Turn your child's birthday party into a magical undersea celebration with a few inexpensive decorations and tons of creativity. Birthday parties for kids seem to be more memorable when there is a theme involved, and boys and girls alike love an under-the-sea motif. You can make the party more girl-friendly with "mermaid" races or more boy-friendly with "sea horse" races. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Decorations
1. Choose one main room in your home to host your ocean adventure. It is best to choose a living room or other large space where the kids can enjoy the decorations during games and while birthday presents are unwrapped. Clear as much furniture as possible out of this room or move i to the perimeter.
2. String one blue streamer from one side of the room to the other. String one green streamer directly adjacent to the first streamer. Continue stringing streamers in this pattern until the entire ceiling looks like blue and green waves.
3. Blow up a minimum of 100 blue and 100 green balloons. This can be time-consuming, because you do not want to use helium balloons; so you may want to enlist help with this project. These balloons should rest on the floor, creating an "ocean floor" of blue and green.
4. Cover any lamps with blue or green scarves, or replace bulbs with green or light blue bulbs. They can be found in the lighting section of almost any store, including grocery stores, Wal-Mart and home-repair and -supply stores.
5. Add final details to your decorations.If you want to get really detailed, most party supply stores sell ocean-themed scene setters that can be taped to the wall. For a less expensive option, get remnants of printer-roll paper from your local newspaper office (these are often given out for free) and decorate them with fish shapes cut from construction paper. Or paint them blue and add your own hand-painted deep-sea images.Use tan or gold tablecloths to cover furniture. Scatter starfish and other objects, such as fishing nets, on top.Rent a bubble machine to create the appearance of air bubbles.
Food
6. For snacks, choose goldfish crackers or blue gelatin. Little sandwiches can be cut into sea shapes with cookie cutters.
7. Use an aquarium to hold drinks. (Bleach it out or purchase a new one.) Fill it with ice and put canned drinks or prepackaged blue Kool-aid or Gatorade in the tank. Another option is to use blue punch or blue milk shakes. Food coloring works wonders in creating an under-the-sea theme.
8. Pick a design for the cake. Most bakeries and large grocery chains will place any image you want on a cake. Choose your child's favorite undersea character, such as Nemo or the Little Mermaid. You can also pick up a pan from a party-supply or cake-supply store and bake one in the shape of a treasure chest, mermaid or fish. Another idea is to bake a simple square cake, decorate it with blue icing and add Swedish Fish and other decorations.
Games
9. Host mermaid or seahorse races. Use trash bags to create a sack-race-style event. Tell the kids that they are mermaids or seahorses and should "race" to the other side of the room. The winner receives an appropriate ocean-themed prize, such as a plush Nemo or Little Mermaid toy.
10. Instead of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, have the kids play Pin the Tail on the Fish or Pin the Claw on the Crab.
11. Purchase several inexpensive beach balls (try the dollar stores) and have the kids toss them back and forth, eliminating a person each time one of the balls is dropped until there is only one person left.
Tags: blue green, have kids, Little Mermaid, Nemo Little, Nemo Little Mermaid, room other