• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • About
  • Contact Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Dinner at the Zoo

  • All Recipes
  • Dinner
  • Appetizers
  • Dessert
  • One Pot Meals
  • Slow Cooker
  • Asian Food

Home » Crafts and Parties » Mermaid Birthday Party (Under the Sea)

Published: May 4, 2015 Last Modified: August 12, 2019 By Sara 30 Comments

Mermaid Birthday Party (Under the Sea)

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

A complete guide on how to throw a mermaid birthday party with an under the sea theme, including ideas for food, activities and party favors.

Watermelon Shark - Under the Sea birthday party

A complete guide on how to throw an under the sea birthday party with an under the sea theme, including ideas for food, activities and party favors.

My big girls are 4! How did that happen? It feels like they just got here. For their party this year we decided to go with a mermaid (Under the Sea) theme. I had been pinning ideas for months, everything from food to decorations to party favors. The party was amazing, all of the kids had a great time and most importantly, my birthday girls were so happy! Here are all the details of our mermaid birthday party. Scroll down to the bottom to see the equipment and products you’ll need to recreate this party!

First up, the food. Because this is a food blog, right? I went with a simple menu that I knew would please most palates – cheese and pepperoni pizza, caesar salad, chinese chicken salad, fruit, a vegetable platter and some table snacks.

I made two types of snacks for the tables, something sweet and something salty. The salty snack was the classic chex mix recipe made to fit the party theme – I used whale shaped cheddar crackers, pretzel fish crackers and oyster crackers along with the chex cereal. The sweet snack was mermaid munch, a simple mix of popcorn, white chocolate and M&Ms. This stuff is really addicting!

Fish chex mix and mermaid munch popcorn - Under the Sea birthday party

The vegetable tray also fit the theme – it was a mixture of fresh veggies served with my homemade ranch dip and topped with an edible octopus! The octopus is made from two bell peppers. I glued on the candy eyes with a few dabs of royal icing that I had left over from the cookies I made for dessert. No royal icing? Try attaching blueberries, olive slices or raisins for eyes with a toothpick.

Octopus Veggie Platter - Under the Sea birthday party

The fruit platter was the star of the show – a watermelon carved to look like a shark, filled with a variety of fruit including melon cut to look like fish and sea stars. I heard more chatter about the watermelon shark than any other aspect of the party! And I can’t take any credit for it – my mom was the watermelon carving master. She followed this online tutorial. The melon shapes were made with small cookie cutters. Thanks mom, you are amazing!

Watermelon Shark - Under the Sea birthday party

Next up are the sweet treats. I always do cupcakes for parties for two reasons: (1) I never want to stand around and cut 50 slices of cake and (2) I feel like I have a better grasp on cupcake decorating versus trying to decorate a big cake. I have a vanilla cupcake and frosting recipe I use every year. This year I made the cupcakes fit the theme by using edible candy pearls to match the frosting and I made my own seashell chocolates by melting candy melts and pouring them into molds that had been coated in edible white luster dust. Spend an extra dollar and get the greaseproof cupcake liners like I did, the color stays vibrant that way.

Vanilla sea shell cupcakes - Under the Sea birthday party

I think it’s fun to do more than one dessert – I mean, what’s a birthday party without a ton of sweets? So we also had sugar cookies shaped like starfish that were dipped in royal icing, sprinkled with sparkling sugar and topped with candy eyes. Aren’t they cute? I use gel food colors, you get intense color without watering down your frosting. I use the sugar cookie and royal icing recipes from Sweetopia.

Starfish cookies - Under the Sea birthday party

Last but not least are the gelatin cups. I saw these on Pinterest, and they looked so simple yet so fun. Cups of blue jello topped with swedish fish candies. These were the hit of the dessert table, they were gone in about 5 minutes! I found the little clear cups at the dollar store. Don’t add the fish candies until right before you’re ready to serve, otherwise they’ll melt into the jello.

Jello cups - Under the Sea birthday party

As you may have noticed, our color scheme was blue, green and purple. I bought dozens of paper pom poms in these colors and we hung them all over our yard.

Decorations - Under the Sea birthday party

All of the paper goods and serving bowls came from the dollar store. Can’t beat the price!

