The Making of Olivia's Mermaid Birthday Party

In January when Olivia was flipping through a birthday catalog she told me she wanted a mermaid party. At first I was stumped at what to do for it, but thanks to Pinterest and some under the sea ideas, it quickly became easy to plan.

While I found the ideas and bought the supplies, it was my amazing family who helped implement it all. The night before the party I had aunts, uncles, and cousins working on the food around my kitchen table. That might have been my favorite part of it all!

So let's start with the food:

Pinterest offered great ideas for mermaid food and under the sea themed ideas. A sweet colleague at work found chocolate mermaid molds. I added the mermaid to the oyster cookies (frosting, marshmallows, candy eyes, and vanilla wafers).

The cupcakes were made by yours truly but I did order the mermaid toppers from Etsy.

I had not planned to make a cake, but a week before the party Olivia asked me if she could have a Ariel cake. Who am I to say no? So with the advice of a coworker I attempted my first Ariel cake. Five hours later this is how it turned out.

I wish I could take credit for the candy sushi but Olivia made these. I showed her how to make some and she took it from there. I was amazed at how quickly she worked to make the sushi.

On the main food table we had ocean themed named food such as King Tritan's hummus, sea cucumbers, crab legs (carrots), school of fish (goldfish crackers), pirate's gold (cheese), crazy crab dip with chips, submarine sandwiches, starfish sandwiches, sand pudding, and fruit in the shape of the shark. The shark was a last minute addition as more and more people RSVPed. I sent Mark the link and jokingly asked him  if he could make one. When he didn't flat out tell me no I hurried out to buy the fruit. I was super impressed with the results, and even more impressed it only took him under an hour to make!

 Olivia made the "sand" by blending vanilla wafers with oreo cookies.

In terms of decorations, I used teal and purple tablecloths with the tulle as a table runner. I added nets and shells in bowls for the seating tables.

I made the banner using my Cricut and covered the window with more of the tulle.

Olivia's gorgeous tutu and hairbow was made by my best friend Laura. She made it the day before. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, Olivia didn't want to wear it too long but at least we got a few pictures. Olivia's shirt was made by Ditsy Daisy Boutique.

Olivia and I made octopus lollipops by covering tootsie roll pops with tissue paper and adding google eyes.

Party favors included sand buckets with sea themed treats.

 Of our 53 guests we had 17 children so it was important to have activities to keep the kiddos entertained. We filled a plastic pool with sand and buried 100 sea creatures in the sand. We also included sand art, stickers, ring toss, and pin the shell on the mermaid. I also had a failed Pinterest attempt at a bean bag toss.

One of the highlights of the party were the two mermaids who attended-Ariel and Atina. These beautiful mermaids assisted the kids with the games and posed for pictures.

Mark's mom created this gorgeous scene using shells and driftwood she had collected. 

Overall the party was lots of fun. We were so thankful to all the friends and family who attended-many coming from out of town to attend. Olivia said she loved every part of her special day. We are enjoying the many generous gifts given to her. Thank you for making this day so special!

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