A pirate theme will liven up any celebration.
A pirate motif makes for great parties. Within the broad theme of "pirates" there is almost unlimited room to express your taste. Incorporate pirate-themed food, activities and decorations into your next birthday, graduation or for-no-reason party, and watch the magic happen. After all, you can't say "party" without "arrrr"! Does this Spark an idea?
Decorations
Every pirate party needs a skull-and-crossbones flag.
Pirate party decorations can be simple or elaborate. Hang a pirate flag in the living room window or from your flagpole to shiver the timbers of arriving guests. Inexpensive pirate flags can be purchased from party supply outlets.
You can also make your own reusable pirate flag--as big or small as you need--by purchasing white felt and black fabric. Cut a skull and crossbones or similarly chilling design out of the white felt and stitch it onto the black fabric. To add an authentic touch, use big, ragged stitches. Pirates made their own flags, and with a few notable exceptions such as the buccaneer-naturalist William Dampier, pirates weren't exactly notorious for their refined natures.
Interior decorations always depend on your space, audience and budget. Hang prints of antique maps of the Spanish Main and other pirate haunts. Tacked-up white sheets draping from the ceiling suggest sails billowing in the trade winds. Lanterns, brass, navigation charts, sextants and other nautical bric-a-brac add to the atmosphere.
Food and Drinks
Barrels and rope add gritty detail to your nautical atmosphere.
Kids will delight in eating octopus dogs (hot dogs partially sliced into strips to make tentacles) and gulping down "bilge water." Find a small cask or barrel, fit a bowl or a brand-new bucket inside it, and fill with a sweet green drink. If the barrel doesn't open easily, use it as a prop.
If you're a foodie, your pirate-themed party for adults could feature a "Barbary Coast banquet," with dishes from North Africa. Or invite guests to bring dishes from any region known for piracy, such as the Caribbean.
Even non-foodies can handle whipping up a signature cocktail. You can rename a classic drink for the occasion, or design your own. ("Anyone thirsty for a Davy Jones' Locker?") If you come up with your own drink, printouts of the recipe, on refrigerator magnets, perhaps, make great party favors.
Activities
If you're lucky enough to be near the sea, tour a tall ship.
Choose pirate party activities suitable for the age of the party guests. Adults can generally amuse themselves with conversation, but kids benefit from more structure.
If you're organizing a kids' birthday party, food and present-opening plus one or two backyard games and a "big" activity should be sufficient to occupy a three-hour time block. The big activity could be a craft or a scavenger hunt, using--what else?--a pirate's treasure map, leading to a chest filled with gold-wrapped chocolate coins.
Pirate shirts or bandannas are a mess-free, stress-free pirate craft suitable for kids ages six and up. Purchase inexpensive black T-shirts or bandannas, several bottles of white puff paint and brushes. Cover the work surface with a drop cloth. Put a sea chantey CD on the stereo, and show images of pirate flags for inspiration. Then let the kids create their own pirate attire. If necessary, engage the assistance of a babysitter or older sibling to use a blow-dryer to speed the drying time of the paint. The paint will dry much faster if you encourage kids to spread it thin rather than lay it on thick.
If you are fortunate enough to live near a coast, see if there are tall ships or other historical vessels that offer tours, and take your group.
Tags: black fabric, dishes from, pirate flags, pirate party, white felt