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Pirate's
Cove (updates in
progress)
Shiver me
timbers! Ahoy Mates!
Party
Ideas by Party Consultant Michelle Hylton
Updated: 08/31/2010
www.PartyShelf.com
Multiple vendors linked in
theme.
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INVITATION
IDEAS |
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Pre-Printed |
Print
Your Own Invite |
Message In A
Bottle |
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At the
Activities For Kids site, they have printable "Ahoy Maties"
invitations, that you include your party specifications with. It is
suggested that you use card stock paper. These
invitations print 3 per page, are one sided and measure 3" x
6.25". Click
here
to create your invite. |
(Just replace Lei confetti with tiny
shells)
OR
Use brown paper or
check you craft or office supply store for Pirate theme computer paper
to print on. I used a Treasure Map design paper that worked
great. Use cleaned out 12 oz plastic soda bottles, remove labels
also. Roll your invitation to fit into bottle, add a little sand
and a tiny shell for that added touch. Hand deliver your
invitations. |
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DECORATING
IDEAS |
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Pirate
Theme |
Pirate Decor |
More
Ideas |
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View
our
Pirate
Themes
which
includes colorful plates, table cover, cups and napkins.
Add our
vinyl treasure maps as placemats and
this treasure box centerpiece to your party table.

Use
our
Treasure
Chest piñata as a table
centerpiece or use a toy Pirate Ship. Drape treasure chest with
beads. Scatter
gold plastic coins,
rings,
bracelets, and
money around the chest.
Don't forget
to add a
Pirate Treasure Candle
to
your cake. |
We have a full line of
Fill the room with

Pirate Flags
Add color with our
46"
Inflatable Parrot,
Pirate Ship Mylar Balloon 40 Inch Each
and
red balloons.
Add
sea decor around the room with plastic lobsters, fish, shells, helm,
anchor and fish netting. View our
nautical line for supplies.
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Create
a theme scene for photos or just to enhance your party room.
Dig out those Halloween Skeletons, plastic bones and skulls to create a
skull island. See party photos below. |
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GAME
IDEAS |
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Pin the .... |
Cannonball Pop |
Hook the
Treasure |
You
can play either Pin the "X" on the treasure map or Pin the Patch
on the Pirate.
Click on clipart, print,
then enlarge the photo using a copier. My tip is to take it to Kinkos or
other office store and have the picture laminated. Use
Black Paisley Bandana
for covering eyes.

Or use the jointed Pirate or Pin the Patch on
the Pirate.

Pirate Party Pin Game

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Split
guest into two teams (see tip below). Each Pirate is given a
cannonball which is a black
balloon tied to their ankle with
a ribbon
matching their team color - red or black. Prior to the party blow up the
balloons to about a 5 or 6 inch diameter and tie about a yard of colored
ribbon to them. Make extras in case some pop before the game starts.
Place them in a large garbage bag until ready to play.
Have an adult signal the start of
the game. Each player
on a team tries to pop the cannonball of their opposing team. They can
only use their feet to pop the cannonball balloons. The first team
to pop all of their opponents cannonballs is the winner!
Warning: This can be a loud game,
little ones may get scared of the noise. Also, pick up all popped balloon
pieces and ribbons as soon as the game is over. |
Split
guest into two teams. Each team will have a
small black box and a
Pirate Hook. Mark a start line
with a piece of black or red tape and place the small black box on
it. About 10 ft away, place a
treasure chest and throw
gold
necklaces,
rings,
bracelets and
gold plastic
coins in, around and draping over the
treasure chest. The gold coins will not be used but just add
a decorative touch to the game. The object of the game is to hook
the most "booty". Each team is given a hook hand. The
first player wears the hook hand runs to the booty and has to pick just
"one" jewel and put it into their teams small black treasure
box. The jewel must go completely in the box. The child then hands
the hook to the next team player. Play continues until all of the
booty is gone and in the team's small black box.
With assistance from an adult, each
team counts their booty. The Pirates with the most booty are the
winners.
This
was a hit at the Pirate parties I serviced. The kids had a lot of fun and
the parents got some great photos. |
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Walk the Plank |
Peg Leg
Race |
Skeleton
Hangman |
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guest try to "Walk the Plank" blindfolded. This is a balancing
skill. Use a
black bandana
for blindfold.
Plank - Make a plank from a 8 ft long
2"x4". I painted one white, then painted the words "Walk
the Plank" on it in black paint. Now, my plank had a little secret to
it, it was slightly curved on one side. This allowed me to place the plank
right on the rug or floor, made it wobble a little and still provide a
challenge to walk across it. This worked well with children under 7. For
older kids, I have seen others use a flat board and place small bricks
under the board to raise it a little off the ground. If you do that,
please have one adult on both sides of the plank to help the fallen
Pirate. Party Photo
with Plank in corner.
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Pair
up your Pirates for a Peg Leg Race ( 3 legged race). Use
bandanas to tie
legs together. |
This
is a great game for kids 8-10. Split guest into two teams. Use two
Halloween jointed skeletons. Break apart the skeletons to have 2 arms, 2
legs, chest, hips, and skull. Draw on a wipe board or chalk
board two hangman poles. Choose words related to
Pirates. Alternating teams and players, let each guest try to guess
a letter. Before they guess they can try to solve the puzzle. Only the
person whose turn it is can try to solve it and team members cannot yell
out the answer. If a guessed letter is not in the word, that team gets a
skeleton part added to their hangman pole. The first Pirate team to
hang their skeleton LOSES! If a Pirate guesses the word correctly
the team gets a point. I like to play till a team gets 3 points,
this allows all team members to get a chance to guess. Each time you
start a new word, remove all skeleton pieces from the hangman pole.
Plan on having at least 10 words. In case you have some guest who yell out
the answers. If they do, the word is discarded and no points awarded. I
use Scotch removable wall squares for hanging the pieces. Here's a photo
of my Skeleton Hangman:
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Musical
Ships |
Pass the Skull |
Captain Says |
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musical chairs. Use brown paper shopping bags cut into pirate ships
silhouettes and use in place of chairs. Play Pirate Music and when the
music stops only one child can be on a ship. Remove one ship each time,
until there is a winner.
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Like
Hot Potato, use a plastic or foam skeleton skull to pass around while
listening to Pirate Music. |
New
crew members had to sign a set of rules called "Articles" when
they joined a ship. If they disobeyed or caused trouble they were given a
punishment. In this more friendly version (like Simon Says), let the
birthday child or a parent be the captain. Give out orders, if a crew member doesn't do it or
does it wrong, they're out. The last Crew member standing is the new
Captain and get the felt pirate hat as a prize. |
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Porthole
Pitch |
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Using a black 3 part
display board. Cut four portholes into display board. Cut one small hole
on each side and two in the
middle. Paint a gold circle around each hole, to create a porthole
look. Using at least 4 bean bags, let the kids toss to see how many
portholes they can pitch into.
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Mic's
Party Tip: To help with playing team games, I
used a simple method of assigning colored bandanas to
our Pirates. As each guest arrives give them a
black bandana for the "Black Beards" or a
red bandanas for the "Red Beards".
The
guest can tie them to their belt loops or wear them on their heads. Or try
one of these head bands below.

