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Ahoy there! I am in the middle of planing a pirate birthday party, and I wanted to share some of my ideas for making Pirate Theme Party Invitations. What you see above is the invitation I am using for the current party, but I am going to give you many more ideas such as wording for your pirate invitation, font suggestions, and different decorative options.

Wording for your Pirate Theme Party Invitation:

Wording for you pirate invitation should be … well … piratey. Usually an invitation starts out with a greeting, then follows with the party information, and then closes with the rsvp information or other instructions.

Here are a few ways to start your invitation:

• Avast ye landlubbers! Ye are invited to Jenny’s Birthday Party!
• Ahoy me mateys! You’re invited to a Pirate Theme Party
• Shiver me timbers, it’s Halloween! Ye be invited to celebrate with us on our pirate ship!
• All ye landlubbers shake with fear as all hallow’s eve draws near, because all the pirates gather here!
• Ye wenches an’ salty dogs, pillage an’ plunder await! Join us to celebrate John’s Graduation
• X marks the spot, so come find the treasure (and some fun) at Sally’s 5th Birthday
• Come celebrate Halloween like a pirate with lots of grub and rum in the galley
• Ahoy there me Hearties! Ye be invited fer some fun at a Pirate Theme Party!
• We have map to a treasure chest, so come wearing your pirate best. We’ll use the map to find the way, to treasure at Conner’s 7th Birthday!
• Join our crew while we plunder for treasure and treats at a birthday celebration for John!

Now You can follow with the party information (date, time, location):

• Chart yer course for 12345 Baker Street on May 17th at 6 o’clock
• Grub and grog will be served at 5 o’clock, on the Miller’s ship, 54321 Ocean Dr on October 31st
• Ship sets sail from post 5656 Landview Dr. Be there by Sunday, the 12 of March at three in the afternoon, or be left behind!

If you want guests to come dressed as pirates don’t forget to mention costumes!

• Come dressed in yer pirate best!
• Put on your eye patches and bring yer parrots for admittance to the party
• Anyone dressed as a landlubber will be keelhauled!
• Wear yer best pirate gear or walk the plank!
• Pirates and wenches in proper attire only!
• No peg leg, no puffy shirt, no party!

If you want guests to RSVP, state that at the bottom:

• RSVP by June 20th (or you will walk the plank!)
• Sign on to our crew roster by contacting First Mate Kelly at 555-234-5678
• Deserters only 555×216x8424
• Be a mate and RSVP before this date, May 26 (555) 891-2345
• Arrrrrrr…. you coming to the party? (555) 654-3219 by June 30th please

Fonts and Graphics for your Pirate Theme Party Invitation:

hoosing the right font and graphics for your pirate party invitation can have a huge effect on the overall appearance of the invite.

Gothic fonts are great for the introductory greeting on the invitation. Gothic fonts can be a bit elaborate and a little hard to read, so you may want to format the party information portion of the invitation in plainer font. Here are a few of my favorite Gothic fonts for a pirate invitation:

• 1492 Quadrata Lim
• Benegraphic
• Euclid Fraktur
• DeiGratia (I used this font for the invitation above)
  
• Rapscallion
• Ruritania

If you want your invitation to look as if it was hand written, try one of these fonts:

• Bradley Hand ITC
• Viner Hand ITC

The links are free fonts you can download from dafont.com. After you download a font you will have to install it on your computer before you can use it.

How to install a font you have downloaded (the quick version)

Unzip the files you have downloaded, then:

Windows Vista : Right-click on the font files > “Install”

Windows XP : Put the font files into C:\Windows\Fonts

Mac OS X : Double-click the font file > “Install font” button.

Need more detail? How to install fonts from dafont.com

If you are looking for pirate graphics for the invitation, here are a few sources:

• Public Domain Images from Karen Whimsey’s - huge collection of free images, look under People and Places>Pirates, and Water World>Pirate Ships.
• Free Pirate Clip Art from Lee Hansen -  selection of free clip art, includes a few borders
• IStockphoto - HUGE selection, these photos and images range from $1-10
• Webweavers Pirate Clipart - several pages of free pirate clip art (including a few different pirate flags)

Now add some style to your Pirate Theme Party Invitation:

At this point you have your wording, font, and graphics (if you choose to have one). You can print your invitation and stick it in an envelope and you have an easy-peasy invitation. If you want to get more creative, here are a few ideas to help you kick it up a notch.

• Message in a Bottle Invitations - these are little bottles you can mail by placing a label and postage directly on the bottle! They come with a lei (which you probably won’t use) and sand.  If you want to make it more pirate-y, add in some skeleton parts.
• Age your invitations - I did a post about aging paper in the oven. Do this to you invites after you print them for a great look.
• Send a pirate patch and earring with the invitation - this will get all of your guests excited to dress up for the party.
• Add pirate confetti to the envelope - this is an inexpensive way to dress up an invitation.
• Add a personal seal - Fold your invitation and close it with a wax seal. Don’t put wax on the outer envelope, it causes too many problems at the post office!
• Make a custom Treasure Map - create a map to you house, and print the party details on the back. Age the paper, roll it up, tie it with a red ribbon and mail it in a tube (maybe throw in a little sand too).
  

