Kids' Birthday Party Ideas: How to Plan a Pirate Party for Cap'n and His Mateys

When my little guy was 2, everything was about pirates. He would say, "I be Cap'n! You be matey! And you be Me Hearty!" From James Hook to Jack Sparrow, children of all ages are fascinated by a world filled with hidden treasure, secret maps and GOLD! So indulge them in their skull and cross bone obsession and have fun... because planning a pirate-themed birthday bash can be a great adventure into your imagination. Here are some kids' birthday party ideas you can incorporate into your favorite pirate's big day.

Invitations
A pirate's world is full of loot and full of great fodder for creative invitations. A treasure map is the first thing that comes to mind. Or, perhaps an SOS message in a bottle. If you dare, venture into the world of iMovie and send out an invitation like this:



Decorations
The sky's the limit. You could make it easy on yourself and buy the complete pirate birthday party kit. That will cover all the paper goods you'll need and keep with the theme. Hang some black sheets with a tension rod across your front door. Paint on your white skull and cross bones or, you can use white poster board and tape. As each guest arrives, you can give them a buff and eye patch. Tell them to climb aboard!

Craft
For our party, we ordered cardboard treasure chests from Oriental Trading and peel and stick jewels. This was a great activity that the kids could do independently, as we waited for everyone to arrive. Later, their jewel-encrusted treasure chests doubled as their keepsake/favor box, which we filled with gold chocolate coins.

Activities
• The perfect game for a pirate party — a treasure hunt, of course. Adjust the difficulty level for the age of your attendees. Older kids will get a kick out of solving riddles, using math and problem-solving skills to get them from clue to clue. Younger kids can be given picture clues.

• Place a wooden plank flat on the floor and have the kids take turns walking the plank, blindfolded.

• Use a trunk or box as a treasure chest and have kids take turns reaching in and guessing what prize they feel inside.

Snack
Invite your mateys to the poop deck for some, uh... Pirate Booty! And cake, of course. What do pirates eat, anyway? (Other than booze, I mean, "lemonade")

Goody Bag
This is the best part... gold coins! If you want to forego the chocolate, many dollar stores will carry plastic gold coins and jewels for party keepsakes.

And shiver me timbers, there you have it... one complete pirate party, all wrapped up in an hour and 30 minutes. See? It's easy and actually kinda fun coming up with kids' birthday party ideas. If your kid's heart is set on a pirate party, make it easy on yourself and grab all your pirate party paper goods online. Then you can focus your energy on some of the other creative details.