Red Pirate Hat
Black Pirate Hat
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ACTIVITIES |
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Coloring
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Treasure
Hunt |
Pirate
Craft
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For
your little Swashbucklers, let them open the party with coloring a pirate,
parrot or a pirate ship. Click
here
to view and print coloring pages.
One
more fun idea that I used at many parties, was a Treasure Map Sticker and
Coloring Activity. I used a large piece (length varied depending on
how many guest at party) of brown
packing paper. I cut the ends to curve like an old map. I pre drew a
large center Island and smaller Islands. The large Island is for the
birthday child, then one Island for each guest. I drew the islands in
shapes of Pirate Hats. Each Island had a child's name written on
it. Then each child as they entered the party was given a small
plastic bag filled with Pirate Stickers of ships, treasure, palm trees,
birds, sharks, etc. They had to find their Island and decorate it.
There were also crayons and markers available for them to add their own
creative touch. The Birthday Child got to decorate the large center
Island and got a few more stickers. On the large center Island I
also drew a large dotted "X". I later used this map and
hung it up using removable wall strips to play Pin the "X" on
the Treasure Island. The Birthday Child also gets to keep this
large map as a party souvenir.
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You
can play this game several ways.
1.
Hunt for Prizes - Hide gold coin candy, mini party favors, etc. for the
children to find.
I
suggest you put the treats into a black netted squares (black netting can
be found at most craft stores) and then tie up with red curling ribbon.
Send each child on a hunt for his Pirate Booty Bag. Remind them only 1 bag
each. This keeps everything fair.
2.
Pirate Loot Race!
For
older children make this a team contest between the Black Beards and the
Red Beards. Hide our plastic gold coins. Send each team off to collect
their Booty! Pirates
must return their gold coins to the box as they find them. Set a time
limit, even if all coins are not found. Let each team count their
LOOT! The team with the most loot, WINS!
3.
Buried Treasure - Using a Sandbox or large plastic tub filled with sand.
Bury party favors or Loot bags. Then one or two at a time, dig for
their treasure. Set a limit to how many treasures or just one loot
bag.
4.
Treasure Activity Kit |
1. Make a Booty Bag
2.
Decorate a mini wood
chest.

Treasure Chest Craft Kit Pkg/12

3.
Decorate Pirate Flags

Finish the party with
a piñata!
Photo Op

Pirate Photo Setting
Swashbuckling photos are a snap with this 6' x 3 1/2'
photo setting! The self-standing cardboard and mural display comes with
a pirate's eye patch. Easy assembly. |
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Learn Pirate
Jargon |
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"Ahoy there!" -
"Hey!"
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"Avast!" - "Stop!" |
"Aye, Aye, Captain!" - "Yes,
Sir I will do it!" or "Yes, Sir I understand!" |
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"Belay that noise." - "Be
Quiet"
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"Get out o' me eyes!"- "Get
out of here or leave my sight!" |
"Land Ahoy!" -
"There's land in sight!" |
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"Scupper that ship." - "Sink
that ship by blowing holes in it."
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"Shiver me timbers!" - "Goodness
me!" |
"Surrender ye swabs!" -"Give
in you creeps!" |
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"Tell it to the parrot." - "Tell
everyone."
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"Where's the loot?" - "Where
is the treasure?" |
"X" Marks the Spot! - Where
the treasure is marked on the map. |
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More
Pirate Jargon |
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ARGH!
-Take a look at these shots, Mates!
Pirate Links
Return
to Children's Themes
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