Zarie’s Under the Sea Party

I couldn’t have chosen a more fitting party for my baby girl. Her absolute favorite book is The Pout Pout Fish. Her favorite song (to sing and to have hummed to her at bedtime) is She Sells Seashells by the Seashore. She is completely enamored with our pet fish. There was NO way I couldn’t do this theme for her. My mind was flooded with ideas from the very start.

I knew that I didn’t want to do the teal and purple mermaid theme that I’ve seen done so often. I’ve seen that colorway done beautifully, but I wanted to go for a unique vibe. I wanted to pull colors and textures from the sea in a different way. Cue the Meri Meri table confetti pack that I came across. SO. PERFECT. Tissue paper confetti full of soft pinks, mint, pearl and metallic gold. It reminded me of glistening fish scales and mystical pink jellyfish. I totally dreamed up the entire color scheme from that box of confetti. So so good.

Olive Fox Design created an exquisite custom invitation design. From the font, to the watercolor reef…I got oceanic vibes in the best possible way. She carried the design through to the food table tents and favor bag tags. Such perfection.

When it came to the decor, there were two large DIY projects: the scalloped tablecloth and the tissue garland backdrop. For the food tablecloth I used a dinner plate and a sharpie to trace a scalloped edge on three different colored layers. The iridescent tablecloths were purchased from Walmart. I then staggered the tablecloths and taped them to one another for a scaly look.

I can’t say enough how good of a find the iridescent tablecloths were. They were three bucks each, and perfectly mimicked the shimmer you see when sunlight amuses itself on water. Did I mention how much I loved every single detail of this party? LOL! I also used these same tablecloths on the DIY backdrop.

I cut 2 tablecloths into crepe paper width strips, to match the actual crepe paper streamers that I used. I used around 8-10 (total) mint, white, rose gold, and light pink crepe paper rolls. I cut them into long strips and layered them onto packing tape to create a layered backdrop. I then cut the hanging strips into different lengths to give the backdrop texture. I pinned the backdrop to the wall, in sections, using pushpins. I very much wanted the texture to resemble flowing underwater seaweed and sea creature tentacles. The colorway and opaque iridescent strips made for such a dreamy backdrop.

I twisted green crepe paper streamer and taped it to the wall to mimic seaweed. The inspirational confetti was spread throughout the party setup (it’s still there—I seriously have given up on cleaning it all up). The BEST automatic bubble maker of all time set the perfect under the sea scene. I don’t know about you, but we have gone through 2 or 3 subpar bubble machines, that broke after too few uses, and I am so happy to report that THIS one is so good. The seahorse mylar balloon was purchased from Ellie and Piper Party Boutique.

The party ended up being on a rainy morning, and I had promised the birthday girl, all week, that she could wear her mermaid swim”soup” so she ended up getting to wear it anyway. Not a drop of swimming in sight haha. The girls and I wore matching “Shello” shirts from The Ever Co.

A birthday tradition of ours is using a themed storybook to capture sweet notes from party attendees. I chose Mermaid School to be our guestbook this time, and it is so so good. Gorgeous illustrations, full of diversity, and tells the story of an Under the Sea schoolhouse.

For the birthday cake, I really just wanted it to be simple. We ordered a delicious three layer (strawberry and vanilla) cake from Marci’s Cakes and Bakes in Hope Mills, NC. She did a gorgeous job of creating ombre frosting that resembled the layers of the ocean. It was covered with glitter powder, and y’all already know how sparkle obsessed I was with this party. I added on a few real seashells, and the cake was perfect for my sweet girl. We sang to her, and helped her blow out her two perfectly iridescent glittered candles.

Zarie’s mermaid cake topper was purchased from KaraCakes Boutique, but is not longer being sold. We love THIS shop and she has the cutest party decor! Y’all, I sent her a general idea of what I wanted, and she blew it out of the water. Her mermaid tail coordinating birthday hat was also made by this amazing small shop.

My sweet girl was in a room full of people, and just wanted to sit with her mama and split a piece of birthday cake. I will never ever forget that piece of cake, for the rest of my life. She still seemed so tiny in that moment.

The sweetest pink-haired mermaid balloon watched over the drink table, which also housed all of the paper products. We had various seashell plates, iridescent straws, napkins, and mermaid scale party cups.

I had such a fun time with the food for this party. I even got a few special platters to fit the theme. We served mini Swedish Fish candies, and ocean creature gummies in the sweetest little whale bowls. These were a HomeGoods clearance find, but I’ve linked a similar set HERE. The beautiful spiral shell platter that I used to display the cookies was also a HomeGoods find.

Our “sea vegetation” tray was my absolute favorite. The blue slotted tray is in the shape of a starfish, and only cost me around 8 bucks. I can’t wait to reuse it during the summer months! You can find it HERE. I stuck in a few fun mermaid picks. I displayed the rest of the food in glass vases that we already own, or clear Dollar Tree platters that I am constantly reusing.

The party was a late morning party, so I wanted everyone to be able to grab a light lunch. I made homemade chicken salad croissants, to which I stuck pink eyeballs on toothpicks in to make crabwiches. For the kiddos, I used fish cookie cutters to press out almond butter and jelly”fish” sandwiches. I made my homemade Italian pasta salad, but. used “sea” shell pasta this time to give it a festive spin. We had to have a bowl of goldfish, but we went with the princess pink bags instead of typical orange.

Honey wheat braid pretzels were our driftwood logs, and rock candy pops were our version of coral. We skewered green grapes to create the look of seaweed, and they were totally a crowd favorite. I served freshly popped popcorn in DIY paper treasure chests—although how fun would it be to use Pirate’s Booty popcorn if your kids can eat it?

I still can’t get over how beautiful these cookies were. Cookie Cutter Cookies did a stellar job. I really love the mixture of colors and textures. That tiny Zarie mermaid was just perfect. The best part is that they tasted even better than they looked. I always save a birthday cookie to have with coffee the next day.

The rainy weather subsided, and the kids were able to enjoy outside play, and jump in the bounce house. They also all got to try their hand at bursting open the cutest seashell piñata from Target.

When it comes to party favors, I always like to gift the kiddos something that they will continue to enjoy long after they leave the party. This time each babe got a sea creature shaped cookie cutter and a container of play dough. A few mamas sent me photos after the party of their kids pressing out their own little sea scene, and a couple moms have used their cookie cutter on sandwiches and fruit! So fun.

Prettiest favor bags EVER! Guys, I LOVE these shell bags. The bright coral handles, and shimmery tassel detail make me so happy. Olive Fox Design created shimmery pearl favor tags for me that read “thanks for coming to shellebrate with me.” Y’all know I love a good pun.

I have a couple extra bags, and I totally plan to use them in the future for gifts. At the end of the school year, I’m thinking of gifting Raegan’s teacher some summer treats in there, to kick off summer vacation. Partygoers also got to dub their own little mermaid(or man) fin party hats. These adorable glittery hats were a DOLLAR TREE find, and I couldn’t be more delighted. They came in packs of 5 and there were two or three other colors to choose from. Have a look in the toys aisle of the store. Such a great find.

Thank you coming by to check out my baby girl’s Under the Sea birthday party. I can’t say how grateful I am to have these photos to show to my husband, who was serving overseas at the time of the party. A special thanks to the PHENOMENAL photographer who captured it all for us: Emily Wood Photography. Her talent and kindness were equally remarkable.

If you have any questions in planning your own Under the Sea party, please don’t hesitate to comment and questions you may have. I am happy to help.