Ultimate Kids Pirate Party! Ideas and Activities

Ahoy there, young buccaneers! Prepare to set sail on a thrilling adventure as we dive into the world of pirate parties!

We’ve got a treasure trove of ideas for games and activities that will make your little pirates’ day. I have years of experience running and designing parties and have compiled these tried and tested suggestions for a balance of fun and simplicity- you’ve got this!

From hidden treasures to daring challenges, get ready to embark on a voyage filled with laughter, imagination, and endless fun!

5 Top Tips for the Ultimate Pirate Party

Before we start, I will begin by sharing my top tips for the ultimate pirate party:

1. Create adventure with imaginative adventure quests
2. Involve children in physical games for all concentration abilities
3. Use music to create a magical atmosphere
4. Keeps decorations simple and bold
5. You don’t need to spend a fortune for an amazing atmosphere

I will take you through our suggested music playlists, our DIY adventure story, and some suggestions for the most effective and affordable decorations. We also suggest a range of active games for the children to play that will suit children of all concentration abilities- keeping the crew together and having great fun!

And the greatest top tip for an awesome pirate party: you don’t need to spend a fortune to create an atmosphere of magic and adventure to give your kiddos a super special day!

We also have a Mermaid Party and an Under the Sea Party theme for you to check our next!

Awesome Party Pirate Games

We have 4 party-favourite pirate theme games for you!

-1. Pirates footsteps

Children line up along one side of the room and at the other one child is designated Pirate. (The game is like Grandmother’s Footsteps). This pirate faces the wall.

While the pirate is turned away, the children tiptoe- swim forwards and as soon as the pirate turns around they have to freeze. If the pirate saw anyone moving, they are sent out or back to the start line. The child who manages to tap the shoulder of the pirate first, wins.

2. Life of a pirate

In this game, the facilitator shouts out the actions below and children must follow the instructions for each action. The last ones to follow the actions are out and the game continues!

• Port – run to one side of the room
• Starboard – run to the other side of the room
• Climb the rigging – pretend be climbing up a rope
• Land Ahoy – pretend to look through binoculars
• Scrub the Deck- drop to the floor and pretend to scrub it clean

This is a fun, high concentration and physical game- you can always take out one of two of these actions to simplify it for younger children, or reward the fastest child to avoid having to send people ‘out’.

3. Pirate Pirate Treasure:

This game is similar to duck duck goose but with a theme. It’s a great one to play as children arrive (or as children might get tired of lunchtime at different rates) as new players can easily join and it’s fun and familiar to them. Children sit in a circle facing inwards. Child A walks around the outside of the circle and gently taps the group one by one on the head as they pass saying pirate, pirate, pirate…..then, they choose one child (child B) to say treasure.

Child B jumps up and chases Child A around the circle. Child A has to run around the whole group and sit back in Child B’s space. If they manage, Child B becomes Child A in the next round. Otherwise, Child A has to play again until they succeed.

4. Pirate statues

This game is like musical statues- children dance to music and when the music stops they have to freeze! Encourage them to do the craziest dancing they can manage- this is also a good strategy to get them burning as much energy as possible. You can either reward the most frozen statues or call out the funniest frozen positions.

Best Pirate Party Activity Ideas

In this section we have 3 epic pirate activities including an adventure story, a craft activity and a sword fighting lesson!

1. Pirate Adventure Story

We have written a pirate adventure story that you can read and even act out with the children at your party. This is a really fun activity- children will use their imaginations and feel like they’ve entered into a real magical pirate land!

The story is about a group of pirates on a quest for treasure and all the challenges they face on the way! The story is attached as a free PDF download below.

Suggestions:

Make this section super engaging and get the children on board, and involved in pretending to be a part of the magic.

Pro tip: for older children you can ‘take’ them to the magical story world by going on an imaginary roller coaster ride or sprinkling them with flying dust and flying there!

Have you seen our Princess party, Rock Star/Pop Star and Outer Space Parties too?!

2. Pirate Craft Activity

Make your own pirate sword!

Kids will absolutely love this activity and the fun they can have playing with the swords afterwards. We suggest card swords- they’ll be very safe. have them decorate blank one with paint, crayons and maybe even some sticker jewels!

Here is a company where you can buy blank cut out swords– hopefully they deliver worldwide but there may be alternatives where you live. Alternatively you can make your own, it depends how much prep you want to put into this.

