the cardboard. Lean the cardboard over the top of the chest so that it is at an angle to you when standing in front. Kids then toss beanbags through holes in tilted cardboard.
Catch the Cannonball: Pair everyone up, form two lines facing each other. Give everyone in one line a water-filled balloon. Each pair must toss the balloon to each other, taking one step back every time they toss it. Winners are the pair with last balloon left.
Tick Tock find the Croc: Use a mechanical kitchen timer, hide it and let the kids try to find it before the bell rings.
Seat all the party-goers in a circle. Have a card with a message on it. Have the a child read the message to him or herself and then sit back down in the circle. He then leans to one of the people sitting next to him and whispers the message in their ear. That person in turn whispers it to the person next to her, and so forth around the circle. When it gets back to the first person, compare the final message delivered to the one on the card.
Cat o nine tails: strips of cloth about 36" long by 2-3" wide are tucked into the back of the pirates pants. With no other contact, the pirates must try to step on other pirates tails and pull them out. Last one with a tail wins.
Robbin' the Bosun: Everyone sits cross-legged in circle. One pirate is in the middle with a large ring of keys. Center priate closes his eyes, then one person from the circle sneaks up and grabs the ring of keys off the floor.they sneak back to their spot, then the pirate in the middle can open his eyes. He then tries to figure out who has the keys.
Cannonball pop: tie a string to black balloons. Tie string to legs of pirates. Everyone must try to stomp other pirate's balloons. Last one with a balloon wins.
Team Games
Divide party-goers into pairs. One is an injured pirate the other is the doctor. The doctor is handed a roll of toilet paper. The doctor must wrap up the injured pirate as quickly as possible.
This is by far the most popular game amongst kids and adults! Get refrigerator boxes and cut into shape of pirate ships. The boxes are easy to cut if you use a jig saw. Set ships about 20 feet apart, with sides toward each other. Give each team some ping pong balls or confetti eggs. Kids stand in pirate ships and throw ping poing balls at each other. After the battle, count number of balls in bottom of ship. The one with least is winner. With confetti eggs, the winner is the ship with least confetti.
Capture the flag: if playing in the dark, paint over jolly roger on flag with glow in the dark paint.
Peg Leg race: three legged race
Call (559)684-1102 to book a
First Mate for your party.
We'll supply music, props and guidance for your party!
