“Walk the Plank” Pirate Inspired Birthday

Ahoy, Mateys! You’re in for a real treat today as we are sharing a PIRATE Birthday Party full of inspiration, lots of goodies, and of course… some buried treasure! From the bold stripes to the vibrant color palette, we know you will find LOTS of party inspiration for your little pirates (or grown-up ones!) as we share our favorite elements – from the “old” sunken chest to the swirled drink bottles!

Designed on a budget, I share lots of the DIY elements below, so read on for lots more pictures and details…






THE DECOR
I worked closely with Anders Ruff Custom Designs on the printables for this Pirate Party! They are such a pleasure to work with and suggested added in pops of grey and light turquoise to the black/white/red color scheme. Their designs help set the mood for party decorations! First off was a trip the fabric store where my Mom (she’s my right hand woman and a great party stylist) and I picked up some bold black-and-white striped fabric. We added a red overlay for color. Fabric is such an inexpensive and easy way to find a perfect match for table coverings! Next, we added in a chest I already owned (originally from Hobby Lobby) and filled it with vintage looking net for an “old” look. Extra net was tossed over a crate I had in my office and used for favor bags filled with gold coins + rolos + red candy!
Last but not least was the WALK THE PLANK sign. A recent Nashville storm actually caused a tree to fall and knock over my back fence. Despite that trouble, a piece of the fence ironically came in handy when painted with some extra acrylic paint I had. Easy + very effective!
THE TREATS
When we were thinking of Pirate treats, we thought of islands and coconuts. So we served up coconut ice cream topped with shaved coconut and served in real coconut half-shells. The coconuts were actually leftover from sorbet treats from the grocery store! Red frosting was used for cupcakes + cute toppers from the Anders Ruff gals. Another treat was a last minute-addition to go with the “Walk the Plank” idea. I used regular red icing to write on store-bought fudge sticks. Simple, inexpensive + oh so delicious!
Pirate’s juice was served up in tipsy-topsy swirled plastic bottles that reminded us a bit of Captain Jack Sparrow’s walk in Pirates of the Caribbean. Root beer was also served as well as used for decoration when filled in an old rum bottle that my grandfather actually found 50 years ago washed up on the Charleston, SC shoreline when he was in college (crazy, huh?).

- Photography + Styling: Courtney Dial and Phronsie Dial – Pizzazzerie
- Printables ~ Paper Goods: Anders Ruff Custom Designs
- Swirled Drink Bottles: Ben Franklin Crafts
- Pirate’s Chest: Hobby Lobby
- Pirate’s Hats + Net: Party City
38 Comments
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Fabulous job Courtney!! Love the crazy bottles and all the fun styling ideas!!
Love the squiggly bottles. I know a friend of mine who just did a pirate themed party and it was nowhere this amazing!
Absolutely love this pirate party! I wonder how appropriate this would be for a 27 year old ;)
i am about to make baby pirate party and when i see this… I know it won’t get any closer than this, he he he! Can I feature this on my blog, Courtney?
That rum bottle is awesome!!! I bet it’s a real pirate one. Very sweet, very well executed DIY party!
This party is so awesome! Love those curvy drink bottles and all the cool printables! Coconut ice cream is just such a perfect touch,
Absolutely beautiful pirate party love it all. Courtney Dial – Pizzazzerie and Anders Ruff Custom Designs are amazing
Courtney – you did SUCH a great job. I love all of the details – the coconut ice cream, the cool drink containers… the plank sign. (and of course how you used the printables – LOVE the flags on the cupcakes!)
FABULOUS!!!!
XO
Maureen
You did such an amazing job on this party. The decorations look fabulous and I just love all the decorations. I think it could be used for any age. A pirate ship playset in the backyard would be great too.
These could be cute pirate sword necklace party favors-
And if you have any pets, here’s attire they can wear to fit the party!
Elizabeth Lembeck
@CoolProductsLiz
Oh boy! I love every bit of it! All of the details, perfect. It makes it real for the little ones, and that is so very special! Thank you for sharing your inspirations, so they become ours too.
I just had my own pirate birthday party on a yacht last weekend!! How I wish this had been posted before now. I love the Walk the Plank cookies and how we both used wooden signs!
Such amazing work! Loved the Walk the plank sign andyhe printables looked great!!
What a cool party for a boy. I love the color scheme!
Fabulous job Courtney!!! I love that you got some use out of that broken plank! Very clever! ;)
I have been waiting for a Pirate party post. Yipppeee!! Thank you so much. The color scheme is striking! So many great ideas. I was not able to find the swirled drink glasses on Ben Franklin Crafts’ website. Any suggestions?
Allie, check the store locator to see if you have one in your area – these were bought in the Richmond, VA store. You can also try other craft stores like JoAnns, Michaels, and AC Moore – check the sand craft aisles!
The party looks great!!! Who did the treasure maps?
I bought these exact same maps at Hobby Lobby in the kids party section just a few weeks ago. It comes with 8 treasure maps and the brown ribbon.
I love all of the details! Super fun pirates party!
I love this theme for a wedding…it’s so personalized and original
What computer software do you use for the labels and stickers?
Arrr Lovey!!
http://www.monogrammedeverything.com
Love this, especially the pirate’s juice bottles. Found them here: http://www.ssww.com/
you have such great ideas. i love this!! im gutted im living in the UK!
love love love! where are the treasure maps from? I adore them!
great ideas, where are the plastic pirate ship cake toppers from and what is the rolled up favor?
I have a quick question. The Happy Birthday banner….did you make it out of paper or material. I have been making mine from material….and that almost looks more crisp. LOVE IT!
Where did you get the pirate ship cupcake topper? (On the cupcake next to the walk the plank bars.) I didn’t see that as part of the Anders Ruff design package.
que belloooooooooo
Seja q veas lo q tngo pensado para el cake!! Buajajaja
necesito saber para poder comprar los manteles que no compitan con el bizcocho!
Escribi erroneamente bizcocho pero me gusta la idea.
Me gusta mucho y se ve facil de hacer.Vamos a hacerlo asi en la mesa del biscocho.
Me gusta mucho y se ve facil de hacer.Vamos a hacerlo asi en la mesa del biscocho.
Where did you get the adorable pirate maps? I couldn’t find them on Anders Ruff’s web site. Adorable party!!
I love the details. Can you tell me where you bought the Pirates Leary eerie eye aye book, and hats and telescopes? Those would be perfect for the pirate party I am planning now. Thank you!
Ericka
I see where the hats are from, but I would like to know about the books and also the pirate maps. Thank you again.
Where did you get the neat treasure maps?