Costumes & Accessories (35)

Nautical Theme Party

Table of contents

Introduction

Ready to set sail for the best nautical party ever? Well, so are we. And to help you get organized, we've put together a list of fine ideas for you to choose from to ensure that your nautical themed party is one of the best there will ever be.

 

The term "nautical" refers to anything that involves ships, shipping or seamen. And just in case you were wondering if this included pirates, then the answer would be yes, but only in the broadest terms. Where pirates usually plundered and pillaged, seamen were often those hard working individuals that served on ships of a commercial purpose.

 

Perhaps one of the most well known seamen of all times, is of course "Popeye the sailor man", a fictional character who was created by Elzie Crisler Segar and first published in 1929. Popeye helped shaped the image of the sailor in many people's minds: he sported a characteristic anchor tattoo, had thinning red hair and permanently had a corncob pipe stuck between his teeth. In addition, he had a girlfriend called Olive Oyl.

 

In addition to Popeye, there are often many stories circulating about the sailors of old. While some rumors maintained that sailors were generally charming, other accused them of being foul-mouthed, skirt-chasing, drunken characters, almost as bad as pirates!

 

But still, times change. Nowadays sailors are well disciplined young men and women who spend months at a time at sea, doing their duty either in the navy or in the commercial shipping or fishing business.

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Nautical Theme Party Invitations

There are as many variations on the nautical party theme as there types of sailors in the world. For the purpose of our party, however, we’ll be looking at those invitations with general elements related to the nautical lifestyle that you’ll be able to buy in any store that stocks nautical merchandise.

 

Be sure to include the following information in your invitations so that your guests will be well-informed:

  • Party Name:
  • Salutation:
  • Date & Time
  • Venue/Location
  • Dress Code
  • Contact Details
  • Additional information…

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The Life Preserver Invitation

Life preservers were often used to throw at those individuals who have fallen overboard and drifted too far away from the boat. Fastened to the life preserver was a rope of which the other end was fastened to the ship.

 

The idea of this invitations is to by a life preserver for each of your guests. Once you have them, either write or get the details above printer on the life preserver which, when finished, will make the ultimate nautical party invitation.

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Gob Hats/Captain’s Hats

The Gob hat or Captain’s hat invitation is one that depends on status: will all who attend your party be captains? Or will they be mere sailors? Both these positions were often denoted by their respective uniforms which included these hats.

 

Whatever you decide, be sure to get a hat for each and every one of your guests. Once you have them, take them down to your local screen printing or embroidery firm to have the details of your party put on the hats.

 

This will not only make a great invitation, but also supply your guests with something to wear for the occasion.

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Compass Invitation

The compass invitation is one that requires a slightly higher budget. For this invitation you’ll have to get your hands on a nautical compass (with a metal casing) for each of your guests or for every couple you wish to invite.

 

Next you will have to get the details of your party engraved on the compass. While many people prefer to have the name of the party and the salutation on the front and the rest of the details on the back, others prefer to have the invitation inside the compass. However, the choice is yours.

 

This will not only make a fabulous invitation, but also something that could actually help some of your guests out of trouble in the future.

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Nautical Theme Party Dress Code

In the olden days there were only male sailors, but as time advanced women became integrated in the profession too. As for the dress code, well, it easy:

Men:
 

A white v-neck t-shirt

Or

a horizontally thick striped (only two colors: white and blue/red/black) t-shirt

Or

a white short-sleeved collared shirt.

In all instances white trousers. While captains wear matching white formal shoes, sailors wear the appropriate deck shoes.

Women:

In most cases women are required to wear collared short sleeved shirts with matching skirts and flat-heeled shoes. But for the purposes of your party, why not instruct women to wear the same uniform as the men or to use their own inspiration?

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Nautical Theme Party Decorations

For the best range of nautical party decoration, we’ll advise you to pop down to your local nautical merchandise retailer or just have a browse on the internet for the following items:

  • Maritime Flags
  • Captain’s Wheels
  • Portholes
  • Fishing Nets
  • Life Boats
  • Anchors
  • Large Sea Shells
  • Tiki Lamps
  • Life Preservers
  • Fake Seaweed
  • Barometers
  • Miniature light houses

 

In addition, keep in mind that sailors, when at land, sat in grubby old taverns sipping their mugs of ale. As such you may also want to get a couple of worn-looking tables, stools and appoint a pipe-smoking barman.

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Nautical Theme Party Guest Arrival & Announcement

Unfortunately sailors never had their own announcement as it was a ceremony specifically reserved for the captain. But then, seeing as it is your party, you’ll be able to customize the announcement as you wish. Here’s a classic example:

Captains: “Captains George & Christie Adams, on deck!”

Sailors: “Ten-hut! Please welcome sailors Alan & Fiona McBride “

 

Be sure to replace the names above with those of your guests.

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Nautical Theme Party Favors

For those out of party favor ideas, we’ve got just the solution! If you haven’t used any of our invitations, then you can use them as party favors. They include the Gob or Captain’s hat, the compass and the life preserver. For the purposes of party favors, we suggest that you just include the name of the party, the names of your guests as well as the date. For more information, just look under our invitations.

 

Other ideas include personalized maritime flags, miniature captain’s wheel, miniature anchors and sea shells.

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Nautical Theme Party Activities

Beach Volleyball

When sailors weren’t on ships or in pubs, they were often lying on the beach waiting for the time to pass. In more modern times, sailors join in those activities we all associate with the beach.

 

Beach volleyball is an activity usually enjoyed by everyone! All you’ll need for this is a net and the required volleyball. Both of these can be bought from any sports retailer or even online.

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Limbo

Traditionally from the Caribbean, limbo is one of those activities that sailors would have encountered while anchored off any of the Caribbean islands.

 

For those who don’t know, limbo is a dance with a bit of a twist. The idea is to dance below the limbo stick by bending backwards without touching it or knocking it down. As all those active participants complete their individual passes below the limbo stick, it gets moved a little lower.

 

Limbo sets can either be bought or made at home as it will simply require three sticks or poles typically between 5 and 6 feet long. Take note that two of the three sticks will require hooks or pegs at exactly the same places every couple of inches.

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Dancing

After spending months out on the ocean, who wouldn’t feel like dancing? Supply your guests with some good music with which they’ll be able to dance the night away.

 

To make it a bit more interesting, make-up your own choreography for your nautical-themed line dance.

Beach Bowling

Ever heard of beach bowling? Well, it does exist and is a popular sport on some islands.

 

Where there is no bowling ball, an empty coconut is used; where there are no bowling pins, plastic bottles are filled with sand and stacked in the characteristic tenpin triangle.

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Food & Drink

If you’ve done any reading on ancient maritime literature, you’ll know that the crew of a ship often only stocked flour, rice and those items that could be cured such as beef. Oh, and barrels of fresh water.

 

Luckily, however, times have changed and sailors are able to enjoy the same foods as everyone else. For that reason you’ll be able to serve normal foods, but ensure that you supply it with an nautical name. Here are a couple of examples:

  • Crusoe’s Salad – A seafood salad
  • Bluebeard’s Chest – An extra large burger with a blue cheese sauce
  • Sailor’s Breakfast – French fries served with mayonnaise
  • Map to the End of the World – A delicious pizza smothered in a number of cheeses

 

And as for drinks, well, hardened old seadogs preferred their ales, whiskeys and rum. Be sure to stock a variety of drinks that all your guests will be able to enjoy.

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