Reversible Pirate & Princess Costume

I can remember few of my toys as a child, but one thing I do remember from the 1970's was a delightful soft doll with a reversible dress. One side of the doll was a cinderella princess in a gorgeous pink dress, and if you turned her dress inside out, you had another doll in a dull poor pauper's dress. I had many hours of fun with this doll, making up stories about her life from rags to riches.

One of the newest additions to our stock is this delightful girl's pirate costume which can be turned inside out for a totally different look as a princess. As soon as we saw this costume, we knew we had to stock it, and it is fast becoming one of our best selling lines.

The princess costume is in cerise satin with pretty white organza puffed sleeves and a lovely velour and organza bodice inset with iridescent net and pink sequins. The pink satin skirt has a hoop for fullness. For girls who like to change their outfits every few minutes, this pirate princess costume is just made for them.

The pirate side is made from a vibrant red, white and black satin, with a mock buckle belt and a fabulous red and white striped overskirt. Includes a black apron with a skull and crossbones emblem on the bodice. This dress is available in ages 3-8.

What we really love about this costume is the quality and value for money. Not only is this dress fully washable (40 degrees) but you are also buying two costumes in one. If you would like to see more details of this costume, check out our reversible princess pirate dress here!

Our first Pirate Party

Our oldest son James was just four years old, but he had a classful of new schoolmates and we wanted to give him the best party ever.
Being new to organising parties, we really went overboard but we had the most swashbuckling fun and did as much as we could ourselves.

Our lounge was just about big enough (once we'd moved all the furniture out - yes we really did this...) and we found some old blue and cream sheets and duvet covers which we placed on the floor to represent the sea and a beach. After hunting round in our attic, we managed to source two old inflatable dinghys and some oars, and there we had our first game - when the music stopped, everyone was told to either get on the beach, in the sea, or in a boat - last one there was out! The kids absolutely loved these boats and we used them for several more games - they even wanted to sit in them to eat their food!

We asked everyone to make an effort dressing up and we said we'd give a prize to the best boy and best girl's costume, which encouraged everyone to join in. Pirate costumes are so cheap and easy to make from cut-down jeans and stripey t-shirts. We were well impressed with the turn-out and found it difficult to judge. Nearly everyone had bought along a sword (which we collected together at the beginning for safety reasons!) but we all had great fun and took a picture of each child dressed up on their own, which we later gave them a copy of after the party with the thankyou letters.

Credit Crunching Pirate Parties

Today's economic situation is making all parents adjust their weekly spending and while many households are tightening their belts, there are still some things that have to be accounted for. Whilst older children can understand a scaled-down birthday celebration, younger children and toddlers will still expect a huge celebration as normal and for parents, this can be a rather challenging time.
A few months back, most children's parties involved going out somewhere with entrance fees or hire costs, this along with food, catering and entertainers could amount to quite a pricey celebration. Now that money is tight, parents are having to re-think their plans and the traditional party at home is once again becoming popular.

The pirate-themed party is timeless and has always been popular with boys and girls alike. The theme lends itself wonderfully to all age groups, adults included and you can really let your imagination run wild without having to break the bank. Home-made invitations from tea-stained card or invitations posted in a bottle with sand will get everyone's attention, whilst inviting everyone to dress up for the occasion provides real entertainment for all, dads in particular like to join in here. Pirate fancy dress costumes can easily be made up from stripey t-shirts and a pair of old cut-off trousers, all toppped off with a bandana made from an old tea-towel and a face-painted eyepatch.

Pirate themed games and treasure hunt ideas can be gleamed from the internet and then you just need some home-made bunting and a packet of pirate balloons to decorate your room. Even better, hold your pirate party outside and include some swashbuckling games like walking the plank or hiding some treasure.

Expensive party bags are unnecessary - just give your pirates a net of chocolate coins to take home, along with a piece of birthday cake of course. Your pirate friends will hopefully have had one of the best parties ever, the more home-made touches you can think of, the more they'll be impressed...and hopefully, you'll have saved lots of money too!

If we have really got your imagination going, check out the rest of our website - www.piratepartystore.co.uk for lots more ideas and additional items to buy.