Pirate party ideas

Young and old alike enjoy the pirate theme.  Talk Like a Pirate Day is on September 19 every year, just one of many excuses for a pirate party. Check out our pirate party ideas and the following online shops for inspiration for pirate gifts and swashbuckling parties.

Pirate treasure maps - for a pirate party game or authentic pirate invitation, age the paper. 

• Play around with different fonts but make sure the finished product is readable.  Blackadder and Viner Hand are a couple of suitably piratical fonts which are still easy to read.  Have a look in your wordprocessing software to see what you have.
• Perfectly straight edges and square corners are a giveaway -- slightly burn the edges with a candle or cigarette lighter or simply tear the edges off.
• Old paper that has seen a bit of adventure looks battered and discoloured.  There are many techniques to age paper.  A few ideas are:
  • Dunk the paper in a basin full of strong lukewarm tea, or simply wipe or dab the paper with used teabags.  If the paper is saturated it will buckle and warp as it dries.  If you don't want this, or if it's too wrinkled, iron with a cool iron once dry. 
  • Dampen the paper then flick specks on instant coffee onto it.  The dampness will cause the coffee stains to spread a little, resulting in dark spots.
  • Spray the page with lemon juice then bake it in the oven or iron.  This creates brown speckles.  Make sure your paper doesn't burn too much -- adult supervision is required for this one.
  • Crumple the paper when dry to get some nice creases.
• NOTE: Make sure any printing is waterproof before wetting it.  Alternatively, for an artistic flourish, write with a calligraphy pen after treating the paper.

Pirate treasure hunt - hide gold chocolate coins around the garden and make a treasure map as above.

Pin the flag on the map - A variation on pin the tail on the donkey, create a large map with an "X" marking the spot, put some blu-tack on the back of a mini jolly roger flag, and get blindfolded party-goers to "pin the flag on the map".  The winner is the person who gets the flag closest to the "X".

Captain says - A variation of Simon Says, the captain issues orders but only the ones starting "Captain says..." are to be followed.  Anyone who doesn't literally obey a "Captain says" order, or who obeys an order without the "Captain says", is out.

Pirate piñatas - check out Party Products Australia's pirate themed party supplies for pirate piñatas and other party game ideas.

Pirate Presents and Birthday Gifts

• My Wooden Toys is a Western Australian family run business offering quality, affordable toys that offer creative and educational value. Flat rate delivery Australia-wide. See their Pirate themed toys, including puzzles, wooden dolls and a wooden pirate ship.
   
• Toys Online Melbourne-based toy shop with the widest range. Gift-wrapping, greetings cards and gift vouchers available. Delivers Australia-wide, New Zealand and international. See their toys, costumes, and action figures with a pirate theme
   
• Identity Direct have lots of Pirates of the Caribbean products including books, personalised placemats and clocks, collectibles, quilt covers. The best way to find them is to start at the Identity Direct home pages and search for "pirates"
   
• Unique Kids - Stylish range of quality products children. Free gift wrapping and personalised message cards for easy gift giving. See Party Costumes & Dress Ups for pirate costumes and Boy's Bedroom for pirate-themed rugs and bed linen.
   
• DVD Orchard is a Australian family-run online store which stocks many pirate books, pirate movies on DVD, and pirate PC/console games including:
  • Dora The Explorer: Dora Pirate Adventure DVD
  • Hook - Collector's Edition DVD
  • Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest DVD
  • Pirates Of The Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl DVD
  • Pirate-o-pedia Book
  • Games for PC, Playstation, Nintendo DS, Wii, PSP, and Xbox
  • Search for pirate for many more titles
     
• There are more toy shops listed under babies, toddlers, girls, and boys.  Search individual shop sites to find all their latest pirate gifts.

Pirate Birthday Cakes

• Hullabaloo Parties - check out their site for a fabulous pirate birthday cake and pirate cup cakes - a thrill for pirates of any age.
  • Cake | Cupcakes | Cookie Wands

Pirate costumes

• Costume Box - Thousands of fancy dress costumes, wigs, hats, accessories and masks. They have children's pirate costumes in their boys historical and girls historical sections. All costumes displayed are in stock.
   
• Hullabaloo Parties specialise in a wide range of vibrant and modern children's party products, including pirate Dress-up Costumes and Dress-up Party Kits.
   
• Unique Kids - Stylish range of quality products children. Free gift wrapping and personalised message cards for easy gift giving. See Party Costumes & Dress Ups for pirate costumes
   
• Australia's Online Party Costumes Superstore - 100's of great costumes, masks & novelties delivered to your door anywhere in Australia.  See their Pirate costumes for pirate beards, hats, hooks, telescopes, swords, tooth blackouts, and complete pirate outfits.

More Pirate Things

• See Pirate Party Ideas here
• See pirate costumes for adults on themes4parties.com.au