So the little land lubbers want a pirate theme for their next party? Find some swashbuckling food ideas that will keep you from walking the plank.

Pirate Party Food Ideas

Kids’ parties are a time to have fun, to be creative, and to enjoy. Picking a theme helps you to plan and come up with ideas. A pirate theme lends itself to all kinds of fun activities, dress and food. Here are some ideas for food items that will fit right in with your pirate party.

More pirate food ideas

Pirates are merry people, they are also hungry. Whenever pirates eat or drink, they do it to excess.

Don't forget to decorate the table with things that would interest a pirate. Make treasure maps of the place mats and serve those chocolate golden doubloons inside treasure cardboard chests.

Let them eat grilled parrot - Prepare glazed chicken drumsticks and serve inside a pita pocket, as suggested in the recipe, but decorating the pita with a skull. Just add a few drops of brown food coloring to 1 beaten egg or ¼ cup milk, use it to paint a skull and crossbones on one side the place under the grill. Open the bread once warm and fill with shredded iceberg lettuce and sliced tomato and cucumber, top with one of those parrot legs -cooked chicken piece. If your pirates are older, let them eat the bones of their enemies, and decorate with tomato ketchup blood, but young piratems may be squeamish about having people for food.

Feed them dead man’s fingers a.k.a. known as date squares. Follow the recipe but cut into fingers, instead of squares, once the cake has cooled.

Take them to the pirate coconut islands – make cupcakes with the basic sponge mix, but flavored with 2 Tbs of desiccated coconut. Make grass by coloring some more desiccated coconut green and stick it to the top of the cake with some icing. You can even plant a palm tree made with 1 chocolate stick and some green colored marzipan leaves.

The Ship

What is a pirate without a ship? There are many food items that can be made to resemble a ship. For the ideas below use a toothpick or a straw for the mast of the ship. Make your sails by cutting triangles out of construction paper. Attach the sail by cutting two small holes in it to thread your mast through. Don’t forget the pirate flag. Use stickers or print them out and glue to your sail.

Banana Boat - Peel and cut a banana in half long ways. Add a scoop of sherbet or frozen yogurt between the two halves. Top with fruit, and/or drizzle with chocolate.

Mini Ship Cakes – Make your favorite cake recipe in mini loaf pans. Frost the cakes with chocolate frosting. Place a few mini pirate figures on the cakes. Serve individually with gummy or cracker fish surrounding the boat.

Stuffed Celery – Fill celery sticks with cream cheese or peanut butter. Add raisins for pirates.

Deviled Eggs – Simply add a sail to your egg halves.

Watermelon Boat – Cut the watermelon to resemble a boat. Fill with mixed fruit.

The Sea

And where is the ship to go without the sea ?

Jello Ocean – Use blue jello filled with fruit treasure or with gummy fish.

Underwater Snacks – Spread cream cheese on crackers. Then add fish crackers on the cream cheese, and a little alfalfa sprouts for seaweed.

Fishy Sandwiches – Make tuna salad sandwiches and use a cookie cutter to cut them into a fish shape. Add a raisin for the eye.

Fish Sticks – These could also double as swords.

Grog

Typically grog refers to a drink with alcohol, but we will just use it as a general term for beverages here.

Frosty Mugs of Ale – Make that frosty mugs of root beer.

Pina Colada – Sans alcohol.

Crocodile Blood – Freeze cubes of red fruit drink and serve in lemon lime soda.

Fruit Punch – Don't forget the pirates of the Caribbean had plenty of tropical fruit at hand.

Other Treasures

Always on the hunt for treasure, those pirates are.

Sword kabobs – Use plastic sword skewers for fruit or meats and cheese.

Cannon balls – Grapes and melon balls.

Chocolate coins – These can be purchased at most places that sell candy.

Nuggets of gold – Caramel or butterscotch candy or chocolate kisses in gold or silver foil.

Have fun with your pirate party. Be creative and enjoy it! Arrr!

About the Author

Stephanie Appleton lives with her husband and four children in the hills of West Virginia where they are learning to live simply and getting out of debt. Her ideas about cheap and healthy food appear regularly at All Foods Natural. She also writes for other web sites. See more at Stephanie's blog Stop the Ride!.