Pirate Party Ideas

Young or old, you can have so much fun planning, hosting, or attending a pirate party. Most of the ideas below were meant for a children's party but you could most likely alter some of them to fit your pirate needs. Hope the ideas help. Excuse the picture quality. My camera was having some issues today so I had to use my phone and it was not working as clear as it normally does. Oh well. 

Costumes for kids are a MUST

For any pirate party costumes are a huge must. Nothing elaborate or expensive. That is the beauty of pirates.... almost anyone can pull together a costume from things already in their wardrobe. Example: Jeans rolled up bit, white shirt, black belt, bandanna of some kind for the head, a vest of some kind if possible. Done. Of course you can add more to it but that is a basic costume.

Make and Takes

Pirate Names

• Fill 2 or 3 Bins with names that you have come up with in advance. You'll need Girl First Name, Boy First Name, Girl Second Name, Boy Second Name and  Both Third Name. Place the names in their separate bins and as children arrive have them draw a name out of each bin to create their unique pirate name.
• Write their name on a name tag badge so they'll have it for the remainder of the party. 
• Below are some suggestions for names.

First Name Boy	Second Name Boy	Third Name Girl/Boy
Sir	Black Beard	Silver, Barbossa, Hook
Gentleman	Long John	Booth, Bowen, Ceasar
Lord	Bartholomew	Davis, Edwards, Morris
Count	Nathaniel	O’Malley, Jones, Smith
Mister	Henry, William, Antonio, Diego, William	Sparrow, Bly, Buckthorn
Captian	Crazy Eye, Canon Ball, Dog, Moody	Parr, Wiggins, Jenkins
Madd	Jonathan, Peter, Jim, Alexander, Jack , Smee	Read, Kidd, Giggs
Commodore		Hawthorne, Blackwater, Morgan
		Higgins
First Name Girl	Second Name Girl
Countess	Red Braid
Lady	Black Braid
Beauty	Esmerelda
Madam	Rose, Rosy,
Lass	Elizabeth, Mary, Grace, Ann, Pearly, Maria

                       

Painted Pirates

• No pirate is complete with out a little bit of ink. This will add to their costumes and will wash off easily when you are done.
• Face Painting! Before you scratch this off your list because you are not artistic read on. The easiest way to do face painting if you are not artistically inclined is to use stencils. Purchase pirate stencils from a local craft store and cut the pieces to sizes that will fit a child's face or hand, or in this case upper arm if you'd like to do pirate tattoos. Simply place the stencil where you would like it and use a brush or sponge to make your stencil. Use acrylic paint from the store and if you happen to mess up wipe it off with a wet rag and start again.
• With mustaches being popular now you could also use black paint and simply paint each child a black handle bar mustache above their upper lip. Kids will love it and it is simple for you!

Pirate Paper Dolls

• Simple paper Dolls were created below. More for younger children. (Artwork by Randall Schutt)

Pirate Medallions

• Purchase or save bottle caps. 
• Trace a quarter on a piece of paper and cut it out so you have enough circles for your medallions.
• Have the children decorate their small circle.
• Place it inside the bottle cap with a small dab of glue or a glue dot.
• Attach the bottle cap to a string. 
• Kids have their own pirate medallion to keep and wear.
• Use Modge Podge over the paper if you'd like to make it a little more sturdy. It can dry while you do the rest of the party games.

Hats off to You-Pirate Hats

• You can make and fold a pirate hat by following the instructions from this link. http://www.heidisongs.com/Free_Downloads/assets/Pirate_Hat_Directions.pdf

OR

• Cut out strips of poster board two inches thick. Then cut out of black paper a simple shape such as that below. Have the kids decorate their black piece of paper. Staple it to the poster board strip and wrap it around the child's head and staple in the back.

Pirate Telescopes

• Collect toilet paper tubes for a few months so you have enough telescopes for your little pirates. Paint them all one color before hand if you prefer. (Black or brown) Then have kids decorate their telescope using markers, paints, stickers. (Use in Crows Nest activity below)

Activities and Games

Crows Nest Eye Spy

• With or without your telescopes from above find a "crows nest" you can use. Could be the top of your stairs, a small hill in your yard that is higher then the rest, your back deck. Anything to put kids up a little higher then the regular ground. 
• Hide objects around that can be seen from above such as shells, plastic sea animals, a parrot, anything pirate like. Have the kids use their telescopes to look out over the "sea" and see if they can spot the items you have carefully hid.

Signs of the Sea/Dangers of the Sea

• Purchase a clear or white shower curtain and using a black permanent marker draw a sea image on the curtain. Draw cliffs, shallow water, a storm, a tidal wave, lightening, winds, coral reefs, sand bars, mermaids, sea monsters, etc.
• Draw regular items in between all of these so it is similar to an Eye Spy. Have a list of the things the children need to find or simply place it out on the floor or a table and see if they can act as a real pirate and spot off the of the Dangers out at Sea.

Puzzling Pirates

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Mermaid Point

• If you have girls at the party or even if you don't this is fun. Purchase some large seashells and let the kids decorate them with glitter, glue, markers, etc. Use smaller shells and turn it into a pirate necklace if you'd like.

Sunken Ships/Cannon Ball Toss

• The ship below was made out of scrap foam from another project. You could make a simple version of this using poster board or butcher paper. Draw a ship. Put targets on it. (Give the circles point values for older children if you would like.) Use black nerf balls or any type of ball and have the kids try and hit the ship where the cannon ball holes are.

Sea Monster Mural

• Purchase or draw a large pirate picture on a piece of white butcher paper. Leave out crayons, markers, and colored pencils. As guests arrive or if you need to fill some time have them each color a piece of the mural. If it is put on the floor or a large table quite a few kids can work on it at the same time.  (Artwork below done by Joshua Johnson)

Lost Treasure Chest Hunt

• Create a Treasure Chest Hunt in your home or yard. Purchase a cheap paper treasure box or use something from around your house that will work as a treasure box and fill it with whatever loot you would like-chocolate gold coins, candy, plastic coins, little toys.
• Create a simple map of your yard or home before hand and give it to your little guests. Name spots on the map with creative labels such as Skeleton Caves, Peg Leg's Shack, Twilight Tunnel, Lantern Light Mine, Sunset Cliffs, Mirage Water Hole, Black Beards Forest, Smugglers Cove, etc. 
• Have children visit the areas on your map and cross them out once they have looked for treasure there.

OR

• Leave clues for older children leading them to different places on the map.

Meet the Captain

• This is fun if you have someone that is willing to dress up and play the part for you. Dress up Dad, an older brother, Grandpa, anyone willing as a rugged old sea pirate. Have him be present to hand out parts of his treasure when the kids find it on the hunt or just have him talk to the kids and show them some items from his pirate ship. A compass, an anchor (see pirate party decor post), have him talk about storms at sea and make a tornado in a bottle that the kids can play with-see the following link for instructions. http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/makeatornado.html