Let’s go surfing! Beach party ideas

We are so privileged to be surrounded by so many beautiful beaches in Australia, aren’t we? There’s not a kid I know who doesn’t enjoy spending their summer swimming in the surf, rolling in sand and building sandcastles. Just add ice cream and you have the perfect day out!

For those lucky enough to be celebrating a birthday or special occasion during the warm summer months, a beach party theme is a fun way to turn everyone’s favourite day out into a party – whether it’s at the beach with a BBQ lunch, at home on the deck or by the pool. Just add umbrellas, bright zinc and away you go! Of course it doesn’t have to be summer to enjoy the beach either – turn up the heat indoors, get the deck chairs out and bring the outdoors in! Just like this fantastic set up by Party In A Package.

 

Wherever you’re hosting a surfing or beach theme party or a pool party, we’ve sourced some great partyware and party supplies to help set the mood – just add sand!

 

Beach party invitations

Depending on the age group and event type, draw inspiration from marine life, retro surfboards, colours and props commonly used at the beach to bring together your theme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having a beach themed Christening or First birthday? Subtle nods to the beautiful colours like these gorgeous watercolour designs by Emma Smith Event Stationery add a more sophisticated touch.

 

 

Beach party decorations

When it comes to decorating your venue for a beach themed occasion, get creative with items you already have at home and would normally accompany you to the beach, add balloons and hey presto! We’ve found some fun items for adding colour, fun and style to your event from our LLC Vendors.

 

 

 

Love these gorgeous summery colours together:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This tablecloth provides the perfect base for a beachy themed dessert table:

 

You could also hire a table such as this (love the teal legs!) for a beachy feel. You can see it in use in the first beach party setup shared at the start of this post!

 

 

Cute summery chairs for the kids will help style your kids party table:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beach theme tableware

Colour blocking your tableware is a fantastic and easy way to achieve a coordinated beach theme. Incorpating a scened backdrop or props to complete the look around a seated table or dessert buffet, your guests will be transported to a sandy tropical island!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love the beachy look of these napkins:

 

 

 

Beach theme cakes and desserts

The best part about a beach party? The BBQ picnic lunch of course! But this is a party, and it wouldn’t be a party without cake now, would it?

There are some seriously talented patissier’s out there who can make some clever dessert options to tie in with your theme. Think macaron crabs, summery themed desserts and fun surfboard cookies! Here is a sample but browse the Directory if you need someone specific in your location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create your own treats with this fun surfboard mould!:

 

 

A few extra accessories:

 

 

 

 

Beach themed party favours

Send the little ones home with some treats in these beach coloured favour bags along with some fun beach themed favors:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With summer well and truly on our doorstep now, this is such a fun theme for your next occasion and can really be as relaxed and casual as you like, with plenty of fun.

Surfs up!

 

 

Water inspired – mermaid birthday party

Today I am sharing a gorgeous mermaid birthday party photo shoot which is the 3rd Life’s Little Celebrations collaboration photoshoot for Confetti fair magazine. This shoot was inspired by water and was based around the popular mermaid party theme for a 4th birthday!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvO00NXvfxw

 

This beautiful setting was styled and coordinated by Melbourne event stylist Sprinkled Event Stylist using a variety of Life’s Little Celebrations partners to bring the gorgeous ocean inspired colours to life through all the handmade decorations and amazing desserts!

The beach and ocean created the best natural backdrop for this amazing mermaid party setup!:

 

 

The colour scheme for this mermaid party looks so beautiful against the beach backdrop:

 

 

The gorgeous invitation set the tone for this mermaid birthday celebration!:

 

 

The little birthday guests all dressed for a fun mermaid party!

 

 

Love all the shell embellishments throughout the cake and other desserts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cannot get over how amazing and real-life these cookies are!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the little details and decorative embellishments really add a special touch to this mermaid birthday party:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vendor Credits

A huge thank you to all the talented businesses involved in this shoot:

Sprinkled Event Stylist – event styling and coordination www.sprinkledevents.com.au

Astir Images – Photography http://www.astirimages.com/

Tiny Tutu Cake Couture – cupcake tutu www.tinytutucakecouture.com.au 

Frosted by Nicci – clam cookies and mermaid tail cookies www.frostedbynicci.com.au

Petite Cookies – crab stick wands and gingerbread mermaid cookies with pearls  www.petitecookies.com.au

Sweetcheeks Cookies and Cakes – birthday cake and buttercream cupcakes

www.sweetcheekscookiesandcakes.com.au

Chocobon – chocolate coated strawberries www.chocobon.com.au

Glistening Occasions – custom made under the sea cake topper, and sea shell and mermaid cup cake toppers www.glisteningoccasions.com.au

DDBrand – handmade tassels, garland and giant balloon tassels www.ddbrand.com.au

Kreate a Dream – feather headdress  www.facebook.com/kreateadream 

Merc and Jones – mermaid cutouts featured on the lolly bags, and mermaid signage, and mermaid dessert spoons  http://www.mercandjones.com/ 

Hanging Pretty – Handmade flower garlands and head pieces  www.hangingpretty.com.au

Little Kite – turquoise lolly bags www.littlekite.com.au

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this gorgeous Mermaid birthday party photo shoot and your head is swimming with ideas for your own little one’s next birthday celebration or mermaid party!

