A post written for 53 Weeks by Arlyn M.
My little girl was turning three and now well aware of what was entailed at birthday parties (as we didn’t have a big soiree for her second birthday). The deciding factor on what theme we would go with was the venue. Naomi was in love with the beach and wanted to go every day. It was only appropriate that it would be an option for her party. Ah, the perks of a having a summer baby. Once that was decided, naturally we went with a Little Mermaid theme. It was a toss up between her and Snow White.So, my go to inspiration boards, Pinterest and Etsy! Search “mermaid birthday” and voila! I decided not to go the Disney Little Mermaid route and instead found so many other cute Mermaid theme alternatives.
The invitation I found at Etsy Shop,
Your Invites. The graphic designer had a whole “
Mermaid” bundled package which included everything from cupcake toppers, water bottle wraps, birthday banner, favor tags and thank you cards. It couldn’t be more perfect (especially for a mother of two high energy little girls)! It was basically a one-stop-shop. I ordered the personalized package and after a few proof emails back and forth, I had the finished PDF product in just a couple days. Now time to print on the card stock paper (photo paper works fabulous as well) and assemble. I also requested for a JPEG file of the invitation only so I could just email it out to our guests. It saves paper and postage and is super easy. Invitation, birthday banner and decoration, CHECK.
To add to the party décor, I had to make one of those fabric garlands to hang somewhere. I hung the garland on the beach and used it to designate an area for the kids to hang out and play with the sand toys we put out as party favors. The assorted sand toys were already bundled (from our neighborhood Target). I simply took some twine and tied on the favor tags.
Now for the cake. Since we were having it at the beach, I wanted to find a local bakery. My Cupcake Corner was literally just around the corner from our beach location. They had raving reviews on Yelp plus they deliver! Kelly, the owner was so helpful in helping us choose the cupcake flavors and design ideas. I decided to just use cupcake toppers to decorate but Kelly wanted to incorporate the theme on some of the cupcakes. She did an aqua colored frosting to look like the ocean and then sprinkled burnt coconut shreds to look like the sandy beach.
The mermaid party wouldn’t be complete without the birthday girl dressed as the part. I found my daughter’s dress on Etsy, Once Upon A Time Tutus. An Ariel-inspired tutu dress. It also helped to have a creative and crafty girlfriend. We topped off the dress with a gorgeous handmade starfish hairpiece (thanks Auntie Roselle). It was a bejeweled starfish set on a feathered piece accented with faux pearls and sequins detail.
We kept the party small and simple. Thanks to some easy ideas I was able to sit back and watch my daughter enjoy her big day. I felt the details were just enough to keep my little mermaid entertained and impressed. More importantly, she had a blast and enjoyed having our dear family and friends gathered at her favorite place to celebrate.