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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…

What’s Next?

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