Pirate Pool Party
My biggest goal when planning a party is to make sure the birthday kid is on cloud 9. And when the birthday kid is my own son? You know I will be making all his dreams come true!
My son got very into pirates this summer, so when we were brainstorming party themes, I knew I had to suggest that! When he heard this suggestion his imagination took off, and immediately asked if we could pull sunken treasure out of the ocean. I couldn’t stage a treasure chest on the bottom of the ocean, but I COULD sink it in my in laws pool! And from there the pirate pool party took form.
The Planning Process
Since my son was only turning 3, I wanted to keep it cute, not scary. I found the cutest pirate decorations at Meri Meri and based a lot of my decor and color scheme off of that. The invitation was a treasure map with some of the same pirate graphics from the decor suite.
My son was turning 3 on the 3rd of September, making this his golden birthday! The pirate theme made it easy to tie in gold accents and deblumes
The Design
I planned the party setup around the pool and I wanted to stage it to resemble Pirate Cove from Neverland (Peter Pan). I made a large banner of the interior of a pirate ship and used sidewalk chalk to create a “plank” into the pool. The shallow end of the pool was “mermaid lagoon” and my mother in law’s fairy garden was “pixie hollow”. There was a large print of skull island along the back to further set the scene.
The pirate cutouts I ordered were hung from the olive trees in the back, along with a parrot on the branches.
The Activities
A treasure hunt is the most obvious activity for a pirate theme party — but it’s a classic and fun for all ages!
I was passionate about sinking a treasure chest in the deep end of the pool, and I learned a LOT of niche details in the process. I have plenty of tips if you want to try the same! I also walk through ways to make a treasure hunt on land extra fun in my Pirate Party Planning Guide!
We also set up a pirate tattoo station and had fun inflatables for the pool!
The Food
I like to keep the meal simple so we stuck with hamburgers and hot dogs, with some pirate themed sides and snacks. The food trays had custom labels and we even had a bottle of non-alcoholic “grog” for the kids! We had pirate’s booty, gold chocolate coins, and we carved a watermelon into a pirate ship to fill with fruit!
BTW - My editable food labels are included free in my Pirate Party Planning Guide!
My son requested a “white, rectangle cake with red icing and pirates” so that is exactly what he got. He helped me place the pirate figures where he wanted them and I added a handmade “pirate 3” cake topper. We also had cupcakes with pirate cupcake toppers from Meri Meri.
The Party Favors
Instead of staging goodie bags for the end of the party, I like to incorporate functional props that can be taken home! Each kid got their own inflatable pirate sword, hat, and eyepatch to keep. At the end of the party, the kids got to go home with a bag of treasure from the treasure chest! I ordered blank canvas pouches and ironed on custom labels to create “loot bags” and filled the chest with coins, gems, glow sticks and small toys.
This was one of my favorite parties I’ve planned so far, because my son is old enough to start giving me ideas! I love that he has such a big imagination, and since I am used to working in the film industry, I am GREAT at making the impossible come to fruition.
In my party planning guides, I walk you through my exact philosophy for creating a great party from start to finish, including selecting a theme, choosing decor, plus loads of extra resources like my favorite places to shop, and my party planning checklist to make set-up a breeze!
My Pirate Party Planning Guide breaks this party down to the mood board and shows you exactly how I built it, with ideas to apply to your own party space as well! I want to make it as easy as possible to give your kids the birthday party of their dreams (until next year!)