 

Happy Celebrating!

Shark & Scuba Theme

With summer upon us, this theme is fantastic for any kids who love the beach or ocean and especially great for a pool party where you want more of a theme besides just a pool party!

You could base this party around blues and greens, along with another colour such as grey or something bright to go with a tropical feel such as red or yellow.

I have kept this post to mainly shark/scuba ideas although if you look into “Under the sea” parties online there are many more ideas out there which I’ll have to keep for another blog post!

Invitations/Printables

There are some great options available for this theme:

 

 

 

 

Decorations

Being an ocean inspired theme there are many ways you could decorate for this party.

A ribbon backdrop would work well for a dessert table to give an ocean/seaweed feel in shades of blue/green ribbons. Or you could use streamers to create a seaweed effect as well. Include fish cut outs and other ocean inspired shapes hanging from the ceiling (jellyfish, seahorses etc)create the underwater feel.

 

 

A backdrop such as this one could also be used for the table or other area in the party:

 

 

The soft floaty look of pom poms would also work well into the decor for this theme:

 

These garlands remind me of an underwater world…

For something a little different (and lovely to hang up after the party) these shell swags look great and could be something you could make yourself:

 

Or use wall decals to set the scene and then easily transfer them to your child’s room after the party:

 

Tableware

Love the colour of this tablerunner for an crystal clear water look:

Or if you want to create the feel of a sandy ocean floor then you could use this Hessian tablecloth:

 

These paper eskimo plates come in the perfect colours for this theme:

 

A mix of aqua blue and green stripes make these straws perfect for an ocean inspired theme!

 

The little ones will love to drink anything which have these shark fins floating in them!

 

Sweet Treats

Shark fins are an easy shape to add onto any treats on your table – whether it be as cupcake toppers, or food flags. Here are some other items you could use for this theme:

 

 

Little blue jelly cups would work really well on your dessert table and I love these mousse pots to serve the jelly in which can be reused for many parties:

A gorgeous teal colour cake stand (which comes in different sizes) is perfect for this theme!

Themed items

Let the kids have some fun in a photo corner using a prop board such as this – perfect for a shark and scuba theme!

 

 

Instead of party hats, these Shark hats would be fun to have all the little ones running around in!

Some ocean inspired/theme inspired toys are fantastic to keep the kids entertained. If you’re in Sydney these toys (and more ocean themed toys) are available to hire form Tiny Tots Toy Hire:

 

 

Or outside of Sydney you can buy some of these items which would be fun for any summer party in future anyway!

 

 

Create the look of the ocean floor for all the little divers with shells, corals, sea urchins, star fish and more!

Or simple ocean bath toys could be used for fun kid friendly decorations (or party favours)

Use these shell placecard holders to hold your food labels! You can’t even tell they are placecard holders so you could display them in a nice vase after the party too:

 

Use props around the party which double as birthday gifts for the shark and scuba loving birthday boy or girl. Using 2 water bottles you could create a scuba tank prop as well.

 

 

 

 

Hang a sign such as this (which you could also make yourself) around the party area:

 

Another item which could help work with an underwater theme such as this, is a Bubble Machine. This one is available for hire in Sydney from Tiny Tots Toy Hire, or outside of Sydney you can find them online and in most department stores:

 

Favours

A few cute favour ideas for this party:

 

These snorkel kits are quite affordable and could be given to the kids to use if you were having a pool party as part of this theme, to use during the party as well:

 

Or perhaps some swimming goggles which they can reuse many times:

 

 

 

For packaging I love the wave effect on these lovely scallop boxes:

For a beach/sandy feel these 2 options would work well filled with something delicious:

 

 

Real Parties

Lots of fantastic ideas in this Shark and Scuba party featured on Hostess with the Mostess

This Shark party is filled with DIY ideas, featured on the Celebrations at Home blog

Lots of under the sea ideas in this party and the backdrop demonstrates a great way of creating an ocean feel. Featured on the Celebrations at Home blog

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I hope that has given you ideas if you are planning a party for this theme, or generally a pool party or ocean inspired party! There is so many things you can do and I am sure all the little ones will love feeling like they are under the ocean at this party!