A craft activity is a really nice thing to do for a bit of downtime during a party. I often suggest it as children arrive. That way they can get involved straight away and having something to do can make integrating easier for children who are a bit shy at first. It’s also a lovely take-home gift.

3. Sword Fighting lesson

There are 3 sword fighting moves you can teach the kids- the whole routine will turn into a bit of a dance move- but still be ultra cool. The moves are:

1. High– point the sword to the upward above you at a 2 o’clock angle
2. Low– point the sword low at a 5 o’clock angle
3. Spin– hold sword into chest and spin
4. Punch– arm straight above head- sword pointing to the sky and shout ‘aaaaargh’ like a pirate

Once they learnt the lesson- play this epic pirate music and shout out sword routine instructions like:

• High low high
• Spin low punch
• High spin low punch

And get then to add in pirate sound effects!

If you didn’t opt for the craft activity but like the idea of sword fighting anyway, check out these inflatable sword props on amazon.

Music & Soundtrack Ideas for a Pirate Party

This Spotify playlist has a mix of jolly pirate theme songs! You could look for some of your favourites to play during snack time and during the dance games.

We also suggest the pirates of the Caribbean movie theme track for epic pirate music for as the children arrive and in the background during the pirate adventures! (linked as a YouTube video above)

If you don’t have paid Spotify you can also look for playlists on YouTube or just pay for a trial subscription of Spotify on their birthday party day.

Decoration Ideas for a Pirate Party

• Themed color balloons are a great deal of fun and make any space look festive- Create big bunches of black, white and silver or gold balloons and hang them all around the space. We love these eco-balloon options.
• A large wall hanging around a central table (for instance where the speakers are or where you do the storytelling) can be really fun. One great option for this is disposable-themed tablecloths! It’s a cheap way to add color or themes and you can stick them up with blue tack or press pins because they tend to be light weight. For example: This scull and cross-bones tablecloth on Amazon.
• Food tables are also a great part of the decoration- if this is in the same room as the games, having it set up with a tablecloth and themed cups and plates adds to the atmosphere and it is also very functional. For example: we think this treasure map set is adorable!
• It is inexpensive to get bespoke banners printed and this would make the decoration really special and personalized! You can even use it as a backdrop for taking photos of the guests with the birthday child as a special memento.
• Music! It sounds weird but music really creates an atmosphere and adds to the feeling of the space. Movie scores can be great to have on in the background. We recommend the Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune for atmosphere.

We also have epic Jungle Explorer Party and Fireman Party ideas you might love!

Food Ideas for a Pirate Party

The best tip for food ideas is to keep it simple and keep it to food that children will love. To get the most out of the food experience, here are our ideas for adding some sparkle and creativity to the snack table!

Pirate Treasure-themed Jello

A really fun thing to do for a party is make a huge bowl of jello and fill it with themed sweets inside! For a pirate party, we suggest a lemon, yellow-coloured jello mix filled with cola sweets, like pirate rum bottles.

You can also get little plastic figures online and put one of two inside the jello – just be sure not to accidentally serve up on the day!

Creative pirate cocktail juice jugs

Make jugs of your child’s favourite juice but put on fun labels like:

• Pirates power punch
• Trreasure trove tonic
• Captains cocktail
• Jolly roger pirate rum

Cute individual veggie cups

Individual little holders for veggies and or fruit or popcorn are a really fun way to serve food. For a mermaid party, you could use gorgeous little blue and white cases, each with a couple of carrot/celery sticks, some grapes and some cucumber- check out this page on amazon for inspiration.

Popcorn lucky dip

Popcorn is a really fun party food that children love and can be easily customised to fit a theme. You can make a popcorn lucky dip (a total hit with all my nieces and nephews at parties) where you mix popcorn with themed party sweets. For example chocolate gold coin or cola bottles.

Good Luck!

Thank you for joining us on this exciting pirate party adventure! We hope these ideas have sparked your creativity and inspired you to host a truly memorable celebration. Remember, the key to a successful pirate party is to use the kids’ imagination and create an atmosphere of fun and adventure.

As you embark on your own pirate party planning, don’t forget to capture those special moments. Take lots of photos cherished mementos of an unforgettable day.

We wish you fair winds, calm seas, and a treasure trove of happy memories as you bring your pirate party to life. Fair winds and smooth sailing as you create a magical pirate party experience. Good luck with all your preparations, and may your pirate party be a swashbuckling success!”