From Jake and the Never Land Pirates to Pirates of the Carribean, a pirate-themed party can be fun at any age. Family Entourage co-founder, Mei Ling did a pirate-themed party for her son’s two-year birthday. She shares some tips that you can use for just about any party to make it a swashbuckling success!
Argh matey! Check out our pinterest page for more party ideas and the Facebook page for all the party pics!
As we put our party together, we learned that some of your favorite celebrities are part of the Jake and the Never Land Pirates cast including David Arquette, Tori Spelling, and Josh Duhamel. Of course if you’re a Pirates of the Caribbean fan, you can always incorporate Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp into your decorations, we won’t tell anyone!
- Treasure Hunt! Don’t feel like you have to buy every single item. Pinterest is an amazing place to get ideas, but don’t feel like you have to buy everything new for a party. Look around your house for things you might already have that fit the theme. Check out your local thrift stores for things that are inexpensive but add a special touch to the party. You could even ask your friends to borrow items that they might have. For our pirate party, we scored the pirate rocking ship, globe and lanterns all at our local thrift store. You can also treasure hunt for things on sale. We found the plates, cups and tablecloth from Pottery Barn Kids on sale at the end of the season and then just saved them for the birthday party.
- Be a Captain and pick a good first mate. Decide what you want to do yourself. I highly recommend not doing everything yourself unless you are a professional party
planner, have lots of help or have tons of time. It will be hard to do everything well and still enjoy the party. Choose which things that you are able to do given your time frame and bandwidth. We did the cupcakes and décor ourselves. Delegate things to other family members or friends that are willing to help. My husband wanted to create a pirate ship so he recruited his dad to help him build it. They used tablecloths from Target, some wood for a “walk the plank,” and an existing Little Tikes clubhouse that we had. They used “cannons” from our leaf blower and also set up our Pottery Barn Kids table inside so the kids had a special place to eat. Like any good captain knows, know when to get an expert on board. We didn’t have as much time as we would like, so we got our banner and cupcake decorations from Meri Meri. They have some great sets including invitations, plates, cups, banners and thank you cards for lots of different themes.
3. Feed your crew. Whether sunrise or sunset, your landlubbers will need some replenishment. We used Pirate’s Booty and Shark Bait a.k.a. goldfish crackers and put them in some fun shaped jars. We also cut a watermelon into the shape of a boat and served a fruit salad out of it. We knew our little pirates loved pizza so we ordered a giant pizza for them to dig into! When guests RSVP ask them if they have any food allergies and consider providing alternatives for guests so that they can still enjoy. We served gluten-free cupcakes and brownies as well as gluten-free pizza.
4. Polly wanna pose for the camera? We love having a photo booth at all of our parties. It’s a fun way for guests to connect. We like using the photos as a thank you note. Plus, in the craziness of a party, 
we often miss out on lots of moments and photos are a fun way to capture the essence of the party. Call us old school, but we still like to be nostalgic and print out photos. We used HP Snapshots app on
our phone. Guests texted us their pictures and we printed them out on our HP printer on the spot. We used the new social media snapshot paper, which is fun because it is the size of an Instagram photo and has a sticky back. It’s a unique way to fill a memory book or put photos on the fridge. The photo station can be as simple as a backdrop and some fun dress up props. For our pirate party, we used our shrubs as the backdrop along with the banner and pirate ship. Guests could put on a pirate hat, bandana and eye patch. We also had some Meri Meri pirate hats for people to wear if they were feeling festive. We used the HP selfie paper to then use as thank you notes for our guests.
5. Walk the plank. Create age appropriate activities for your guests. The pirate ship was great for the younger guests who pretended to shoot cannon balls and walked across the plank. We also had Captain Jack Sparrow inking people who wanted temporary tattoos. We finished off the party with a piñata. Instead of candy, we filled the piñata with treats from the $1 bin at Target including stickers, punch balloons, jump ropes and bath toys. Other great ideas include, a musical guest to do some sing along songs with the kids, bounce houses, mobile play stations, video game trucks or characters.
Don’t forget to get in the mood for your party. Whether it is wearing a full costume or sporting a fun hat, don’t be afraid to mix it up and do something out of the ordinary. Give your guests the freedom to get dressed up too. We always like to tell the guests the theme and how they can dress up if they want to. Sometimes people forget, so have some fun props or extra costumes guests can borrow if they still want to participate.
We hope your next party is smooth sailing! Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss out on our latest interviews with celebrities and their families on everything from parenting to travel.
