Costumes & Accessories (70) / Party Supplies (51)

Pirate Party

Table of contents

Introduction

Ladies and Gents, fun lovin’ freebooters an’ scurvy bilge rats… It’s yet again time to let your hair down and throw your head back for the party of the year: the pirate party. Below you’ll find all the secrets of a successful pirate-themed party – one sure to impress the guests and make your name known across the seven seas. But first, a little background on piracy.

Pirates were indeed booze-drinking, fun lovin’ and often violent criminals, but what many may not know is that they were first and foremost individuals who craved freedom from the harsh treatments that were bestowed on sailors in the navy. It goes without saying that this was the original motivation for them to dissociate themselves from the military and therefore the government. Unfortunately they turned criminal in earnest soon after and became the romantic figures of old we know to have sailed during the Golden Age of Piracy, which lasted roughly between 1670 and 1730.

Yet piracy was indeed not a modern occupation for those with the gleam of gold in their eye and a hunger for treasure in their hearts. The most notable historic pirate nations of old included the Mediterranean pirates who eventually gave rise to the feared empire of the Barbary Corsairs. Others included the Vikings and the more mysterious buccaneers that sailed the coasts from India to Japan.

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Pirate Invitations

Making your own pirate invitations will require little effort and even less money. Keep in mind that pirates often had little to work with when either at sea or marooned on an island, so to ensure that your invitations look as authentic as possible they’ll need to be a little rough around the edges.


The Pirate Map

Making your own pirate map invitation should be as easy as pie and will only require a little computer skill and some ingenuity. Add the details of the party to one side of the map whilst the other contains the map itself – directions to reach the location of the party. Remember to mark the spot with ‘X’ so that your guests will know where they should be looking for treasure.

For an authentic look, use parchment instead of normal paper and perhaps some staining ink to give it that aged look.


Message in a Bottle

Imagine being stranded on an island – and all they’ve left you is a bottle of rum and a pistol with a single shot. Luckily times have changed, but we can draw some inspiration from it.

Add the details of your pirate party on a rough piece of paper or parchment along with a humorous plea for help. Here’s a line we thought quite apt:

“Avast mateys! I bin marooned! Would appreciate company – got booze, bring more if ye like. Will be waiting at venue from sunset on date. Dress accordingly so that I’ll know ye not to be from the Navy!”

When done, simply put the message in an empty glass bottle, preferably green and seal it with a cork. For those living close to the ocean, enclose a bit off dried sea sand, seaweed and shells for that tropical island effect.


The Black Spot of Death

The black spot was originally a death threat exchanged between pirates, but will make a wonderful authentic invitation. All this requires is a bit of black paper or card board with the words “Ye Black Spot o’ Death” written on the one side with the time, date, location and dress code written on the other. For the best effects, use gold ink and an appropriate old English font.


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Dress Code

Men: As to classic pirate uniform, no one needs any introduction. We’ve all seen the attires of admirals, captains, officers midshipmen and the lowly crew of the damned. Breeches, doublets, pantaloons and frocks were essential parts of their uniforms, while the lowest of the low wore clothing fashioned from bulk bought material.

Additional articles to be included with the dress code include cutlasses, pistols, eye patches, moustaches and grizzly beards, a wooden leg, a hook that fits at the end of the handless arm and, of course, a set of very bad teeth.

Women: As female pirates weren’t too plentiful – the most famous being Anne Bony and Mary Reed – women can enjoy dressing up as barmaids and pirate wenches in revealing Victorian era dresses which had a small waist and expanded downwards.

Do keep in mind that those pirates of the 17th and 18th centuries were not the only once that existed. Piracy was already a very profitable, if often fatal, occupation thousands of years ago and not only limited to a single nation. It will therefore be wise to do a little history on some of the most famous pirate nations which included the Barbary corsairs as well as the Vikings.


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Pirate Decorations

Decorating for pirates is perhaps the easiest task of all, except if you expect your guests to include elegant pirate captains and admirals (in which case you’d have to increase your budget dramatically to include the finest silver, gold and porcelain).

If pirates weren’t enjoying themselves in the hold of a ship or on some deserted beach around a fire, they were found in grubby old pubs where the plates and goblets were made out of wood. The reason? Drunken pirate brawls were plentiful.

Our suggestion is to get your hands on a couple of chipped, cheap barstools, plain wooden tables, a couple of empty wine barrels, no end of seaweed and skeletal fish and arrange them all accordingly around a bar.

For those with more fanciful inclinations, decorating a room in your house to resemble the captain’s luxury cabin and refined tastes might be just the ticket. This will make your guests feel like they are received in quality and treated with the utmost respect of loyal pirate friends.

It might even be prudent to hire a waiter or two dressed to the theme who will ensure that the tankards remain full while your guests enjoy themselves.