Sea themed plates and napkins - Under the Sea birthday party

For table centerpieces we did live goldfish in glass bowls from the dollar store surrounded by sea shells. These goldfish were only in the bowls for the duration of the party. After the party, some of the fish were transferred to an appropriately sized aquarium with a filtration system and the rest of the fish were taken to a friend’s koi and goldfish pond. Do NOT attempt to use goldfish for centerpieces unless you have a plan in place for the fish when your party is over. Goldfish are not meant to live in small bowls, they are messy fish that can grow to be quite large and need to be in a designated aquarium!

Goldfish centerpiece - Under the Sea birthday party

For entertainment, we rented an ocean themed bounce house. We also had a craft table where the kids could create their own aquarium scenes with foam boards and stickers.

Sea creature craft - Under the Sea birthday party

We had a bubble machine going and a bucket of these super cute beach balls with inflatable fish inside of them for kids to toss around and take home.

Fish beach balls - Under the Sea birthday party

The surprise hit of the party was the sand pit. I took a small wading pool and filled it with play sand (available at home improvement stores for less than $5). I added some sand tools and plastic sea creatures on top and hid beaded necklaces and plastic coins in the sand. The kids LOVED digging for treasure, the sand pit was as popular as the bounce house!

Sand Pit - Dig for buried treasure! Under the Sea birthday party

Last but not least are the treat buckets. I got plastic bucket and pail sets from the dollar store and filled them with watercolor paints, bath crayons, play doh, mini bags of jelly beans, fish lollipops, small containers of kinetic sand and homemade fish crayons. Many of the items were purchased on clearance after the holidays – some were stocking stuffers marked down to 70% off in January and others were Easter basket items on sale and none of the items had any holiday themed packaging on them! You don’t have to spend a ton of money to have a great party, you just have to come up with creative solutions.

Treat buckets - Under the Sea birthday party

To make the fish crayons, I put peeled chopped crayons into a silicon fish shaped ice cube mold I found at the dollar store. I used the directions listed here. You can do this with any shape mold! I put the crayons into little clear bags with a colored backing. The colored backings are actually single color paint chips from the hardware store!

DIY Marble Crayons for party favors - Under the Sea birthday party

I had a great time putting this Under the Sea birthday party together. I didn’t do it alone though – I had help from my amazing mom and wonderful aunt! I’m pretty sure that this was our best party yet – now how am I going to top it next year?! These girls are such a blessing that I can’t help but go a little overboard when it comes to their party – they deserve a grand celebration. Would you believe there were 5 sets of twins at our party? It must be a record or something. The girls’ tops are from Kohl’s and their tutu leggings are from the Disney collection by Jumping Beans at Kohl’s, sadly they’re no longer available online.

Birthday girls - Under the Sea birthday party

Still hungry? Follow Dinner at the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for more great recipe ideas!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Filed Under: Crafts and Parties

FREE TOOLKIT: 5 Secrets to Meal Planning

Learn my 5 Meal Planning Secrets & get my Meal Planning Toolkit...FREE!

    ​
    ​

    Still hungry? Follow Dinner at the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for more great recipe ideas!

    « Grilled Chicken Fajitas on a Stick
    Rocky Ledge Bars (aka “Crack” Bars) »

    Comments

    1. Donna says

      May 5, 2015 at 7:36 pm

      Oh my goodness this is amazing! You made such an effort, I’m sure your girls loved it! I especially love the watermelon – so cute! I may have to steal that idea for my littles ones birthday coming up 🙂

      Reply
    2. Kim Seibert says

      May 5, 2015 at 5:34 pm

      I love all the intricately carved fruits and veggies!

      Reply
    3. Christina Boyer says

      May 5, 2015 at 4:54 pm

      Oh my goodness- this is adorable. I have my little ones third birthday in June. I am really going to consider doing this theme. How fun!

      Reply
    4. Lauren says

      May 5, 2015 at 3:09 pm

      Your girls are so cute! Love how the party was done!

      Reply
    5. Abbie Katrina says

      May 5, 2015 at 11:08 am

      Those cupcakes are the cutest ever!

      The Pink Paperdoll

      Reply
    6. Coco says

      May 5, 2015 at 10:53 am

      The watermelon filled with fruit salad is unbelievably cool! Great idea!
      Baci,
      Coco et La vie en rose fashion blog – Valeria Arizzi

      Reply
    7. Erica says

      May 5, 2015 at 9:38 am

      so creative- I love the cupcakes!

