Under The Sea Party Ideas

My youngest son and his finance are having a baby in December. Daniel and Jennica had their first date on March 17, 2010, (St Patrick's Day) got engaged early this year, and set the date for the wedding for March 17, 2017. 

 

Unexpectedly, they found out in May they were going to have a baby. When they saw the doctor for the first time she told them their estimated date of conceiving was March 17^th!

We created very unique Pregnancy Announcement Cards to send out to family and close friends and then started planning a baby shower. 

Jennica chose Ariel's Under The Sea theme and these are a few of the things we did for the party. 

The nursery will also have an “Under The Sea” theme and décor so we can reuse a lot of the items we made for the baby shower

Our new barn isn't quite finished, the walls have not been covered, but it worked out great for the party. 

Getting the decorations set up

We used large rolls of plastic tablecloths in ocean colors to create waves and then added strings of lights and ocean creatures.  We also added seaweed using rolls of streamers.

We decided to frame one of the party invitations.   Jennica ordered the invitations from Birthday Direct. 

Scattered on tables were seashells, bottles full of shells, and seashells with tea candles in them.

In the center of some tables, we had an Ariel's Candelabra, a piece of fish netting, and mason jar candles with sand and seashells.  Many of the shells we used were collected from various trips, some to St. Augustine, Florida. 

We used napkins in the same ocean colors to wrap the silverware and added a lifesaver (life preserver) tied with twine. We gave out mini rubber duckies and glass jars of sea salt as party favors.  Later we will add wire to ours and turning them into Christmas ornaments. 

The treasure chest was easy, we just used an old wooden box and added lots of shiny costume jewelry and a seashell or two. 

We got the idea for a Diaper Cake on  Pinterest and it looked easy enough to make.  It wasn't that difficult but does take two people!  We were really satisfied with the way ours turned out.

Jennica practiced calligraphy for a week to be able to write the baby's name on the little banner I made for the cake.

For a Life Preserver, I purchased a foam ring from a craft store and wrapped it twice with white fabric. Then I used thick rope to wrap around the ring on four sides.  I have terrible handwriting so to make it easy we purchased stick-on letters to add the baby's name and date.

Here are a few other ideas for an Under The Sea party:

Ariel's Candelabra:  Directions Here

StarFish banner that said “Welcome Baby Lilly”

We hung Circle Bubble Garland and Hanging Fan Circles from the ceiling above the three food tables. The new barn's walls are not finished yet so photos of the garlands didn't show up as well as I would have liked. 

 

The menu was chosen to go along with the Under The Sea theme. We served the following foods, just slightly renaming them.  

• Submarine Sandwiches (subs)

• Oyster Pearl Cookies (vanilla wafers, blue-tinted icing, with white candies)

• Sea Grass Licorice and Sebastian's Crab Rangoon's 

 

 I also made up Food Labels to go in front of every dish.

• Ariel's Vegetable Garden (veggie trays)

• Sand Dollar Sugar Cookies

• Puffer Fish Fruit Salad and Seaweed Spinach Dip 

• Conch Shell Shrimp and Pasta Salad

• Shark Fins Brownie Cupcakes (with blue-tinted icing and paper shark fins)

• Potato chips and Goldfish crackers became Fish and Chips

• Mermaid Kiss Punch (Sierra Mist, coconut extract, water, and sugar) 

PRINT Under The Sea Food Labels

Next to the punch, we added something a little extra.  A waver to sign with a warning that the Mermaid Kiss Punch was actually a potion and if you drink it you would grow a mermaid tail. 

I printed the Mermaid Potion warning on an aged-looking sheet of scrapbooking paper to give it more character.

PRINT  Mermaid Potion Warning and Potion Waiver Agreement Signing Sheet 

Diaper raffle

We held a diaper raffle, giving anyone a ticket who brought along a pack of diapers over and above the shower gift.  We included the diaper raffle information in the invitations and on our Event Page on Facebook. 

For the gift basket, Jennica and I added things all week:  A bottle of wine, a box of specialty crackers, fine chocolates, 2 gifts from Bath and Body, a scented candle, a mini garden flag, and numerous other items.  

We were able to find online and print at home the Diaper Raffle tickets. 

PRINT Diaper Raffle Tickets 

The tickets should be printed on thick paper. 

Near the end of the baby shower, Jennica drew a name for the winner.  Daniel's Aunt Kathy (my sister) and her husband Beau won the gift basket!

Trivia

Jennica and I made up questions like when they met, what the wedding date is, when the due date is, etc. We had 12 questions and passed out the trivia sheets for everyone to answer.  After about 15 minutes we went through each correct answer.  Daniel's friend Josh got nearly a perfect score and won the prize. 

Pin The Diaper On the Balloon

This was funny seeing the men try to diaper a balloon, especially since I tried to pick many of the men who were not yet fathers!  One of them was an experienced dad and one was a new dad.

Don't Say, Baby

The "Don't Say Baby" game is easy.  Everyone starts with one safety pin.  Anytime you hear someone say the word "baby" you take their safety pin.  The person with the most pins at the end of the party gets a prize. 

PRINT  Don't Say Baby Instructions 

We wrapped up the baby shower with Daniel and Jennica opening their gifts. 

And remember, many of these ideas can also be used as a birthday party!
Elizabeth