When Walt Disney Pictures released their first ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie in 2003 it soon became evident that they were onto a winner.

For as long as people have used the oceans as trade routes there have been pirates. The earliest documented instances of piracy date back to the 13th century BC. And for as long as people have had fancy dress costume parties there have been pirates! (Although it is uncertain as to when the first documented instance was…) If you are thinking about going to a fancy dress costume party dressed up as a pirate then you might want to consider what items of clothing are most pirate-like.

For a man the obvious possibilities would include- a black and white stripey top, a waistcoat, dark trousers/jeans with boots over the top and an eye patch. You might even go as far as a bandana but a parrot on the shoulder would probably only appeal to the brave. Don’t forget about authentic looking pirate weaponry (obviously not real or you’ll end up walking the plank!). Perhaps you could equip yourself with a plastic sword or musket. Behaviour at the event should be as realistic as possible with regular exclamations of ‘Aaarr!’ and, if it is a chilly evening, the odd ‘Shiver me timbers!’

If you arerunning an ‘adult pirates party’ then (yo, ho, ho and) a bottle of rum would be a fitting drink for your guests. Perhaps you could make some cocktails as well. You could easily come up with some appropriate names for them such as ‘a shot across the bows’ or ’shiver me timbers’. You can see how much fun this could all be!

Some ‘pirates’ games are another possibility. You could soon devise some original ideas or you could adapt some traditional ones so that they have a ‘pirates’ feel to them… Maybe you could have such attractions as duelling with water pistols or a treasure trail game. Musical chairs with ‘pirates’ music could be interesting, especially if you happen to know someone who can play the accordion! But don’t worry, there are plenty of ’sea shanty’ cd’s available. Even if you decide against musical chairs then proper pirate’s music would be a must to have in the background.

If you are organising a themed pirate fancy dress costume party then you could also make up some pirate-style games and activities for your guests. How about a treasure-hunting game?

The long and the short of it is that if you use a little bit of imagination then there are all sorts of things that you can do to make your venue look really good and your party a lot of fun.

If you get your party right then your guests will absolutely love it. Who knows, you might get such a kick out of doing it that you end up organising a ‘cowboys’ party in a few more weeks!