Spongebob Luau 3yr - Pin Shell on Spongebob

My daughter Julia, who is turning 3 this month, is having a fabulous Spongebob party! 

I downloaded free Spongebob invitations online and printed them off blue marbelized paper (purchased at Wal-Mart). It gave the illusion of water. I have had so many compliments just on the invitations and they were FREE except for the ink & paper.  If it is summer/weather permissible, have the party outside with sprinklers and a splash pool. If not, there are many great ways to turn a room in your house into Bikini Bottom! I have door streamers that are metallic blue with Hibiscus print on them (just like Bikini Bottoms background on the show!) I purchased them from Oriental Trading Company (for 2.95 each). You can hang them from door ways, the ceiling or line up several and put them on the walls. I also purchased a Spongebob Scene Setter" from an online party supplier for one wall.  

ACTIVITIES - GAMES WITH PRIZES  Pick up some little toys like jump ropes balls etc. (at a dollar store or similar) for each child attending the party 

A. Have a Bikini Bottom Treasure Hunt! If you have a sandbox or small pool fill with sand and bury small sand toys. Have each child go on a "treasure hunt"! They can trade the sand toy in for a prize. 

B. Get some small rubber duckies (I got birthday duckies from Oriental Trading Company) and number them on the bottom with permanent marker. Fill a small pool dishpan or even the bathtub with water and put the duckies in. Have each child pick one out and they can receive a prize that corresponds to their number. As an added bonus they also get to keep the ducky! 

C. Pin the jellyfish in the net (this game is available through online party stores and NickJr.com OR cut out sea shells from construction paper and try to pin the shell in Spongebob's hand using a homemade drawing poster or computer printout. Give out a prize for the closest and farthest away OR give one to each child (I am dealing with 2 and 3 year olds so this is a must to avoid meltdowns!) 

D. Spongebob Pinata (purchased from Birthday Express online 15.95) I am filling this with fish shaped lollipop rings (from Oriental Trading)) Spongebob Bubbles Whistles and Krabby Patty Kandy purchased at Wal-Mart. 

CRAFT IDEA 
A. Make Jellyfish (Spongebob LOVES to jellyfish). Ahead of time cut plain white paper plates in half. Cut different lengths of yarn (I found some cool textured skeins with little fuzzies hanging off at Wal-Mart) string OR/AND construction paper. At the party lay out Washable Markers and/or Crayons Washable Glitter Pens Washable Glue Sticks and Googly Eyes (purchased from any craft store). Let the kids create their own jellyfish by gluing the eyes on and string from the straight edge of the plate. They can color them and use glitter glue/pens to make them beautiful. Punch a hole in the top and put some string or yarn through so that they can hang it up when they get home! 

B. Pick up some plain paper gift bags (you could even use brown paper bags) or purchase preprinted ones to color. I got some fish/ocean themed ones from Oriental Trading Company. Have the kids color glitter and use ocean themed stickers to decorate their own party bags. Before they go home they can pick their favors (such as sunglasses sponge bob stickers a package of spongebob cheezits beach balls-deflated of course water guns bubbles etc.) and put them in the bag. You can purchase most of the above from Wal-Mart or the Oriental Trading Company. 

DECORATIONS Sponge bob lives in a pineapple under the sea so go with it. I purchased some inflatable pineapple coolers online and also a palm tree inflatable cooler from Oriental Trading Company (7.95). Place these around your room or yard and fill with juice boxes bottled water and sodas (for the adults). They are functional AND they double as decorations. Also I got lot of Luau party decorations. They fit right in with the spongebob theme. I got the spongebob dessert plates and napkins for the cake but they are expensive. So for the food I got packages of lg bright yellow plates napkins cups and even yellow platic cutlery all from Oriental Trading. This was where I saved A LOT of money. Also Spongebob loves bubbles so I got a bubble machine from Target.  

MENU - FOOD Do a Krusty Krab Buffet. I used food that could be eaten mostly with hands for the 3 year olds & was easy to prepare. I made up a one page menu using the Comic Sans Font in MS Word. I put at the top WELCOME TO THE KRUSTY KRAB ALL YOU KAN EAT BUFFET (replace any K sounding C words with K's just like in the words Krusty Krab). I then listed menu items with headings and brief descriptions such as SEAWEED SALAD(a green garden salad)

KRABBY PATTIES (Mini Cheeseburgers BAKED on a cookie sheet in the oven that you can prepare ahead of time & freeze! serve w/ lettuce tomato on a small dinner roll instead of hamburger roll) SPONGEBOB MAK & CHEESE (Kraft actually has a Spongebob Mac & Cheese or you could make your own using shell pasta instead) KRUSTY KRAB PIZZA ROLLS (3 Big Bags = 120 - of Totinos Cheese Pizza Rolls 7 minutes in the oven and they are done!) and PATRICK PEANUT BUTTER STARS (Peanut Butter sandwiches on soft white bread and cut out with a star cookie cutter. I can get 4 stars out of one wonder bread PB sandwich!)

And of course DESSERT which is description of the birthday cake. At the bottom of the menu I put in Please join us in wishing Julia a very happy 3rd birthday! Put the Menu in a picture frame and place it on the food table.  ATTIRE  Obviously if it is going to be a sprinkler/pool event mention that everyone should bring their swimsuit. Get cheap plastic leis (again the Oriental Trading Company) and have the adults wear them so everyone can get in on the fun. 

I made the birthday girl her own Spongebob T shirt. I downloaded free images online and purchased T-Shirt transfers from a craft store (or the craft section at Wal-Mart) they are specifically made for Inkjet printers. In 72 pt. font I put MY BIRTHDAY IS THE BEST DAY EVER above & below the picture on the transfer. On the back I used MS WordArt to create a huge #3 with her name over it on another transfer for the back of the shirt. Don't forget to reverse any lettering you use or it will come out backwards when you iron it on! 

Lastly I made up a CD with all kinds of vacation music. Bob Marley Jimmy Buffett Kenny Chesney Beach Boys and even some Spongebob songs (for the kids) for enjoyable tropical music for the party. Then I burned a CD for each party guest to take home. I made up a little CD jacket in MS word with a spongebob picture on the front. I listed the songs and artists and titled the CD Julia's Bikini Bottom Music Mix.  And of course the most important thing is to have fun!!! "