Get The Party Started
A message-in-a-bottle invite is a perfect way to invite guests for upcoming fun. Start by saving up and cleaning empty plastic water bottles. Print out your party info, age the paper, then add to the bottle along with a little sand and shells.
Looking for a paper option? Check out Tiny Prints, Birthday In A Box's personalized invites, custom designed invites from ART by NIKA, or print them yourself .
Setting The Scene
Hang up fish netting on the wall and attach shells and dried starfish (found at local craft stores)and plastic sea creatures like sea horses, crabs, and lobsters, etc. You can also create your creatures out of cardboard or construction paper.
Cover your tables with blue tablecloths and decorate them with sand, faux pearls and seashells. Paint and decorate unfinished wooden chests to resemble treasure chests and fill with candy coins, necklaces and other loot for a sweet centerpiece.
Set a bubble machine in the corner of your party space for a more underwater feel.
Loving Craig & Whitney's underwater feel with the balloons and fishies hanging from the ceiling!The Munchies
There are so many treats that keep with the underwater theme - you could serve fish sticks and popcorn shrimp with seashell-shaped pasta. Try your hand at Hot Dog Octopuses (Ocotpi? Octopodes?) with tropical fruit skewers. Dish up Krusty Krab Cakes (crab cakes) or break out the grill for Krabby Patties (hamburgers).
Serve Chex Mix that includes Goldfish crackers, Swedish Fish and other gummy sea creatures in an over-sized fish bowl.
Use fish cookie cutters to cut out your sandwich of choice, or set up pre-cut bread, cheese and deli meat slices.Set up a buffet for guests to create Beach In A Cup - layer vanilla pudding, crushed vanilla wafers, whipped cream and gummy creatures in clear tumblers, and top off with a paper umbrella.
A montage of pretty cakes and cupcakes to inspire you...flickr user Pink Apron's too cool cake and cupcakes....2 Blue Dog's Spongebob sits on a Krabby Patty with a brownie center...Maki Cakes' Spongebob is fondant galore. Make your cupcake into a yellow submarine using roundabout sleeves. A Pail of sand and under-the-sea cake from FamilyFun. For our SBSP party a few years ago, we made Krabby Patty cupcake toppers for our party using vanilla wafers, chocolate covered cookies and red and yellow icing.
I love Pineapple Upside-Down cake, it's my specialty. Step it up a cute twist on this classic. Use Nordic Ware's mini cake pan where it bakes up them the shape of a pineapple. Need to feed your cupcake fix? FamilyFun has a easy tutorial for the cupcake version even the kids can help out with. Only Paula Deen could turn them into biscuits. Oh, this cupcake has an ice-cream center...mmm. I bet you wish you lived near a Trophy Cupcakes so you can experience their version; vanilla butter cake with a caramelized pineapple bottom, topped with a brown sugar buttercream and a maraschino cherry. I bet with a little practice you can come up with your own version using a pineapple cake mix like Duncan Hines.
What To Do
At our SBSP party, we made an Aquarium In A Bag - guests added foam underwater creatures to the "sea" foamie sheet, inserted into the bag, then added oatmeal for sand and a handful of real shells.
Create FamilyFun's mini ocean with shells, sand, oil and water; this is perfect for little ones still fascinated with water motion.
I am loving the Krabby Patty Making Relay Race from 4 Krafty Kidz. She made buns from Styrofoam balls and all the patty fixings from various materials like tissue paper, felt and construction paper, and even gave the kids squirt bottles filled with real sauce!
Send Them Home With A Smile
Fill a beach pail with fun goodies like a plastic shovel and other beach toys, Spongebob crayons, candy seashells (you can find molds at your favorite craft or candy-making spot) and a bottle of bubbles.
Make each guest a small sponge-painting kit. Include dry sponges cut into shapes and a small container of tempera or craft paint, and wrap the kits in cellophane with pretty toppers like these from Ciao Bambino.
How amazing are these flip-flop Rice Krispies from The Celebration Shoppe? She even graciously shares a full tutorial.
Check out this creative gift bag and its tutorial from Julia Bettencourt, I just love paper art.