      Reply
    8. Tianna says

      May 5, 2015 at 9:26 am

      what an adorable party! Love all the adorable decor!!

      stop by and chat | http://storybookapothecary.com ♥

      Reply
    9. Ashley says

      May 5, 2015 at 8:41 am

      Such cute decor! What a precious idea. I love the sandbox with all the treasure and the girls’ cute shirts.

      Reply
    10. Brittany says

      May 5, 2015 at 8:27 am

      Okay, this is seriously the cutest! I love the fruit and veggie trays! Now I just need an excuse to throw a party so I can use all these ideas. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    11. annabelt says

      May 5, 2015 at 8:23 am

      I love these! So fun, and healthy food too! I bet your girls had a fantastic birthday party 🙂

      Reply
    12. Lauren says

      May 5, 2015 at 7:56 am

      This turned out so adorable! Maybe I will try this for my son’s next birthday since I may have a pool party! (pinning!)

      Reply
    13. Olga @ MangoTomato says

      May 5, 2015 at 7:52 am

      What a superbly fun party!!! You did an outstanding job.

      Reply
    14. shilpa says

      May 5, 2015 at 7:50 am

      Wow,that a super duper arrangement,loved everything about it.thanks for sharing it in detail

      Reply
    15. Jasmine says

      May 5, 2015 at 6:41 am

      where was this when I was little? lol I love this. Too bad I don’t have a little girl or anything because I would so be doing this for her birthday. These are all so cute.

      Reply
    16. Tirralan @ Tinseltown Mom says

      May 5, 2015 at 5:59 am

      Aww, this is such a beautiful birthday party. I’m sure your girls loved every moment of it. You are so creative.

      Reply
    17. Becky says

      May 5, 2015 at 12:08 am

      Love all these great ideas!!! Tons of great stuff.

      Reply
    18. Bethany Magnie says

      May 4, 2015 at 11:48 pm

      What a blast! I would have loved to attend this party as a kid. The girl’s shirts are so cute, mermaids have always been a favorite of mine. You’ve got me dreaming of my four month old’s future birthday parties now!

      Reply
    19. Jackie says

      May 4, 2015 at 11:29 pm

      Oh wow, this looks like such a fun party. Great ideas for incorporating Under the Sea theme.

      Two very lucky girls 🙂

      Jackie @Style Me Petite

      Reply
    20. Nikki says

      May 4, 2015 at 11:21 pm

      This sounds like such a great party! Looks like a lot of fun. Happy birthday to your girls!

      Reply
    Newer Comments »

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating





    With 3 young kids, dinner can feel like feeding time at the zoo! I'm a mom on a mission to create easy, healthy and family friendly recipes ...Read More

    Winter Soups

    Turkey soup with egg noodles and colorful vegetables in a pot.

    Turkey Soup Recipe

    A bowl of pasta e fagioli soup with colorful veggies, ditalini pasta, two types of beans and ground beef.

    Pasta e Fagioli Soup

    This recipe for mexican meatball soup is loaded with seasoned beef meatballs, black beans and plenty of vegetables in a flavorful and spicy broth. Add your favorite toppings and you've got a complete meal in a bowl!

    Mexican Meatball Soup

    Irish stew with beer, tender beef, carrots and potatoes.

    Irish Stew Recipe

    White chicken chili topped with tortilla strips, cilantro and avocado.

    White Chicken Chili

    A bowl of Instant Pot beef stew with cubes of meat, potatoes, carrots, onions and peas.

    Instant Pot Beef Stew

    More Posts from this Category

    Featured Recipes

    Slow cooker pot roast served with carrots, potatoes and green beans.

    Slow Cooker Pot Roast

    This honey garlic shrimp stir fry is an easy recipe that's ready in 20 minutes.

    Honey Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry

    A roasted chicken in a pan garnished with fresh rosemary sprigs.

    Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Herbs

    Pesto chicken in a baking dish with melted cheese and cherry tomatoes.

    Pesto Chicken Recipe

    FREE TOOLKIT: 5 Secrets to Meal Planning

    Learn my 5 Meal Planning Secrets & get my Meal Planning Toolkit...FREE!

      ​
      ​

      Categories

      Sites I am featured In
      PRIVACY POLICY ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT © Sara Welch and Dinner at the Zoo® LLC, 2015-2022.
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • Pinterest
      • RSS
      • Twitter
      • About Me
      • Contact Me
      • All Recipes
      • Dinner
      • Appetizers
      • Dessert
      • One Pot Meals
      • Slow Cooker
      • Asian Food