You probably can’t believe your child is turning another year older! Seems like the years go by so fast. While they’re young you want to give them the best of the best and make their life fun and magical. So when it comes to birthday parties, you probably love to go all out!
There are so many different birthday party themes to choose from. I’ve had a luau party, a 70’s party, a pirate party, but surprisingly not a mermaid party! Mermaids are the magical and beautiful creature that most little girls are enamoured with. They are the perfect theme for a kid’s party.
A mermaid party works best if it’s in the summer and takes place outside and includes activities like swimming. One can still be held during any season, though.
Instead of hiring a birthday clown or renting a bounce house, go for a professional mermaid and a pool! Mermaids all around the world perform at parties and entertain the kids as real-live mermaids who will swim around and play games with the kids. You can even hire a mermaid to transform the kids into mermaids too!
You probably don’t want the professional mermaid to be the only mermaid aspect. Or maybe you don’t plan to hire a mermaid. That’s okay. Decorations, costumes, food, music, and games really make for an out-of-this-world mermaid birthday party!
Here are 10 things to make your kid’s birthday party stand out as the best mermaid party ever!
1. Dressing up
Remember, mermaids are for little girls and little boys, though girls seem to be more interested usually. Still, it is a good idea to add some pirates into the mix so that the party suits everyone! Everyone can enjoy a little pirate fun! Pirates and mermaids go hand in hand, or hand in fin. Have the party be a costume party, with kids dressing up as a mermaid, a pirate, or as their favorite ocean creature. I recommend providing some costume accessories so no one gets left out of dressing up. You could even have a prize for the best costume!
2. Food/drinks
Kids love snacks, and they’ll be running around playing, having fun, and maybe swimming in the pool, so they’ll build up an appetite. Here are some easy and kid-friendly foods to serve up at your mermaid birthday party. Be sure to include a little sign to indicate each food’s relevance to the theme.
- Goldfish crackers (gold fish)
- star shaped finger sandwiches (starfish)
- pretzel rods (drift wood with sea salt)
- macaroni and cheese with shell pasta (shells and cheese)
- fish sticks
- Treasure chest full of chocolate coins or candy
- Popsicles for summer party
- Sandwich cookies with pearl inside (oysters)
- sliced apples shaped like fish or stars
- white candy coated chocolate balls (pearls)
- Hot dog octopuses
- White chocolate seashells
- Sand dollar cookies
- Veggies and dip: carrot sticks (crab legs) and cucumber slices (sea cucumber)
- Couscous (caviar)
- Mermaid cake
- Chocolate seashells
For the drinks get some crazy straws with mermaid accents. For glasses try using mason jars decorated with fishnet.
Get a special stand for cupcakes or cookies.
Have cold water labeled as “fresh water” and some blue fruit punch labeled as “ocean water.” You can also have a jug full of iced tea labeled as “lake water.”
3. Mermaid Decor
The main colors associated with mermaids are blue, green, teal, and purple. Keep that in mind for balloons, banners, streamers, and table cloths, and remember to make things sparkle!
Everything should be under-the-sea related. Decorate the food and drink table and the present table with fishnet and add some shells.
Have a birthday banner with the birthday child’s name on it.
Get one of the big inflatable shell floats for the pool and it is a perfect backdrop for photos.
Make some jellyfish hanging decorations with streamers and lanterns. They’re an adorable decoration and they provide light if the party goes until night time, creating a nice atmosphere and brightening things up.
Have lots of bubbles for the kids. Get some bubble wands that make really big bubbles, which is always fun for little ones. Even I can’t resist giant bubbles!
You can get bubble machines that look like marine animals to better fit the occasion.
A sandbox is a fun way to channel beach vibes while also providing something fun for the kids. For a fun game, bury little objects in the sand and have the kids dig to find treasure with little shovels. Place some seashells in it as well.
For a summer party have water activities such as a kiddie pool, sprinklers, slip n slide, or if you have an actual pool, that is perfect! A pool is part-decoration and part-activity. You can take fun pictures with the pool as a twinkly blue background. Or just take pictures while posing on pool floats.
4. Mermaid Background
5. Music
You can’t have a party without music! Here is a list of music to match the mermaid/under the sea theme.
- Little mermaid songs
- Moana songs
- Beach Boys
- Baby shark
- Theme songs of Mako Mermaids and H20
- Ukulele music
- Somewhere over the rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole cover
- Pirates who don’t do anything
- Somewhere beyond the sea
Check out our mermaid music playlist on youtube:
6. Activities
Underwater photoshoot- Get an underwater camera. It can be the disposable kind that you print photos at the pharmacy or a digital one like a go pro. Kids love posing for pictures and filming themselves underwater. It creates unique souvenirs and a tone of fun in the pool. Don’t forget at least one pair of goggles, so it is easier to aim at your subject for underwater photos. Here are a few challenges for the best photos underwater. Try to smile while showing your teeth, open your eyes, don’t blow bubbles to hide your face, keep your hair outside of your face, sink to the bottom of the pool. It is a fun challenge to try and capture the perfect shot.
Photo station- Get an ocean backdrop and have little photo props and accessories like hats, masks, and crowns. Have someone there to take pictures of the kids as they have fun posing while all dressed up.
