Hosting a Grown-Up Buccaneer Bash
Piracy has existed for at least 1,500 years, but the rum-loving, Treasure Island-style pirate sailed the Caribbean and Atlantic roughly from 1600 to 1800. Adults today can bring that era to life with a party that includes nautical dishes, period-inspired entertainment, and plenty of spirits.
By Emerson Carter4 steps
A pirate-themed party creates exciting possibilities for games, food and drinks.
While piracy in some form has been around for no less than 1,500 years, the rum-drinking pirate of legend—popularized by tales such as "Treasure Island"—plied the Caribbean and Atlantic from roughly 1600 to 1800, controlling vast areas. Nowadays, grown-ups can bring those storied exploits to life with a pirate-themed gathering that features seafood, entertainment, and abundant liquor.
Step 1
Make your own invites on rolled parchment, and include directions to the location drawn as a "treasure map" with an "X" marking the spot. Put each invitation inside a glass or plastic bottle and deliver them by hand. Be careful not to use bottles with necks so narrow that the invitations cannot be taken out once inserted. To create a ship-shaped invitation, write the details on a piece of paper cut to look like a sail; attach the sail to a skewer held upright by a marshmallow placed between two strips of black paper. Because this is an adult party, specify whether drinks will be supplied or if attendees should bring their own.
Step 2
Greet your guests by hanging the classic "skull and crossbones" flag above the party entrance, and place a real telescope in the room or make one from an empty paper towel tube. Hide modern appliances and furniture under old-fashioned sheets, lace, and brocade, and offer food to your guests in wooden bowls and on ceramic or china plates. For a table centerpiece, use a pirate treasure chest filled with gold chocolate coins, inexpensive jewelry, shot glasses, and other party favors, and serve drinks in skull-shaped mugs. If you have a pool, buy an inflatable boat-shaped cooler and set it floating on the water, packed with ice, rum, and other alcoholic drinks.
Step 3
Prepare deviled eggs that look like boats by making sails from toothpicks with small paper slips attached, or from strips of green bell pepper shaped like sails. Offer salmon, sushi rolls, hush puppies, crab, and lobster, or roast meats such as chicken and turkey on a spit in the backyard. For drinks, mix lemons, rum, and sugar to make gog for an authentic pirate beverage, and for dessert, carve a shark out of watermelon with marshmallows for teeth and black olives for eyes.
Step 4
Encourage your guests to sing traditional sea shanties or modern nautical songs by groups such as the Decemberists or Flogging Molly, which feature dark, adult themes of lust, greed, and revenge. Screen an old swashbuckling movie like "Captain Blood," the 1950 "Treasure Island," or one of the many versions of "The Count of Monte Cristo." Round out the evening's entertainment by hiring professional belly dancers, or play Liar's Dice, a genuine pirate dice game that gained popularity from the original "Pirates of the Caribbean" film.
