My youngest daughter has been obsessed with pirates since she was about six months old so I knew it was inevitable that we’d one day throw her a Pirate Party.

Pirate Party Baby | Missfrugalfancypants.com

Since we live in the Tampa Bay area, we are very familiar with living the life of a pirate. Growing up with Gasparilla means learning to speak Pirate at a very early age, mateys. Fortunately, this makes it much easier to throw a Pirate Birthday Party without a ton of effort. We tend to have random pirate themed decor on hand from years of build up.

Pirate Party Baby | Missfrugalfancypants.com

This kid was serious from the start

Aside from one insane project that I insisted on (because it just wouldn’t be a party if I didn’t have one harebrained scheme up my sleeve to prove my insanity), this was actually an inexpensive and easy shindig to throw together. In fact, I went way outside of my comfort zone and did just about everything the week of the party. I did order some random stuff about a month in advance but shoved it all in a closet and forgot about it until the week of. Say what?!?!?!

Pirate Party Invitation | missfrugalfancypants.com

I fell in love with these invitations from Etsy.

A very generous friend loaned me a ton of her own pirate garb. Her husband happens to be a Pirate in one of the Gasparilla Krewes and they’ve hosted enough gatherings to have amassed a good bit of swag over the years.

I painted and tied scrap pieces of wood together with twine I had on hand to make an “X marks the spot” for the mailbox. This was free. Me thinks it was brilliant.

Pirate Party | Missfrugalfancypants.com

We had to hang a pirate flag on the house. Luckily, this falls into the category of things we already own. (Please ignore the goop around the base of that flagpole due to an in progress repair.)

Pirate Party Front Door Decor | Missfrugalfancypants.com

This was a gorgeous Gasparilla wreath borrowed from my friend…

Pirate Party Wreath | Missfrugalfancypants.com

This cute banner was another borrowed item. Yay for not having to make it myself! Except I like it enough to replicate it. Loud sigh.

Pirate Party Banner | Missfrugalfancypants.com

I reused our own Gasparilla wreath to hang over the dessert and adult drink station. We served Bobby Flay’s Rum Punch renamed Me Hearty Punch for the adults. Warning: It was H.E.A.R.T.Y.

And don’t judge my rum sign at a toddler party. They. Can’t. Read.

Pirate Party Pirate Ship Cake | missfrugalfancypants.com

Blah blah blah…check out this CAKE!!!!!!!!

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My niece made it with the help of her team of family members. She is amazing. Seriously. Look at this thing. And this bad boy doesn’t just blow your mind visually; its taste will shiver your timbers as if Captain Jack Sparrow were standing right before your landlubber eyes.

Pirate Party Cake | Missfrugalfancypants.com

Pirate Party | Missfrugalfancypants.com

Someone loved her cake.

Pirate Party | Missfrugalfancypants.com

I made this (yes, again in WORD!) and originally printed it on white cardstock. It made me crazy when I attempted to frame it since everything else in the room was brown or aged so I went a little pyro. I burned the edges to give it a more authentic look but the stark white was making me batty. I glanced at a half empty pot of coffee and decided to brew a cup of tea (I still needed that coffee)…to soak the paper and make it less white. And then I used leftover burlap as the “mat.” UPDATE: After receiving so many requests for this Pirate Name Printable, I’ve listed an already aged version in my Etsy shop. Click here to purchase the instant download.

Pirate Party Names | missfrugalfancypants.com

I found this on Pinterest, printed it out and painstakingly cut it out (it took all of 1.75 minutes, FYI). I hung it on a door that was in the party space for people to enjoy if they felt bored or awkward. It happens.

Pirate Party Speak | missfrugalfancypants.com

As for the pirate themed tablescape, I used my brand new Cricut (Shout out to my hubs for my birthday present!!!) to make the Pirate Birthday Banner. I was a total nerd for this project and enjoyed every second of it.

I used a giant piece of burlap I have used many times before as the tablecover but realized at the last minute that I’d recently cut it for another project and it was no longer big enough to cover the entire table. Enter the aha! moment…I pulled out the turquoise tablecloth from the mermaid birthday party and draped it across the back of the table to mimic water and cover the naked table portion. This also worked out since I needed to cover the bases of those paper palm trees…

Pirate Party Food Table | missfrugalfancypants.com

I made the paper palm trees by wrapping a few tubes of wrapping paper (mine still had paper on them which didn’t matter) in burlap rolls I already had. I cut palm fronds from green posterboard and attached them to the top with duct tape (on the burlap, not the unused wrapping paper). We grounded the trees by putting them in unused clay pots we had and filled them with broken pieces of leftover pavers. This was quite a last minute project so I didn’t have time to perfect it but I am completely happy with the overall effect….and minimal cost!

I made the food tents in Word. {insert laugh here}

Pirate Party Food | missfrugalfancypants.com

I incorporated my possibly overused method of wrapping glass vases with something stringy to hold the plasticware…I can’t help it. I love the way it looks.

Pirate Party Decor | missfrugalfancypants.com

I’m a bit of nut about the right kind of food for a particular crowd. I like to offer party food but with some healthy options (which is super funny since I’m the queen of cheeseburgers).

