Mermaid Party - Mermaid Games & Crafts

Hello,  I recently held a birthday party for my daughter and it was quite a hit. So I thought I'd share all my hard work and planning with others out there -- here's hoping your kids have just as much fun as ours did!  MERMAID BIRTHDAY PARTY 5:30 7:30 p.m. (or whatever time works for you) 

FOOD: - name cards for everything with fishy names written (see quotes below) Hot Dog Octopuses (cut hot dogs in half across and then cut each end four ways. They shrivel up and look like octopuses when cooked.) PB and Jellyfish fish sandwiches ôTuna and Seashellsö pasta salad ôGoldfishö crackers Gummy Sharks Mini-aquariums -- blue jello with swedish fish dropped in in clear plastic cups Ocean Slushie -- blue sports drink and ice cream  (or some other sort of blue punch with fish ice cubes in it) Mermaid Cake (FamilyFun.com has a great one) Vanilla Ice cream 

GAMES/CRAFTS: 5:30 p.m. Guest arrive greet them and let them do #1 and #2 and #3

1. Mermaid Tiara and Pirate Hat making/decorating (use simple cut-outs from white and black poster board for these. Let the kids color them and glue on beads, glitter, stickers, and more. Don't forget to make the skeletons for the pirate hats. And to complete the hat, cut strips of paper from the poster board thin and long enough to go around the kids heads. Then when they're done, have an adult help ôcustom fitö the strap and tape in securely to each side of the hat).

2. Picture taking with birthday girl and each friend by the treasure chest after hats are made. (Treasure chest is made by painting a Styrofoam cooler gold and filling it with goodies like candy coins, cheap necklaces, shells and little fish)

3. Under the Sea necklaces (with shells and fish beads to string on yarn) 6:00 p.m. Start fishing game (#4) in corner with kids while some kids finish up crafts 

4. Fishing Game in corner (with mermaids and squirts guns as prizes) (Fishing game consists of a homemade pole with a clothespin on the end. The kids fish over a hung-up curtain and the old man in the sea (someone behind the curtain) is back there to attach the prizes) 6:15 p.m. Invite guests to eat while we start temporary tattoo station (#5)

5.Temporary fish tattoos station (bought these from oriental trading for very cheap kids LOVE THEM.  Good to put in goody bags, too) 6:25 p.m Start Flounder Game (#6) while finishing eating, while someone goes outside to put out scavenger hunt items for kids in front yard 

6. Pin the Fin on Flounder (ala Pin the Tale on the Donkey, only with a fin to pin on the fish Flounder from the Little Mermaid movie (hand-drawn on a piece of posterboard. Inexpensive fish magnets as prizes work great.) 6:40 p.m. Child opens presents! And kids can color (#7) while she opens stuff.

7. Little Mermaid and pirate pictures to color while presents are opened. Print out great coloring pages from http://www.coloring.ws/ 7:00 p.m.

CAKE!! The Family Fun mermaid cake turns out gorgeous check their Web site for recipe and instructions. 7:10 p.m. Take kids outside for Scavenger Hunt (#8) and take pictures 8. Scavenger hunt in front yard with necklaces, coins, shells and rubber fish (got all this stuff at oriental trading, too û very cheap!) 7:20 p.m.  PINATA!!!  We found a gorgeous mermaid pi±ata on Pinatas.com.  Only $14.95 and great as something to decorate the child's room later. 7:30 p.m. People start leaving we invite them to take a ôhandful of treasureö before they go (pull treasure chest over by front door as they leave to do so).  

DECOR: Play Little Mermaid music during party Have blow up palm tree, sea horse and fish from oriental trading Make other fish from poster board and use to decorate blue tarps hang tarps on walls of party room for an ôunder the seaö feel Streamers in blue everywhere to simulate ocean -- balloons, too!  Also, we ordered the basic Jewel the Mermaid package from Birthday Express.com.  It was a really great complement to the whole party, and the favor boxes were the BEST from there (and for the boys we bought the pirate party favor boxes instead).  GOOD LUCK!!!