So my daughters’ birthdays are still 4 months away, but I just love starting early and planning for their party. The girls are exactly 2 years and 8 days apart, so we are doing a joint birthday for them this year as they turn 2 and 4.
Last year the girls had separate parties since we felt like a first birthday deserved it’s own shining moment. Hailey had a donut themed 3rd birthday and Belle had a Beauty and the Beast theme, of course.
This year I am floating around a few different ideas as well as the idea of combining two different themes for the two girls. This might be combining 2 different princesses or doing a fantasy theme and combining unicorns and fairies.
One of the ideas I have been tossing around is a mermaid theme. I scoured the internet for different mermaid themed items and DIY projects that might go with this theme. I don’t know if this is the theme we will finally settle on, but I definitely want to share all of these amazing ideas with you!
Invitations
First off are the invitations. Since I love designing invitations, I designed a few myself. They feature a cute little mermaid and some under the sea life. I generally love photo invites, but I also made one without a photo. You can check out my mermaid bundle in my Etsy shop which includes a variety of personalized mermaid themed options. Everything in the bundle is also available individually in the shop.
Food
Next up is food. It’s so fun (when possible) to serve food that actually matches with the party’s theme. I was able to find a variety of food and dessert ideas to match with the mermaid mania.
SeaDogs with MerMayo: Mermaid Fish Stick Sandwiches
These mermaid fish stick sandwiches come from Mom Foodie. I love the blue and purple swirl of mayo on top. It looks so cool. I don’t know that my kiddos would be excited about fish sticks, but just calling them sea dogs might help!
Mermaid Party Food Ideas
This post from Moms and Munchkins has a bunch of good ideas for both food and treats. I love the idea of keeping it simple with sandwiches for the kids and just cutting them out with fish shaped cookie cutters. You get on theme food with no drama.
Treats
Treats is probably the biggest category here and it’s no surprise. I mean a party needs treats right?! Some of these treats can double as party favors too! With so many options, you can pick the ones that fit the time and budget commitment you want to make.
Mermaid Rice Krispie Treats
These Mermaid Rice Krispie Treats from Finding Zest are so cute! I love the little fondant mermaid tail on the front. I also like the semi-DIY option of using Kellog’s Rice Krispie Treats so you can get the DIY look with less work.
Easy Mermaid Rice Krispie Treats
Another option is to actually shape your rice krispie treats into the mermaid tails. This idea comes from Mommy Made That and is also super cute if more labor intensive. You can do one or the other or combine both ideas for a fun treats display or party favor.
Easy Mermaid Blondies Perfect Mermaid Party Dessert Idea
Cutefetti has some yummy looking mermaid blondies to try out. The base of these is white cake mix, so you won’t be slaving away to make this treat.
Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Marshmallow Cream Cheese Frosting
While not made specifically for a mermaid party, the pastel frosting swirl on top of this cupcake can make it fit the theme. You can pick whatever frosting colors you like. I’d go with purple and teal.
Mermaid Cookies Recipe: Perfect for a Kid's Mermaid Party
These mermaid cookies from Savvy Mama Lifestyle are so freaking adorable. It kind of makes me feel bad that she only has boys after creating this cute idea. Maybe she can have a Peter Pan party and still use them!
Little Mermaid Cupcakes Make Perfect Disney Themed Recipes
This is the first of two dessert ideas from Easy Family Recipes. You can make your favorite vanilla cupcake recipe or event use a box mix and then add red frosting and green chocolate tails for a fun mermaid treat.
Mermaid Cookies for an Under the Sea Party
This second recipe from Easy Family Recipes is for mermaid sugar cookies. You can make them ahead completely or you can make the cookies and prep the fondant and have your party guests decorate their own cookies for a fun party activity.
Mermaid Bow Cookie Decorating Tutorial
In addition to her food ideas above, Moms and Munchkins also has this super cute mermaid bow cookie tutorial. I love how it combines the green scales and the purple bow like Ariel without out being straight up a Disney mermaid copy. So creative!
