Kids Pirate Birthday Games

Turn your backyard or living room into a pirate ship and host a pirate themed kids' party with some kids pirate birthday games!

Pirate themes are simple, easy and filled with all sorts of treasures-and not just the kind that's buried. One treasure you and your child will both walk away with is the treasure of having shared something fantastic with and for someone you love. Your child won't ever forget the excitement of being the center of attention, and you won't ever forget the sparkle in your child's eyes.

A pirate themed kids' party can be elaborate or simple with few props. If held in the backyard, use a couple of small kiddy pools to enhance the atmosphere. If held in the house, create an ocean of fun in one room only. Empty the room and turn it into a small section of sea. Use cardboard boxes to cover the floor. Flatten and paint the boxes various shades of blue. Cut the square edges of the cardboard to mimic waves rolling over one another and overlap the boxes securely to the floor and to one another to prevent slippage. Use poster board to create creatures that would be found in the sea and attaching them to the walls and floor.

Create two pirate ships using two large appliance boxes or cut one box in half lengthwise.

Let the Games Begin
This game is called "Sink the Ship." Set two pirate ships about ten feet apart, place half the children in one ship and the other half in the other ship, and then dump several dozen ping-pong or Styrofoam balls into each ship. The balls represent cannon balls. The object of the game is to toss as many balls into the other ship as possible, during a timed interval. Explain that the balls are cannon balls and should be lobbed into the other ship with a soft overhand toss.

Make "booty bags" using brown paper bags that have been crumpled to appear worn, and tied at the top with a shoelace. Make sure you have a booty bag for both the losing and winning teams. Booty can be as simple as a handful of gummy fish or red hot dollars.

Neither ping-pong nor Styrofoam balls should be able to do any damage if a child gets hit, but it's still important to reinforce good game playing behavior. The object is not to hit anyone, but merely to get the balls into the other ship.

Though this is a pirate party, nothing about your pirate party games should be dangerous. Even play swords should be out of the question. But, since it might be hard to get away with no swords at all, use pretzel rods. To determine who will be the captain of each ship, allow the children to have a swordfight using pretzel rods.

Make sure everyone who wants to be captain gets a turn, and don't force a child to participate in a pretzel rod swordfight if the child is not interested. To be on the safe side, you may want to let all parents know your plans so that no one is offended when it comes to even a pretzel rod fight.

Hunting for Personalized Treasure
Before the party, obtain a photo of each child who is to attend the party. Scan the photo and make two dozen copies of each child. Cut out the child's face and tape it to the front and back of a variety of sizes of gilded candy coins, making sure each child has the exact same amount of coins. Also make sure the gold foil is visible on the coin. Toss the coins along a short path in the back yard or create a path in the house. The object is to find all of the coins with your face on them. Of course, the child gets to keep each coin. When a child finds someone else's coin, they should be instructed to simply drop it back to the path where the correct child will find it.

Buried Treasure Map
A pirate theme kids' party would not be complete without buried treasure and a treasure map. For this treasure hunt, the treasure is the birthday cake. Hide the cake on the table within a large box made to look like a treasure chest, and then hand out treasure maps that pace the children all around the yard and back again to the table. Let one adult accompany the children while another adult prepares the party meal. By the time the pirates have returned to the house and their treasure, the meal will be ready.