Out of ideas for your child's next birthday party? We're here to help! This is your full guide to throwing a fantastically fun ocean-themed party. Sit back, relax, and read on.
Ocean Party Theme – Under the Sea
Make scuba masks for your guests to wear. Cut 1-inch wide, oval-shaped borders out of poster board or other heavy paper. To make the lens, tape clear cellophane behind them. Attach a piece of elastic to each side of the masks so they can be worn. Create a treasure chest out of a large shoebox. Cover the box with brown construction paper and pieces of gold foil or glitter paint. Fill it with shells, craft jewels, plastic necklaces, and plastic gold coins.
Wrap Styrofoam rings with red ribbon to make life preservers. Hang them around the party room, or hang them from the back of each chair. Use plastic blue table cloths to cover the tables, and decorate it with clean sand, sea shells, beach glass, and plastic jewels. Use any ocean-life toys as table toppers or centerpieces. Cut out fish and other ocean life shapes from construction paper or poster board, and decorate the party space with them.
Ocean Party Theme – Fish Fry
Make sea water by mixing apple juice with blue food coloring. For an extra touch, add plastic aquarium plants to the pitcher. Make shell biscuits. Take homemade or store bought biscuit dough, and make an indent in the bottom of the circle with your thumb. Then, make a few shallow cuts along the top to create a scalloped look. After the biscuits have been baked, add a little bit of your child's favorite jelly or jam to the indented part of the biscuit.
Make ice cream octopuses. Put eight licorice whips on each plate, and top with two scoops of ice cream, one larger then the other. Use icing or candy to give them each a face. Using cookie cutters, make fish-shaped sugar cookies.
Ocean Party Theme – Get in the Water!
No ocean party is truly complete without some water to get in! If you have very young children at this party, go with a sprinkler or kiddie pool. Kids can still have plenty of fun with either of these. If you have a particularly large party, consider buying multiple sprinklers or kiddie pools. Piling too many guests at one can cause issues!
Older children can go into a regular pool. Play a game of Marco Polo, or try Sharks and Minnows if your pool is large enough. The latter game is especially fun if you can get your guests to a public pool. Another great game to play with all ages is a competition to see who can pick the most objects up off of the bottom of the pool. Throw in some toys or other objects that sink to the bottom. Then, have your guests dive in and start trying to retrieve them!
If you just want to let your partygoers swim without any games, buy some pool floaties to keep the theme going. Inflatable sharks and dolphins are a great choice. Of course, always make sure pool safety is prioritized. It's a good idea to have another adult on hand to help supervise the partygoers. Check in with the parents of each guest to ensure everyone knows how to swim. You may want to have some extra towels and sunscreen on hand in case a few guests forget theirs.