Mermaid braids- Learn and try on each other to make all types of braids. French and fishtail braids are great looks. There are many video tutorials you can find on youtube.
Mermaid Karaoke- Buy or rent a karaoke machine to have the kids sing songs. They could learn how to sing the Little Mermaid songs. The Pearl Princess from Barbie has great songs to sing along and dance to. Check out the song Mermaid Party.
Facepainter/mermaid makeover- You can hire someone or try your hand at face painting to give the kids makeovers to look more like mermaids.
Crafts- A great craft idea is sand art because it incorporates colorful sand and little bottles to make beautiful decorations and accessories. You can also try making seashell jewelry by drilling holes in seashells and providing kids with string and beads to make necklaces and bracelets.
Walk the plank- This game would work for a pirate aspect of the party, if you decide to go that route. Set up a board on top of cinder blocks and have a tarp underneath with water on it. Make little shark fins that will stick up and have kids walk across it like a balance beam.
7. Games
Games are always a fun addition to any party. Some games can be just for fun, but you can also include prizes.
Prizes
- Candy
- Plastic diamond rings
- Stickers
- Bubbles
- Temporary tattoos
- Coins
Guess how many shells- Have a fishbowl full of shells and have slips of paper so the kids can write down their name and their guess, which would go in a separate container. Kids can add their guesses at any time during the party. At the end of the party see who has the closest guess and give them a prize, or they could win the jar of shells.
Pool games- There are many fun games to be played in the pool. Try having swim races, playing beach volleyball, and marco polo. Other activities include practicing tricks like underwater backflips and handstands, swimming through hula hoops, jumping off the diving board in creative ways, throwing pool toys to the bottom of the pool and having to swim down and collect as many as possible,
Treasure hunt- Hide things all around the yard and give each kid a checklist. They have to try to find as many things as they can.
Musical chairs- Play musical chairs and use songs from the music list mentioned earlier. Have a circle of chairs with just one less than the number of kids. While the music is playing they walk around the chairs and when the music stops they have to quickly try to sit in a chair. Whoever doesn’t get one is out. Make sure to take away a chair each time someone is eliminated.
Freeze dance- Turn on some music and have a little dance party. Have someone tend the music and every thirty seconds to a minute they pause the music. The kids have to stop dancing when the music stops and try to stay still as a statue. If they move before the music starts again, they are eliminated.
Pinata- Get a mermaid tail or fish pinata from your local party store or find one online. Fill it with candy necklaces, chocolate coins, swedish fish, and sixlets (a candy that looks like pearls). Kids take turns hitting it to break it open. Make sure before the kids start smashing at the pinata that everyone is well out of the way. Give them each a little baggy to collect their candy when it breaks.
Mermaid bingo- Bingo is a great game that eats up some time and is a fun game of chance. Try this free downloadable mermaid bingo!
8. Professional mermaid entertainer
You can hire a professional mermaid through Aquamermaid. A professional mermaid livens up a mermaid party by adding a sprinkle of mermaid magic and fun. Most kids under 7 years old are young enough to believe in mermaids and seeing what they believe to be a real mermaid creates a memorable and wonderful experience that will spark joy in their hearts.
Have a professional mermaid come out and entertain the kids in the pool. They are there to play games, tell stories, sing songs, answer questions, and pose for photographs.You can hire a professional mermaid even if you don’t have a pool. Get a kiddie pool or just have a decorated station for her to sit for photos and to talk with kids.
A fun game incorporating the professional mermaid is to have her sit in a kiddie pool and tell the kids she needs more water. Have different colored water balloons and kids pair up in teams of two. One stands right next to the pool and one stands ten feet away or so. Each team has a different color of water balloons. They have to throw the balloon to their partner and the partner has to put the balloon in the kiddie pool. The challenge is catching the balloons and not letting them pop. Whoever can get the most water balloons in the pool has won at “water the mermaid.”
9. Have a mermaid lesson
Aquamermaid is also available for mermaid party lessons for older kids. Kids must be at least 7 years old and be able to pass a swim test to participate. This is great for older kids including teenagers. Someone will come to your location and provide tails and give a 1 hour mermaid swimming lesson. They will teach swimming techniques, fun tricks, and little games to play as mermaids. Kids will learn actual swimming techniques and get a workout while discovering a new sport that combines monofins and synchronised swimming.
10. Location
For your party, it is best to host it at your private backyard pool, but if you don't have one there are a few options. You can rent a private pool by the hour on swimply.com. We love that private, cheap, and easy option. You can book a room at a hotel with a pool, do a portion of your party at the pool and the rest in your room. You can also come to Aquamermaid facilities. Aquamermaid generally rents pools in schools or with the city, granting access to bigger and deeper pools.
11. Party favors
Don’t forget the party favors! One of my favorite things about going to parties as a kid was the party favors you get to take home. Some goodies to include are mermaid stickers, mermaid accessories, temporary tattoos, mini bubbles, pens, and keychains. Or to save yourself some trouble just buy a pack of mermaid party favors from Amazon.
Hope this guide helps you to throw the best mermaid birthday party ever! Make it a day the kids will never forget, and the parents will be impressed. Your child will smile at the memories of it and it will be an amazing day for them!
Author : Olivia Gilbert