Pirate Themed Birthday Parties

Pirates have for a very long time been a source of great fascination for children. This is why a pirate themed birthday party can be one of the most interesting and entertaining party ideas on the planet, if you are willing to pay careful time and attention to the planning process. There are things you will need, of course, in order to pull the party off without a hitch and the most important is a lot of patience and the ability to organize well, plan for contingencies, and be flexible when the big event finally arrives. If you can do all these things with style and grace then you can make your child's birthday party magical.

Set the stage with themed pirate invitations. A great idea to use for the invites is a pirate's map. Let "X" mark the spot, give the date and time and remind everyone to dress in their best pirate costume (make a costume contest a part of the birthday activities). This lets everyone's parents know the theme ahead of time as well as the fact that they should show up in pirate costumes. If you're feeling creative, come up with a pirate rhyme to go along with the invitation. Something like:

Ho ho hum and a bottle of rum, Our good lad {child's name} turns nine, So come ye to the {Your Surname}'s, And have a mighty fine time!

Or Ho ho hum and a bottle of rum, Our good girl {child's name} turns eight, So come ye to the {Your Surname}'s, Ye party will be great.

For decorations, you should make the party room or the exterior of the house, wherever you are actually having the party look as much like a pirate's ship as possible. It really is best if this sort of party can be had outdoors in order to provide great places for burying treasure and hiding stuff. If that isn't possible however, just get creative inside the home.

Party games for a good pirate party are almost limitless. A treasure hunt is one of the best. You can begin by handing a clue and explaining that there is a treasure map that has been divided into four pieces. The first clue will take you to the first piece, which will then have another clue that will lead you to the next piece until you find all four pieces. This buys a little time for getting things ready for snacks, cake, ice cream or other adventures that may occur later and gives the kids an objective. Once they have all the pieces you can tell the story of the lost treasure and then allow the kids to go on a massive hunt for the treasure. You could have teams with two different treasure chests if you want to make it a competition or race though both teams will win their treasure in the end. You could also, for younger kids, have a nice rousing game of pin the peg-leg on the pirate or a game of walking the plank if you have a swimming pool and are certain everyone can swim (though swim trunks are highly encouraged for this rather than pirate's costumes!) and there is an adult supervising, just in case.

Whether or not it's a pirate's life for you, chances are quite good that throwing an excellent pirate themed birthday party will make you the mom of your child's dreams, at least for a day, and will give the neighborhood and, of course, all your guests something to talk about until the next great event takes place.


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Sara Leadbetter is a Business Advisor based in Christchurch, New Zealand. This article was written about her work with Lollipops Playland Ellerslie who provide fantastic children's Themed Birthday Parties in Auckland, New Zealand.