Now you have some ideas for your pirate party invitation.  Until my next Pirate Post (on pirate decorations) I will leave you with this pirate ditty:

Fifteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest

Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum,
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
The mate was fixed by the bosun’s pike
The bosun brained with a marlinspike
And cookey’s throat was marked belike
It had been gripped by fingers ten
And there they lay, all good dead men
Like break o’day in a boozing ken
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum…

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Avast Ye! It is a happy coincidence that today is the day I will begin to post about the Pirate Party I am planning. Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th), so it does seem fitting.

This year my baby brother is turning 16 (Shiver me Timbers!) so to celebrate he is getting a manly Pirate Themed Sweet 16 Party (don’t let him know I called it Sweet 16 or I’ll be keel hauled!) On the plus side, the party is in October, so we are reusing all of the fantastic decorations as our Halloween decorations! An sometime in the future I would like to have a Pirates Versus Ninjas Party.

I think a pirate theme party works in most any situation…

• Pirate Halloween Party
• Pirate Birthday Party
• Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day
• Pirate Theme Company Picnic
• Pirate Bar/Bat Mitzvah
• Pirate Themed Graduation Party
• Pirate Pool Party
• Pirate Themed Wedding
• Random Pirate Theme Party (or Pirates vs Ninjas)

And the list can go on and on. If it’s a gathering, stick the word pirate in front of it, and NOW you have a party! So how do you go about planning you pirate party? As I work on my pirate party over the next few weeks I will be posting helpful pirate how to’s. Here is my list of things to do…

How to Plan a Pirate Theme Party:

1. The Pirate Party Invitation
2. Pirate Party Decorations
3. Making a Pirate Flag
4. Build a Pirate Treasure Chest
5. Your Pirate Costume
6. The Pirate Party Menu
7. Pirate Cupcakes
8. Pirate “Rum” Bottle Labels
9. Pirate Party Music

As I finish posting about each task I will link back here to this list. So check back for more pirat-y goodness!

Have you ever come home to the murder of a plush dog toy? It’s awful; stuffing everywhere, pieces of squeaker lying on the floor, a fleece corpse in your dog’s mouth. Several things will run through your head. The first to go through mine is “I paid $15 for that pile of stuffing!”

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Repairing a toy that has a few holes ripped in it is not hard to do. (If it is in several thousand pieces you are on your own) You have the chance to make it better than it was before by adding more squeakers and reinforcing the seams. You will be adding less waste to our landfills. AND you save money. What fantastic incentives! Here are a few tips on repairing a plush dog toy:

What you will need:

This soft pretzel recipe is perfect for parties, munching during the football game, and everyday snacking. Pair it with a cheese dip and a beer and you have yourself the perfect party food. The pretzels turn out soft and buttery, these are even better then the mall pretzels. I am having an Oktoberfest party this year, so I will definitely be making these.

This recipe makes 12 soft pretzels. It takes about 15 minutes to make and knead the dough, about an hour to rise, and 8 minutes to bake, for a total time of 1 hour, 23 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup course salt, for topping
• 1/2 stick of melted butter

Making the pretzels:

1. Dissolve the yeast and the brown sugar in warm water. Let it stand for 6 minutes (it will get frothy).
2. Mix the flour, white sugar, and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Make a depression in the center of the dry ingredients with your fingers, and pour the yeast/sugar mixture and oil into it.
4. Mix the ingredients into a dough. It will probably be a bit dry and crumbly, so add a tablespoon or two of water to it to make it a bit sticky.
5. Knead the dough for 5 minutes (Don’t skimp here, knead it well!)
6. Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit for an hour to rise (it will double in size).
7. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
8. Dissolve baking soda in hot water.
9. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.
10. Roll the dough into ropes on a lightly floured surface and twist it into the shape of a pretzels.
11. Dip the pretzel into the baking soda mixture and then place it on a greased baking sheet.
12. Sprinkle with course salt.
13. Bake for 7 minutes until the tops turn brown.
14. Melt the butter in the microwave and pour it over pretzels when you take them out of the oven.

Additional tips:

• If you want a sweet pretzel, skip the salt and top them with cinnamon and sugar after baking.
• Garlic powder and parmesan cheese is also a fantastic topping. Pour on the butter and sprinkle it on after you take them out of the oven.
• Make large soft pretzels by dividing the dough into 6 sections instead of 12, and roll the ropes longer.
• If you are serving a large crowd, roll the section into ropes and then divide the ropes into 2 inch setions with a knife. Cut the cooking time to 5-6 minutes. Pretzel bites!
• Freeze the dough in divided sections so you can make a pretzel anytime. Just let it thaw to room temperature, dip the pretzel into the baking soda mixture, then bake.

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We recently bought a huge dog bed for Basil (he’s 75 pounds now!) Look who is using it…

And he is the only one using it. And it not that Basil doesn’t sleep. We were coming back from the campground on Friday and he was zonked out from swimming….

so cute.