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Pirate Guest Arrival & Announcement

For the announcement of your pirate guests there are quite a few options. Remember that pirate captains of old usually had cabin boys to attend them. It would therefore be a good idea to employ someone with a youthful appearance dressed in tattered clothes to announce the guests as they arrive and their respective titles. Be sure to tuck him off to bed once all the guests have arrived, as pirate parties were no place for the youth.

The same position can however be filled by the first mate or even the elegant pirate captain. Where the former usually staggered around with drunken swagger, the latter was composed, thoughtful and very menacing.

Suggested lines include the following:

Cabin boy: “Ladies and Gentleman, it is my pleasure to announce the honourable Captain _______, commander of the conquered ship, the HMS ______.

Drunken First Mate: “hic, Ladies, gents and ye lowly bilge rats hic, it be my pleasure to announce to ye the arrival of none other, hic, than Captain ­­­______ and his lovely companion _______.”

Captain: “Ladies, Gents and all our other distinguished guests,” says he with a threatening glare at the crew, “it is my pleasure to announce the arrival of the honourable commander of the HMS _______, Captain _______ and his beautiful guest, Madam _______.”


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Party Favours

As for pirate party favours there are any amount to choose from, aside from booze, wenches and treasure.

Consider acquiring miniature treasure chests, each filled with something that your guests will enjoy. These should be easy enough to get your hands on as they are used to day as popular jewellery boxes.

Additional party favours include anything from fake golden coins, pirate medallions with some secret code or instruction engraved upon them as well as the spoils of a recent plunder.


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Activities

This is probably the best part of the pirate party as, aside from eating and drinking, you will be able to entertain your guests with treasure hunts and so much more.


The Timed Treasure Hunt

Remember that map we made as an invitation? Well, pirate maps usually pointed to the location of the treasure but neglected to mention exactly where it lies buried. And just to make things more interesting, why not leave clues as to the location of the treasure on your guests’ party favours.

Now, they’ll have to hurry to find the treasure as pirates of old usually had little time before the tide came in, especially if they were in a cave. Make sure your treasure is hidden well but still findable.


Walk the Plank

One of the best fun activities for a pirate party is the “Walk The Plank Trivia”. In this game the captain of the ship asks a number of questions – general knowledge or specific – which his crew must then answer. For each wrong answer, a crew member must move toward the plank. Those that reach the plank, will have to walk and perish in the shark-infested seas whilst the others may continue to enjoy the salty sea air.


Battle!

Pirates not only battled with naval ships and the escorts of heavily laden merchant ships, but also with each other. Divide the party attendees into two opposing groups, each located behind a table filled with water balloons.

The objective is for the one team to clear the other team’s table of the water balloons, using their own. Though make the shots count as using all the water balloons on failed attempts at clearing the opposition’s table will result in penalties, or even automatic sinking of the ship!


Board Games

For those who prefer the dryer and less threatening pirate activities, invest in a pirate themed board game or create your own. These exist in all shapes and sizes and includes games of general trivia to those that resemble classic ‘Snakes & Ladders’.


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Food & Drink

Pirates had a very varied diet that ranged from cured beef to potatoes, fruits and vegetables to rice and maize to anything they could lay their hands on. Oh, and don’t forget all manner of seafood.

Successful ideas of the past included seafood fondues held under the shine of moon and stars, bonfires and barbeques with lots of raucous singing and dancing and so much more. For those who’d prefer the taste of modern food mingled with pirate delicatessens of the past, here are a couple of suggestions for different foods and their respective names:

Captain Jack’s Kraken Surprise: A delightful seafood dish served with all manner of calamari rings, lobster, crab, mussels in a white wine sauce, etc.

Blue Beard’s Burger: As Blue Beard was one of the most notorious pirates of old, it would come as no surprise that this hefty king size burger will be sprinkled with all manner of chillies, peppers and other eye-watering spices.

Crusoe’s Jacket: Consider a large baked potato with crispy skin, split in four and filled with a delightful seafood stew.

And as for drink, well, we all know what pirates drank. Fine wines, cheap and dangerous wines, ales and rum were but a few of those favoured by the foul-mouthed vermin of the seas. To keep with the pirate theme, it would be wise to have these drinks in casks and barrels from which your guests would be able to help themselves. It was, as it were, only the officers, commodores, captains and admirals that had the pleasure of pouring wine from the bottle.

For those guests not inclined to a glass of fine wine or a mug of ale, any measure of tropical fruit juices will do the trick. Pirates were also drinkers of coffee and tea as the ships they plundered often contained these.


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On a Final Note

The ideas above may be used as you wish to ensure that your party is the best pirate party in town. We would however recommend that you do some reading first as naval piracy is a subject as broad and as diverse as history. Other than that, be sure to keep an eye on your crew as pirates were notorious lawbreakers.

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