Mermaid Birthday Party – Part 1
With the release of the Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia movie, everything is coming up mermaids this summer. If you know of a little one who wants a magical mermaid birthday party, here is a fun, inexpensive idea.
The challenge of a mermaid birthday party is that mermaids can’t walk! So if you want to make the guests truly feel like mermaids, you’ll need to plan around this handicap.
To make each guest feel like a real mermaid, we will carefully wrap colorful fabric around their legs. The simplest way to do this is to gather various colorful and sparkly fabrics, each at least a yard or so. Blankets and sheets can work too, and the thrift store has a nice selection of fabrics. But you’ll find the best at the fabric store. Check the clearance section first.
Before the guests arrive, choose a nice area or room to decorate lavishly. Since the mermaids will be spending the party here, make it look gorgeous. Is your theme an underwater cave or palace? Drape the furniture with dark-colored blankets or fabric to resemble rocks. Hang varying shades of blue crepe paper all over the ceiling and walls. Put paper fish and seaweed up on the walls and windows (or hanging from the ceiling). Try to make the room look as blue as possible-perhaps hang a blue sheet over a sunny window. Strew real or paper starfish and seashells around. Place an old trunk in the room, and fill it with costume jewelry, gold candy coins, perhaps some sand and seashells, craft jewels, glass pebbles, and anything else one might find in a treasure chest. Your guests will each get to choose several items from the chest before they leave, instead of a favor bag. (You decide how many items they can pick out, or perhaps each child gets a handful.)
Another room theme could be an ocean beach. For this idea, you would want the room as sunny as possible. Cover the floor with sand-colored blankets; pillows could be rocks. Cover the furniture with dark blankets for lava sea boulders. Strew sea shells, green crepe-paper seaweed, drift wood, and star fish around the room. You could even put on an ocean waves sound effect if you own a noise maker! Again, place a treasure chest somewhere in the room as well.
As each guest arrives, let them choose which fabric will be their own mermaid tail. Then escort them to the party room, and carefully wrap the fabric around their legs. You can simply tuck the end in to hold it in place, or use a safety-pin or strap of cloth or ribbon to tie it in place. Leave the feet free at the end and make sure there is plenty of extra fabric hanging off, to cover their feet. I would advise you have each guest go to the bathroom before you put on their tail! And be sure to instruct each guest to ask for help if they need to go somewhere. It’s a good idea to make the tail snug enough to look like a mermaid tail, yet loose enough that a person could carefully waddle to the couch if they need to. Just make sure there is someone always watching and helping anyone who wants to move! Otherwise, it is best if each guest remains in one spot for the party.
If it is warm enough, the guests can arrive wearing their swim tops, and they will really look like mermaids. There should be plenty of comfortable pillows and blankets around, so each mermaid can lounge comfortably.
After all the guests are transformed into mermaids, it’s time for the fun to begin. Watch for Mermaid Birthday Party: Part 2!