I always seem to find a few cute animals to squeeze into every party, so this Sea Creature Party by Nikki of Great Gatherings is right up my alley! I love the bright and bubbly colors, adorable fondant under water animals and ocean + Sea World inspired details… especially the fantastic under the sea cake that brought a tidal wave of fun for the little ones!

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Chocolate covered oreos with fondant sea animal toppers
• DIY anchor welcome sign, stenciled crates, painted wooden buoys & bookshelf boat display
• Bait Bucket party favors with cute sea creature graphics & name tags
• Blinfolded ‘Pin the Fin on the Shark’ activity

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Nikki…

The theme of Mason’s party was decided this summer after we visited Sea World and he fell in love with the dolphins, sharks and other sea creatures. He loves the ocean and can spend hours on the beach. So, I contacted my friend and graphic designer Lauren McKinsey to design something fun, but clean for his party. I wanted to keep the colors fresh and stick with mainly blue, teal and lime green and white with a few pops of other bright colors here and there. I was inspired by the bright fabric I found that reminded me of ocean bubbles.

Decorations

Mason Jars (yes, I use them every year for Mason’s party!), two bright fun buoys with his name and 5 on them, fun glittery signs, a bookshelf boat used to display cookie favors and fun, brightly colored daisies. Bright balloon columns topped with colorful fish and clear bubble balloon for accents. A lime green octopus balloon inspired giggles and laughs from all the guests.

Party Food & Dessert

We had fun, kid food including peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (no crust of course!), chicken poppers, fruit salad, goldfish and the most fabulous cake which delighted the guests. The cake was chocolate with peanut butter buttercream (the birthday boy’s favorite) and vanilla with cookies and cream buttercream and chocolate covered Oreo cookies.

Activities

Per Mason’s request, we had Pin the Fin on the Shark and an ocean themed bounce house to work off all their energy.

Diy Projects

I made the cake stand the cake was placed on by using a candle stick purchased from the dollar bin at Target and a wooden plate from Hobby Lobby. I painted them both white and loved how it turned out!  The door sign was an anchor I painted bright teal and added a glittery ocean reef sign. I stenciled the fun ocean décor on the wooden crates and used it on the children’s food table. The bait buckets were plastic paint cans from Michael’s Craft Store with a bait bucket designed Lauren McKinsey insert. Each guest filled their bait bucket with a fish lollipop, cookie and a fun ocean character cup and bowl.