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Pirate Birthday Party Ideas

Pirate Birthday Party

July 22, 2014 Sarah Coggins
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Over the weekend we celebrated our son’s 5th birthday with a pirate themed party. We had debated a couple of different themes throughout the year, but after my cousin’s wife shipped us a box of leftover pirate birthday goodies – we made our decision and started planning.

Pirate Birthday Party Ideas

Party Invitations

I ordered Pirate Ship invitations from Tiny Prints and then created my own return address labels and “no gifts” cards in Photoshop. [Our playgroup alone now has 12 kids with birthdays covering 10 months of the year and we all agreed that our kids have enough ‘stuff.’ We’d rather get together to celebrate and spend time – no need for more gifts.]

Pirate Birthday Party: Invitation

Pirate Decor

After the invites went out, we began prepping for pirate fun! Part of the simplicity of this theme – I dug out some of our Halloween decorations a bit early and mixed in a few other items like our son’s Pirate Mickey Ears from Walt Disney World and a new pirate flag I made.

Pirate Birthday Party: Decorations

Our guests were greeted by a ‘warning’ sign at the mailbox: Beware of Pirates. It was an easy DIY project I created using items we already had (find tutorial here).

Pirate Birthday Party: Beware of Pirates Sign

Activities

We had planned a few outdoor activities and we were thrilled the morning was overcast and cool (70 degrees in NC in mid-July?? We’ll take it!). We set up a simple walk the plank using a 2×4 and ‘water’ made from a dollar store tablecloth.

The inflatable crocodile was a purchased from 5 Below and the kids loved it. Poor croc was drug into the top of the playset on the opposite side of the yard and tossed overboard! They also played a hook toss game (idea and free printable from Fleece Fun) as well as made cork pirate ships to float in a small pond.

Pirate Birthday Party: Activities

We had purchased some plastic gold doubloons to hide in the sandbox for a treasure hunt, but a major rain storm on Tuesday left the sandbox a wet mess so I decided to toss that idea. Really, with the couple of activities plus the playset, toys inside and each other, the kids ages 5 and under were well entertained for the 2 hour party.

Pirate Food

Of course, we had snacks – pirate themed snacks. Our menu:

Shipwreck Sandwiches (Chick-fil-a chicken minis),
‘Berried’ Treasure (Chick-fil-a fruit tray),
Pirate’s Booty,
Salty Bones (pretzel sticks),
Krispy Buccaneers (Rice Krispie Treats),
Jolly Roger cupcakes,
Pirate’s Punch (lemonade), and
Shark’s Blood (cherry Kool-Aid).

I made the food labels in Photoshop the night before. Literally a last minute, quick project.

Pirate Birthday Party: Pirate Themed Food Ideas

The cupcakes I made this year. I love doing mini cupcakes for the kids. Perfect size. Our son’s current favorite colors are blue and orange. When I spotted blue velvet cake mix in the grocery store, I knew it would be a winner with him. I finished them off with white vanilla icing, red sprinkles and a few pirate cupcake flags.

Pirate Goodies

As the kids left, they each picked up a goodie bag with their name on it. I used simple sandwich bags again (love this inexpensive idea – see how I used them for his Cars and Blast Off parties) and created a map design based on this pin on Pinterest. I created mine in Photoshop and ran the bags through our inkjet printer. After filling with goodies, I folded over the top and sealed with washi tape.

Pirate Birthday Party: Goodie Bags

Our pirate birthday party was a lot of fun! After everyone left and we tidied up a bit, all 3 of us took it easy the rest of the day. Oh, and our son informed me that next year he wants a superheroes party. Already has a plan for year 6. Pause please – let’s enjoy age 5!

Source: ‘5’ Shirt – shirt from Michaels, striped fabric from JoAnn Fabrics, black fabric from the Scrap Exchange; Invitations – Tiny Prints; No Gifts Cards – boy pirate image from free Pirate Playdough Mat printable; Pirate Flag – made; Skulls – from our Halloween decorations; Walk the Plank – wood from stash, blue tablecloth from Dollar Tree, inflatable crocodile from 5 Below; Message in a Bottle – small bottle & cork purchased from the Scrap Exchange; Hook Toss Game – Pirate Hooks from Amazon, Printable from Fleece Fun, Rope from Lowes; Plates, paper cups & striped straws – Target; Goodie Bags – pirate ship clip art from ClipArtBest.com.

10 Comments

  • Rachel Withers July 22, 2014 at 12:37 pm
    Such cute ideas. I really need to get a new printer and Photoshop.
    • Sarah Coggins July 22, 2014 at 7:28 pm
      Thanks! A decent printer (ours isn't anything fancy) can do a lot. For the bags you just have to be patient and run one through at a time. Photoshop I own & love, but depending on your comfort level other options (Photoshop Elements, Word, PicMonkey, etc) can work just as well.
  • Andrea Bates July 22, 2014 at 12:58 pm
    Oh my goodness, how much cuteness? I can't believe you did all this. That's crazy in general, but woohiee with that baby on the way... amazing! Mama - I bow down to you!!
    • Sarah Coggins July 22, 2014 at 7:29 pm
      Ha! I'm telling you, I can't sit still even pregnant. Seriously, it wasn't all that much and Trent helped with a lot of it plus we worked on & off on bits for the last few weeks.
  • allison c @godanskermom.com July 22, 2014 at 1:08 pm
    I loved it! So creative and wonderful as ever.
    And we couldn't come without a gift. C runs a tight ship! ;)
    • Sarah Coggins July 22, 2014 at 7:30 pm
      Thank you! So glad to have you & your boys. Can not believe we're nearly done with the first round of '5' celebrations. Our kids are growing up way too fast!
  • Natalie July 22, 2014 at 9:05 pm
    This is so fun! My boys would love this!
    • Sarah Coggins July 23, 2014 at 7:28 am
      Thanks! We had a great time - especially the kids. A lot of heavy, tired eyes on the way out. ;)
  • Aubrey Hunt July 23, 2014 at 11:19 am
    These ideas are adorable! Stopping by from #typeaparent and totally pinning this now! Thanks for the ideas. :)
    • Sarah Coggins July 23, 2014 at 11:39 am
      Thank you! I tried to keep it simple & easy.

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    Sarah

    Hi! I'm a DIY and craft obsessed mom to 2. I have my hands covered in sawdust or paint any given day. My husband and kids join me in many of our projects. When we aren't creating at home, we're creating memories in our many adventures. Join along! Read More

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