Pirate Party Food | missfrugalfancypants.com

And I clearly like to incorporate the theme…

Pirate Party Food | missfrugalfancypants.com

Our menu for this party was as follows:

Cheese & Crackers {Pirate’s Gold & Polly’s Crackers}

Spinach Dip {Seaweed Dip}

Shrimp Salad {Sea Farin’ Salad}

Hot Dogs {Octodogs} Note: While these are crazy easy and crazy cute, cold hot dogs SUCK! Be warned.

Chicken Kebobs with Creamy Pesto {Sword Kebobs}

Peanut Butter & Jelly {Peanut Butter & Jellyfish}

Cuban Sandwiches {Shipwreck Sandwiches}

Fruit Salad {In my unartistic version of a Pirate Ship}

Pirate Party Ship Food | missfrugalfancypants.com

I was exhausted. We had been doing party stuff for three long days. The night before, we had a family emergency and my husband had to leave unexpectedly before all of the critical things were done. Like cleaning the pool everyone would be swimming in…putting up the tent, tables and chairs for people to sit at…

So the fact that I managed to get all the food prepared and carve this pathetic excuse for a pirate ship as I panicked I’d have to do all that other stuff at 4am the next morning is a flipping miracle.

Thank goodness for my mom who tended to my kids as I frantically chopped and diced and sweated. Thankfully, she was already at the house when he had to leave because she was helping me do this…Batten down the hatches…

Outdoor Pirate Pool Party DIY Ship | Missfrugalfancypants.com

Pirate Pool Party DIY Pirate Ship | missfrugalfancypants.com

This was my harebrained idea. I had to make my pool look like a pirate ship.

I went cheap and opted not to pay to laminate my portholes. I regret that since you can see the bags we put them in but whatever. It was free.

We hung a giant stuffed shark that’s been in our home since our first trip to Ikea years ago. I hate sharks. H.A.T.E.

Outdoor Pirate Party | Missfrugalfancypants.com

And the sails…

Oh, the sails…

I found a cute photo on Pinterest using pvc pipes and sheets. We just happened to have ripped our current set of white sheets so I decided this was a must do project. I could stick the pvc pipes into our pool fence holes and voila! Right?

It took 3 of us to figure it out and I can tell you with certainty that I offered about 2% of that brainpower. I came up with the concept. I figured out that 3/4″ pvc pipes would fit into my pool fence holes. I bought the pipes and some cross fittings.

That was it.

My mom had to draft the plans with measurements, etc. My brain was not working. She would explain it to me and I would go blank.

I finally started to come around once she told me what sizes the pipes needed to be. I cut them and then went blank again once she explained how to attach the sails.

I was coming around again as my husband had to high tail outta here the night before. We did manage to get the sails attached but then had no clue how to finalize this project.

Enter my step-dad. A sailor. Not a boater, a SAILOR. He sailed here from South Africa. With one other guy. He’s the one that can build a house with one hand tied behind his back (if you’ve read my About page). He got the sails up, tied together and finished. All hail the sailor.

I should also mention my husband made it back that night and after working his tail off for days, hauling booty to a hospital over an hour away, tending to the family emergency, still got busy and did everything that I was afraid wouldn’t get done. With nary a complaint. Captain Bite the Bullet deserves an award.

Pirate Party DIY Pirate Ship | missfrugalfancypants.com

I ordered beach balls and inflatable swords for the kids to play with in the pool.

Pirate Party Goodies | missfrugalfancypants.com

And I couldn’t resist the Pirate’s Booty as an outdoor snack…

Pirate Party Booty | missfrugalfancypants.com

I found these fun pirate’s legs on clearance at Chasing Fireflies and couldn’t resist…

Pirate Party | missfrugalfancypants.com

We set up the side of the yard to accommodate tot sized dining and playing. This ginormous flag was another borrowed item from my pirate mates.

Outdoor Pirate Party | missfrugalfancypants.com

This was truly the best shot I could get of her. She refused to hold still. Shocker. (And I’m giggling as I’m typing this as I realize her bow is upside down. Damn Rum Punch.)

Pirate Party Dress | missfrugalfancypants.com

Her adorable pirate dress was from Etsy and can be found here.

Outdoor Pirate Party | missfrugalfancypants.com

We offered all guests 100 water cannons…

Note: When offering water balloons to little kids, warn adults against wearing white shorts…True story.

We borrowed this floating ship but they are available online here.

Ourdoor Pirate Pool Party Games | Missfrugalfancypants.com

Outdoor Pirate Party Cannonball Waterballoons | Missfrugalfancypants.com

Pirate Pool Party | Missfrugalfancypants.com

This party didn’t cost a fortune and my lil’ pirate wench had a blast! Once I return the borrowed items, we’ll still have a good bit of fun stuff for future Gasparilla celebrations making everything reusable. Yay for that!

Pirate Party Dress | Missfrugalfancypants.com

Outdoor Pirate Birthday Party | missfrugalfancypants.com

Yo ho ho, mateys!

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Outdoor Pirate Party Ideas | missfrugalfancypants.com

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