I am in no way a party planner of the scale you have seen on countless blogs making their way across Pinterest. I do, however, enjoy planning a successful, enjoyable party, stressful as they are. A few weekends ago, we threw our youngest R a Mermaid & Pirate party to celebrate turning 4. I can't believe she's 4 already. I mean, just last year she was in the NICU it seems. But, our feisty little ginger is growing into a big girl, and she deserved a party as BIG as she is!
Little R had has been into mermaids for a while now, we've been planning to have a mermaid party for at least 6 months. We also decided to incorporate pirates, so as not to leave out our little friend boys. Melanie, a friend and high school classmate of my sister, has a invitation and graphic design business called Innovative Invitations, and she does all of my girls' birthday invites. She always seems to bring my vision to life (or to paper I should say). Here's the super cute invite she did for R's mermaid party!
The sign we made for the yard, "Mermaids this way," was built by my handy hubby using scraps from his DIY projects and painted with craft store paint (words hand stenciled by moi).
DIY sign thanks mostly to handy hubby
Our front door wreath was constructed with a wire wreath frame, 2 different color mesh & wire, all which purchased at a craft store. I started it over a year ago, and Mimi helped to us complete it before the party because it fit our theme perfectly. It's adorned with small seashells, which really are only visible once you're up close. This is totally usable all summer long!
Of course I did a quick mermaid design on our kitchen chalk board to mark the occasion.
I used shades of ombre turquoise for our main color scheme, mixed with pops of hot pink (R's favorite color of the moment). The cake was made by Sweet Art Bakery in McKinney, Texas. Again, I had a vision and they really brought it to life! They also made matching chocolate cupcakes with edible shells on top (the cake was strawberry flavored, per the birthday girl's request).
Meager dessert table (I ran out of time!)
Close-up of the cake by Sweet Art Bakery
We filled an inexpensive baby pool with sand and hid "treasure" inside! This was a huge it!
I decided to have a bounce house and incorporate the new Slip n Slide
she got for her birthday. (What's a mermaid party without a little water
anyway)?
Four-year olds trying to figure out how to Slip N Slide
I also did a photo booth back drop (made with an assortment of different turquoise, blue and white ribbons, tulle, and fabric strips). My Mom and I cut the strips and tied them to rope. This was VERY time intensive, but worth the effort after seeing the kids' cute photos! (In hindsight, it may have been easier to use all ribbon, but the fabric was super cute too). We downloaded the photo booth props from 2 different Etsy vendors, printed them at home, cut them out, and hot glued them to wooden sticks.
Photo booth fun
Photo booth fun
R's sparkly custom applique shirt was designed by me, but crafted especially for the birthday girl by Mimi's Bebes. (Mimi also happens to be my Mom and she's the ultimate family crafista!)
Custom applique shirt by Mimi's Bebes
As far as menu goes, unfortunately I don't have much to share. Her party was late afternoon, so we just served snacks.We had a crackers, cheese and meat tray, Pirate's Booty brand cheese puffs (for our wheat-free friends), sausage balls, and a fruit tray with my family's famous fruit dip. This fruit dip is probably the most asked about dish I make, and I make it for almost every party and gathering we do It's really simple to make:
Let cream cheese sit out to soften. Throw the cream cheese into a mixing bowl and add the entire container of Marshmallow Whip. Blend with a hand mixer or if you have on of those fancy Kitchen Aid ones. Add food coloring if you like (I added a teal/turqouise color this time to match our theme). Spoon into a serving dish and serve with fruit. Voila. People will be wowed and love it immediately. I promise.
For party favors, I gave away inexpensive bubble wands from the dollar store with a tag matching the invite reading "Thanks for helping me celebrate my birthday at Ratcliff lagoon! - Rylee". I put them all in cheap sand buckets in the foyer to hand out as each child left. (Oops, forgot to snag a photo of the full buckets before the party). All the kids were excited to take one home!
And that's little R's Mermaids and Pirates party. Go forth and make bubbles kiddos!
