Fishing Theme -5yr- Chocolate Fish

We decided on a fishing theme for my sons 5th birthday.  He loves to fish and could spend hours doing so. 

I made invitations out of materials found at a scrap book store which included a little boy fishing and small fish.  The invitation read "Logan is fishing for friends to help celebrate his 5th birthday.  Join us for fun and fishing."  Several of our local parks have small fishing ponds. 

We bought each child a child's fishing pole to use and to take home as a party favor. This may seem a bit expensive (approximately $90.00 for 10 poles, but this expense replaced hiring a magician, clown, pony or Jupiter jump which we have done in the past.  I also did not have to buy other party favors and bags. 

We made a bean bag toss out of ply wood which a talented friend painted with fish, hooks, and a treasure chest.  The children also had their pictures taken looking through the holes of the bean bag toss which were the open fish mouths. 

We had a jar filled with gummy worms which each child guessed at the number of gummy worms.  We also had a chocolate fish eating game.  I got fish candy molds at our local cake decorating store and made chocolate fish.  I tied ribbon to the fish tails and then tied the ribbons to ribbons attached to two old fishing poles.  We dangled the chocolate fish in front of the children and they had to eat the fish without using their hands.  This was a fun activity and we got great pictures from it.  My husband, his brother and his father assisted with the catching and releasing of the fish. 

Be sure to fish the location first to ensure the fish will bite and what is the best bait to use.  We avoided the messy stuff (worms) and opted for hot dogs and corn.  A parent attending the party and helping their child fish is helpful.  Several fish were caught that day.  The fishing was a huge success. This was the first time many of the children (and parents) had caught a fish.  We took pictures of each of the children with their first fish and sent them with the thank you notes. 

The thank notes read "A fishing we did go. A fishing we did go.  Hi ho the fishing hole.  A fishing we did go.  The fish we did catch.  The fish we did catch.  Hi ho the fishing hole.  The fish we did catch.  The fun we did have.  The fun we did have.  Hi ho the fishing hole.  The fun we did have.  A thank you we do send.  A thank you we do send.  Hi ho the fishing hole.  A thank you we do send".  The thank you notes were printed on card stock and my son signed each one. 

For snacks we served gummy worms and gold fish.  I made two cakes. One sheet cake was iced in blue like water and the second cut and decorated like a large fish (directions found on familyfun.com).  I bought a cake decoration of an old man in a boat fishing and glued a picture of my sons face on the old man's face.  I put this on the blue water cake and strung a ribbon from the old man's pole to the mouth of the fish cake.  It was a great cake.

The only other decorations were some plastic table clothes for the picnic tables at the park and balloons.  This party was lots of fun!