Stuff You Can Add to Bring Realism to Your Child’s Pirate Ship Playhouse
Building a pirate ship playhouse for the kids is a fun and rewarding experience. Ask any parents who have accomplished this feat and I bet they’ll say the same thing. Seeing your kids playing with his friends onboard a bare pirate ship playhouse that you constructed with you own two hands, provides a sense of accomplishment that’s difficult to put into words. But wait a minute…Did I say a “BARE” pirate ship playhouse? Now a bare playhouse sort of ruins that sense of accomplishment feeling.
Why leave it bare and empty? Yep, the truth is some parents do not bother to spice up the playhouse that they’ve put together for their children and that is very unfortunate. While these parents deserve a hats off for building the structure themselves, I think it is criminal not to make the pirate ship playhouse look as realistic as possible. You’ve already put in some much sweat and time into the construction process, why not make it truly magical by spicing up the ship with pirate related items and props, right? So in this article, I’m going to offer some suggestions on how to bring some much needed realism to your child’s pirate ship playhouse.
Pirate Flag
This is mandatory. You can’t call it a “pirate” ship playhouse if there’s no pirate flag hanging on the wooden mast or somewhere on the ship’s exterior. Get a flag that has the skull and crossbones image on both sides if you plan on hanging it on the ship’s mast. I found this cool Pirate Flag Jolly Roger with Patch at a costume shop that’s very near to my cousin’s place. It’s made of polyester fabric and comes with a couple of brass grommets. I hung it on the mast of my son’s custom constructed wooden pirate ship playhouse - makes the playhouse look like the real thing, especially from afar.
Life-Size Skeleton
Life-Size Skeleton
I also found a plastic life-size skeleton prop at the store. The skeleton is only 5 foot tall and it looks freakishly real! My son likes it so much. We placed the skeleton prop on the front part of the hull. It makes the playhouse look like one of those phantom pirate ships you see in the movies or a ship own by a band of extremely ruthless pirates. If the later is what you’re aiming for, I suggest buying a few of these props, stack them on the front hull, and secure them with a rope. There you go. What you’ll have is the most brutal pirate ship playhouse to ever sail the…err, to ever grace your backyard I mean.
Pirate Treasure Chest
Another must-have prop for your pirate ship playhouse. A wooden one would be best and the one I bought for my son’s playhouse is the Melissa & Doug Children's Pirate Chest. This chest looks realistic and very durable – it’s made of wood after all. I’ve come across many toy pirate treasure chests composed of plastic and they don’t seem to hold up very long. My son’s playhouse ship has a captain’s quarters and that is where we set the wooden treasure chest. The locking latch is made up in the shape of a skull, which gives it this eerie authentic appearance. The chest actually comes with a number of cool stuff such as fake gold coins, a loot bag in bright red color, a pirate bandana along with an eye patch and even a well-made pirate flag.
Pirate Treasure Map
Pirate Treasure Map
We hung the above cutout map on the wall in the captain’s quarters. It’s a pretty big map with two sides having different finishes. One side has a glossy finish and the other, a matte finish. I prefer the latter because it has that old worn out look to it. I paid $15 for it which is a little pricey I think. Still, it’s a high quality pirate treasure map and I don’t see why it won’t hold up for a long period of time.
Pirate Costume
Pirate Costume
The Pirate King costume you see here looks amazing in person. The photo on the left simply doesn’t do justice to the fine detail of this costume. It comes with a headband and a waist sash. A cape of sorts would have been nice though because it’s a “Pirate King” costume after all. I think a worn out cape would provide a kind of differentiation between a regular pirate and a pirate king. All in all, this 100% polyester costume is awesome. Available in 3 different sizes: Small, Medium, and Large. I bought the small one for my son and the costume fits him perfectly. Check out additional pirate costumes here.
So these are some of the stuff you can add to the pirate ship playhouse that you build yourself. Get creative guys! There are many more pirate related items you can include such as a realistic parrot prop for that Long John Silver effect, pirate ship skeleton jail keys, rope ladders, brass telescope, a helm wheel that actually spins, a wooden anchor prop with a rope around it and many more cool pirate stuff. Don’t leave the playhouse bare – it’s a pirate ship style playhouse so make it look super exciting!
So these are some of the stuff you can add to the pirate ship playhouse that you build yourself. Get creative guys! There are many more pirate related items you can include such as a realistic parrot prop for that Long John Silver effect, pirate ship skeleton jail keys, rope ladders, brass telescope, a helm wheel that actually spins, a wooden anchor prop with a rope around it and many more cool pirate stuff. Don’t leave the playhouse bare – it’s a pirate ship style playhouse so make it look super exciting!