How to throw a "Dead Men Tell No Tales" Pirate Party

My family and I are so excited to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales. I've always loved pirates, maybe it's growing up in the 80's and watching Adam Ant dressed like a pirate on MTV or maybe it's my teenage infatuation with Johnny Depp. Whatever the reason, I've been "hooked" to the franchise (and Captain Jack Sparrow) ever since the first movie hit the big screen. Not to mention my family consists of a bunch of Disneyland fanatics! Since we live in Southern California, we've been able to be pass holders for the last 16 years and my kids have grown up loving pirates just as much as I do. In fact, it's our little family tradition to head over to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride before any other ride at every visit. So naturally, I was thrilled when I was asked to style a pirate party inspired by the new movie! DIY Party Decor If you know me, you know my love for creating "experience parties" which often include large scale DIYs. Of course, not every party calls for elaborate DIYs, but I couldn't resist creating some iconic props for this party. I started with the backdrop. I wanted to recreate the talking skull from the ride at Disneyland. You can see my tutorial for the Pirate Backdrop HERE. It was the perfect focal point for the dessert table. I also wanted to create a part of the Black Pearl ship, so I created a Pirate Mast with black sails. You can see my full tutorial HERE. Of course, you can't have a pirate party without pirate booty! I dug out all my pirate style decor including a Bag of Skulls, Pirate Coins and plenty of jewels! Pirate Party Props

Pirate-themed parties are the perfect excuse to use lots of eclectic party props! I dress up a few Life Size Posable Skeletons with scarfs, a Red Pirate Scarf Hat plus belts and sashes I collected from our closets. I set out the Shaking Pirate Treasure Chest and covered a few painted crates with Natural Fish Net Wall Decorations and set out a Skull LED Candle with a "Lost at Sea" tombstone. On the dessert table, I added another Skull LED Candle on top of candle holders I had in my stash along with a few pirate-themed decorations. Pirate Party Table I set up a dinner table fit for a pirate ship captain and his scalawag crew. I made a few Pirate Wine Bottle Candle Holders to act as the centerpiece and layered several Fish Net Wall Decorations on top of the table. You can see my tutorial for the Pirate Wine Bottle Candle Holders HERE. For the guests, I set the table with Gold Chargers and Wine Bottle Vases. I also displayed several candle holders from my prop stash including the Silver Candelabra and Silver Mercury Glass Candle Holders. I lit a few White Taper Candles and added a couple Battery-Operated Round Flameless Candles for ambiance. I scattered coins and jewels on the table to break up the neutral color of the table. I also made a custom Pirate Table Runner for my table setting. You can see my tutorial on my blog HERE. Pirate Dessert Table For the dessert table, I added three Skulls to my fancy cupcake stand and dressed up a few cupcakes with Pirate Party Cupcake Wrappers and Picks. I also set out lemon bars on cupcake wrappers and topped them with pirate flag picks. I lined the table with Burlap Fabric and added my vintage map. We made wine barrels to hold up the table. You can see the tutorial on my blog HERE. So many details went into the party display, photos truly don't do it justice! This may be my favorite pirate party to date. I had so much fun with it! I hope you are inspired to create a pirate-themed party for your next celebration! Be sure to check out my tutorials for the Pirate Backdrop, Pirate Ship Mast and Pirate Wine Bottle Candle Holders. Plus the accompanying tutorials for my DIY Wine Barrels and Pirate Table Runner on my blog!