ideas for a childs party, pirate theme?

Question

hi all, my son will be turning 3 in a few weeks and im planning a pirate theme party for him, has anyone got any ideas to make it a success. thanks in advance. x

Answer 1

An old box turned into a pirate ship.
Hunt the treasure - can be sweets or foil covered chocolates.
Walk the plank - can be a piece of paper on the floor if you're worried about them falling off.
Pin the treasure on the map.
Pin the patch on the pirate.
Pin the tail on the parrot.
Pass the parcel - but make it a treasure chest.
Jump the river - 2 pieces of rope about 6feet apart. Childen have to move from one side to the other and when the music stops those 'caught in the river' (in betweenthe ropes) are out.
Make masks/hats in advance out of cardboard and the kids can decorate as part of the party. Use sticky paper to save on mess.
Make a pirate version of the bear and the honey pot - 1 child (the captain) hiding their eyes in the middle of a cirle with treasure (usually a bunch of keys) and a child from the circle has to silently try and sneak the reasure away without the captain hearing them.
Musical islands - a piece of paper for each child on the floor and when the music stops they all have to find an island to stand on. Remove an island with each round till 1 island and 2 pirates left.
You could have pictures cut into 4 pieces and hidden about and the first team to find all 4 bits for their jigsaw wins. You could draw someting on different colours of paper to make it easier.
Pirate corners - 4 pirate related pictures, one in each corner of the room - when the music stops the childrne have to stand in a corner and someone not looking calls out a corner. Those in that corner are out and so it goes on till only 1 is left. Once you're down to 3 or 4 children then limit them to 2 corners or it could go on forever!

Finger food - just as a pirate would have!
Red cola - shark's blood
Lemonade - sea water
Jelly with a gummy sweet inside - you can get bones etc which is good fun.
Shredded lettuce - seaweed.
Sausages still strung together as a 'chain' from the anchor.
Mouldy bread - french sticks and peanut butter
Cannon balls - truffles made with cake crumbs and bound with melted choc.
Cross bones - chicken legs in honey - delish and something the adults can cut down for the youngsters.
Sandwiches could be cut to pirate shapes.
Puff pastry cut into shapes before cooking is also good but make sure the pastry is rolled quite thin so the shape can hold better.

Invitations could be drawn out to show a route to your house, torn around the edges, usual pirate stuff!
This is a great poem for the invite

Ahoy there matey!
Stop yer pillaging; lend me your ear.
I have a message fer ye to hear!
The treasure’s bin stolen, it must be found,
So tighten your sashes, Skull Island abound!
Shiver me timbers, thar’s a pirate on board,
Drinkin’ shark’s blood an’ flailing his sword!
I’m Captain ……… and will lead the way,
On....... is my birthday party!

Chart yer course for ……
We be settin’ sail at …… fer some swashbucklin’ fun, grub and kiddie spirits
and comin’ ashore again at ……..

Wave yer flag if ye be attending.

Sees ye thar!

Aaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!


Pirate ship cake - round cake cut in half and stuck together in a semi circle. Shave a bit off the base so it sits flat then cover in brown butter icing and rolos on the side for the cannons, a plank from melted together matchmakers and a flag from a skewer with a jolly roger attached. Some playmobil pirates on top and a few maltesers for cannons. You can put some blue butter icing around the bottom for the sea in you want with a few toy sharks thrown in for good measure! The name of the boat (child's name to be included somewhere) can be done in pre made sugar letters and the date can be stuck around the front.
Or a treasure chest - square cake covered in brown butter icing with sweets etc spilling over the top. Try to get the icing as flat as poss then you can score lines in to make a wooden effect.

This is a great book with lots of shiny stickers in the middle
http://www.usborneonline.org/catalogue/browse.asp?org=BUC09163&css=1&subject=A&subcat=AB&id=1757
and some good ideas for a younger child.

And make sure you say in advance if you want the guests to turn up dressed for the occasion - experience tells me that it can sometimes be needed! If anyone doesn't come in theme then have some pirate things that can be put on easily, even if it is an eye patch so everyone can help make the atmosphere even better!
And don't forget the usual pirate plates and cups etc!

Hope there's something of help here and hope it's a great party for you all!

And just remember - why are mums so great? Because they just arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...............



OK. It is a rubbish joke. Go and enjoy!

Answer 2

"Have a hallway of closed doors (i.e. bedrooms leading to the bathroom, or storage rooms not being used)? This is really neat. Buy some white PVC piping at your local discount home supply store. Have them cut the piping (or do it yourself) tall enough to fit INSIDE the door jams when the doors are closed (about 4-5 for each door). Spray paint the pipes a flat black. For an added touch, use some acrylic paint (rusts, beiges, browns) and smear it across the pipes to age them. Prop these poles up in the door jams and VOILA! You have a dungeon! For a touch that will have everyone talking, in a couple of the rooms, have a continuous tape playing by the door of voices from the prisoners. They could be calling to the jailer for food, arguing with other inmates, or merely pleading for freedom. HINT: You don' t need hours of original dialogue for this, only about a minute or two &then copy the segment over and over. If you are especially clever, you can write a short script that would end up where it began so that your cuts are seamless."

Answer 3

i always loved this game and it suits your pirate theme although 3 might be to young but it would be a clue on a piece of paper and it would say simple things like hickory dickory dock the mouse ran up the _____ and then the next clue would be behind the clock and then at the end there are the goody bags for the kids this was always a hit at my birthday when i was young but i don't know if i was that young i guess you can make sure they are things he knows though i just don't know if he and his friends would have the attention span GL

Answer 4

Pirates of Caribean is massive among little kids at the moment, with jack sparrow, etc.

Why not use that as a theme integrated in the pirates idea?

Answer 5

I'm having a princess themed party for my daughter in a few weeks. I've found a few reliable web sites that sell scene setters, themed balloons and pinatas, basically everything you need for a themed party. Just type in childrens parties on a search engine and they'll all pop up.

Answer 6

Pin the leg on the pirate. Eye patches and head coverings. A game including walk the plank.

Answer 7

Hi , try their fav charecter from a book or film , my 3yr old loves lightening macqueen from cars, im sure all 3yr old have different things they like and most 3 year olds dont know what a pirate is.
Also 3 yr olds love music and dance so that could be good , games would bore them as they hate to sit still to long.

Answer 8

You should check out this website:

Birthdaypartyideas.com

It's a MASSIVE list of parties that other people have done. They describe in detail their games/decorations/etc. I have gotten many, many ideas for parties here. There are literally hundreds of themes. Good luck, and have fun!

Answer 9

The site below has some interesting items. A simple treasure hunt might be a good activity. Hats would be fun. I would avoid swords as they may lead to problems.

Answer 10

Get some gold chocolate coins and make a treasure chest, lots of bandanas, an old sheet as a sail to hang up and paint a skull and crossbones on it in black fabric paint, erm........