Ship Ahoy, Mateys! A Pirates Theme Party can be fun for many ages and for either girls or boys. I planned this party with 6 to 9 year old boys in mind and between 6 to 8 guests.

As with any theme party, your preparations can be elaborate or simple. I have a tendency to make grand productions out of parties, but you can choose to do more or less. Your party can be very creative and cost less than a store-bought version, but then it is labor-intensive. You may opt to take advantage of the many resources listed that offer complete party sets to compliment your theme and save you time. Your third choice could be a combination of the first two.

My ideas should only be a starting point for your own creativity. Use them all or just one or two and adjust them to suit your circumstances. I enjoy doing things from scratch; my creative thinking is often much better than my actual implementation of these ideas. My parties are uniquely mine, but whatever you choose will make them uniquely yours and they will certainly be a success.

When you think of pirates, certain images come to mind. You see old wooden ships flying the black flag with its scull and crossbones. Ships are bounced around on rough seas, with tough looking characters onboard. Pirates with striped shirts, tattoos, wooden pegs for legs, and a hook for hands people these vessels. You see the pirate's hat above weathered faces with gold teeth, and colorful bandanas tied around their head, which reveal a gold earring. The swashbuckling swordsman comes to mind. Thoughts drift to beautiful deserted islands filled with buried treasures. You might see a colorful parrot, a palm tree, worn maps, and sunken treasure chests full of gold doubloons. This is the atmosphere you want to create.

Whether decorations are home crafted or store purchased, keep to the theme. Some items you may include are treasure chests, maps, seascapes, ships, navigation tools, spyglasses, cannons, kegs, parrots, fishnets, sea life, mermaids, and scenery like rock piles, and palm trees. You may think of lots more.

The scene is set, now add activity and game ideas. Adapt any game to your theme, create original games, or borrow ideas from the atmosphere that you are trying to create.

Game #1- DIG FOR TREASURE - No pirate's party would be complete without digging for treasure. I would use a kid's wading pool filled with sand, which has been sprinkled with various small toys, real coins, well-wrapped candies, or tiny styrofoam balls with numbers, which correspond to prizes.

Game #2- WALK THE PLANK Keeping within our theme this game adds a bit more action. Place a prepared 8 ft 2x4 on a couple of bricks or a sturdy block of wood at each end, not too far off the ground. The board should be painted and sectioned off into 8 places. Each line or space indicates another move. Make a small spinner with numbers between 1 and 7. The pirates must move the amount of spaces of the number they spin. If they get more moves than places left on the plank, they fall into the sea and are out of the game. They take turns and every time, must start from the ending place from their last turn. The winner is the last one to fall into the sea or the first one to reach the end of the plank without any moves left.

Game #3- RACE TO PIRATE'S COVE - Refrigerator boxes from an appliance store, and your artistic talents create great pirate ships. Four kids stand in a line with the ship on their side so they appear to be in it. Divide kids into two teams. This is a team competition. Create a line on the floor or the wall next to the ships for them to navigate upon. The spinner can be used again to determine how many spaces. The captain will take turn 1, then the first mate, 2nd mate, and third. After one turn, the other team gets a turn. The winning team will get there first. Make it more fun by creating spaces on your line which include typhoons, being blown onto the rocks, mermaids or sirens keeping you from your journey, pirates attacks etc.

Game#4- WHERE'S THE ISLAND? A version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Changes from the classic game include the main target being an island drawn upon a map showing lots of ocean. Draw or find pictures of a spyglass, and copy and number these for your 'tail'. Use tape to 'pin tails' and the winner is the child who finds the island or comes closest.

Costumes can include newspaper pirates' hats or kerchiefs, eye patches, play swords or daggers, pretend hooks for hands, striped shirts, vests, jogging pants. Kids could come to the party dressed or you could dress them at the party as they arrive.

Prizes or Favors could be gold candy coins, eye patches, plastic swords, tiny treasure chests filled with candy, spyglass or maybe kaleidoscopes.

Food is usual party fare. A cake shaped like a pirate's ship, or the head of a pirate could be fun or a regular sheet cake decorated with a ship on the high seas, or pirates looking for treasure on the deserted island. Include dips and diggers, such as chips, crackers, pretzels, veggies or fruit. These 'salty treats' are just right for the 'old salts' on your guest list. The best drink is not rum, but beer, okay root beer; but any beverage will do. Maybe a Sea Blue Jell-O could be strewn with pieces of shipwrecks (fruit or marshmallows) in for an interesting dessert. The key is to use the food you want, but rename it to go with your theme.

The next step is to send out theme related invitations, prepare everything, and get ready for a party that will surely bring lots of smiles.

Credits: Jo Ann Wentzel