Birthday Party Planning

Good Birthday Party planning can go a long way to alleviate the stress that most parents feel in the build-up to a child's party.  Every child loves a pirate party and they don't have to be perfect in order to be fabulous, memorable and a great deal of fun.  You don't even need a big budget, in fact the best pirate parties come from the home-made touches that you can add.  We have lots of pirate themed party ideas for you here.

The main thing to remember is that everyone is there
to have a good time, dress up as a pirate, play some pirates games,
get over-excited, eat some pirate food and if you are lucky,
calm down a little before home-time!!

Birthday Party planning saves stress (yours) and tears (theirs!) on the big day.  Thinking ahead also means that the pirate party need not be too expensive and we have some great kids pirate party ideas here for free.

~ Timing of the Party ~

For very young children and toddlers, one or one and a half hours is usually just right.  Any longer, and the children will start to get tired, over-excited and frazzled!!  Try to plan the party as early in the day as possible, as toddlers get very weary after 3pm and some are still used to an afternoon nap!  Avoid school pick-up times as well.

For school-age children, two hours is usually ample time to fit everything in unless you have made a detailed treasure hunt that would take up lots of time.  Plan your party for after school or for a weekend afternoon.  Weekends are usually better as the children can be tired and irritable after school.

For a pirate themed party, it is very useful to have daylight so that the children can do activities outdoors.

~ Numbers ~

As much as your child may want to invite his entire class of thirty school friends, you must consider your sanity and ability to look after large amounts of children.  If you have lots of other parents/family members to help you and a large house/garden/church hall, then that is fine but otherwise you must be practical.
Manageable numbers are generally calculated as the age of the child plus one or two extras.  When having a pirate party for the under-threes, this rule can be disregarded as most toddlers will have their parent present too.

If you are brave enough to take on 20/30 children, then you should have at least one adult per every five or six children.  If anyone offers to help you, never turn them down, as the more help you have, the less stress you will have on the day!  The best birthday party planning includes lots of enthusiastic helpers!

~ Pirates Invitations ~

We have lots of Pirate Invitations in our shop, but sometimes home-made ones are the best.  Our favourite invitation is a home-made treasure map scroll, tied and placed in a clear plastic bottle (such as a water bottle).  Don't use glass bottles as these can drop and break by accident.  Children love these.

On the Pirate Invitations, make sure you clearly state the finish time and include a return slip with space for a parent's telephone number on if you need to contact them in an emergency during the party.  It is also a good idea to find out if the children have any food allergies or are vegetarian etc.

~ Pirate Themed Party Ideas ~

Birthday Party planning would not be complete without a theme and the pirate theme is one of the oldest and best.  
We have lots of kids pirate party ideas and suggestions for pirates games and pirate food on our other pages, but try to encourage the children to come dressed up as pirates.  This could be written on the invitations.  There will always be one or two children who forget, so have a spare hat/eyepatch available to borrow so they don't feel left out.
 
We sell lots of costumes and accessories for Pirates, including eyepatches for 40p.  The pirate costume itself is easy to make up without buying anything.  All you need is a stripey top and some old trousers that you can cut shorter and put some rips in. 
We also sell princess costumes for the girls and even better if Mum/Dad can dress up too, as kids love their parents joining in the fun.  I am sure you will have no trouble persuading Dad to dress up - A Pirate Themed Party is ideal for Dad to let his hair down and we have some swashbuckling adult pirate costumes!  in our store.

~ Timetable for the Party ~

It's very useful to have a running order to ensure the party progresses smoothly and all your helpers know what is going to happen next.

First 30 minutes - Guests arriving

Make sure you have a pirate activity for children to do as they will be very excited, noisy and raring to go!  If the children don't have a costume, maybe this is a good time to hand out a few accessories to try on, or do some face-painting and paint on eyepatches and beards.  Tattoos are also loved by children, you can get pirate tattoos in our shop for 15p each (Packs of 8).  Other children could be decorating name place-cards or decorating a plain white paper plate ready for food later!

Next 60 minutes - Noisy Pirate Games

Play all the traditional pirate games, such as the Treasure Hunt, Walk the Plank, Pirate pinatas, etc outside if the weather is fine.  Let the children run off some energy!

If you have access to a large garden, there are many more pirate games you can play outside.  If it is summer, you can have water games too - kids will love this.

Next 30 minutes - The Food

Try to get everyone seated (the floor is fine!) and hand out the food and drinks.  This ensures that children eat some savoury food before the cakes etc. and helps to avoid spillages.
(A waterproof mat is a great idea to sit on!).
Finish with the presentation of the Pirate Birthday Cake and blowing out candles, while everyone is still seated.  This gives you time to cut the cake and place into the party bags to take home.  A really organised idea, is to have two cakes and already have one pre-cut, wrapped in napkins and already in the party bags!

Last 30 minutes - Quiet Games

Pass the Parcel favourite, and other quiet games to try to calm the children down.  We also have pirate colouring sheets and other activities to finish the party with.  Give out the party bags on the door as the children are collected, to avoid them all being opened at the party.  Have a video to hand while late parents collect their children (most turn up a few minutes late!).

Have a few extra games handy if your timings are wrong or if the children are getting bored of a particular game.  It's a good idea to have another quiet activity to hand if some children don't want to join in the noisy games.

~ Recording the Day ~