DIY Mermaid Cupcakes
These cute mermaid tail and clam shell cupcakes are so simple but look so cute. Just some ice cream cones, nilla wafers frosting and vanilla whoppers and you can have fully decorated cupcakes for your party.
White Chocolate Mermaid Bark - A Simple And Easy Dessert That Kids Will Love
This mermaid bark from Jasper and Willow is super fun and simple to make. It’s a no bake treat, so it’s great for warm weather parties when you don’t want to turn on the oven.
Clam Shell Cookies - Easy No-Bake Mermaid Party Idea
Another no bake treat are these super cute clam shell cookies from Crayons and Cravings. You might even get the birthday girl to help out with making these. They can put in the “pearls”.
How To Make A Mermaid Cake The Simple Way
With a few sea life molds, you can really make a home baked cake look magical for your little mermaid. Simplify Create Inspire makes it look so simple. I have a cute mermaid cake topper that can be printed out and placed on top too.
No-Churn Mermaid Ice Cream
Mermaid ice cream is a great addition to a warm weather mermaid party. This treat from Homemade Interest looks so cool. I love that they decorated the cones as well to make it look even more magical!
Drinks
With all these tasty treats on the menu, we are going to need some drinks to wash them down with. Don’t worry, there is even a cocktail for all the mommies and daddies joining the party. After all, parties are for everyone!
Tropical Mermaid Punch Recipe
For our drinks we have another recipe from Finding Zest. This tropical punch recipe makes for just the right shade of teal blue to fit the theme. I love that they didn’t add any extra sugar to this sparkling punch too.
How To Make An Over The Top Mermaid Milkshake
Fun Money Mom wasn’t kidding when she called this over the top. I love all the details between the shells and the sand and the pearls and the mermaid tails. This is so fun!
How to Make Magical Mermaid Lemonade - Easy Colorful Mocktail
This recipe is another one from Jasper and Willow. My favorite part has got to be the sanding sugar that she uses on the top of the glass. It just looks so cool and sophisticated.
Mermaid Margarita
This recipe from Crayons and Cravings is for all the mommies and daddies who want to enjoy the party too. The Mermaid Margarita is a delicious frozen summer cocktail made with tequila, triple sec, blue curacao, lime juice, and honey.
Favors
These are great ideas of things to send home with your party guests. Some of them can even double as party activities as well.
Mermaid Bath Bombs DIY: Make Magical Sparkling Water
These mermaid bath bombs from Beauty Crafter make an excellent party favor for your guests. The bath bombs create a sparkling blue-green relaxing bath that not only feels and smells magical, but will definitely bring out your inner mermaid.
DIY Mermaid Soapy Salt Scrub Cubes
I love the vibrant colors of these salt scrub cubes from Mama Cheaps. I never realized how much my kiddos would love bath items until they made some kind of bath scrub last year at a birthday party. Great favor idea!
DIY Blue Glitter Mermaid Soap
This favor idea is a double gift because after you finish the soap, you get a cute little mermaid toy to play with. I love this idea from Glitter On A Dime.
Mermaid Whipped Soap - The Best Fluffy Whipped Soap
Natural Beach Living has a cute idea for fluffy whipped mermaid soap. This is another one where you can prep the materials and then have the kids put everything in the jar themselves for their own party favor.
Mermaid Crown and Pirate Hat Printables (with Silhouette Cut Files)
These mermaid and pirate hat from Cutesy Crafts are perfect for a co-ed party. They are super simple to make and she provides the cut files she used for the project.
Mermaid Gift Bag DIY w. FREE Seaweed Cut File and Printables
These mermaid gift bags from Press Print Party are super cute. Between the glittery seaweed, the printed shells and mermaid tail, and the little stones, this simple project has a great impact.
Mermaid Favor Tags | Cricut Tutorial
If you have a Cricut, these favor tags from Aileen Cooks are adorable. She added them to some bubbles for a cute and fun party favor.
Beach Themed Gift Tags
These sea life favor tags from Sustain My Craft Habit are also super fun. I love the different sea animals she creates. Plus, they aren’t as hard to make as they might look.
Mermaid Salt Scrub Recipe
Here is another salt scrub from The Inspiration Edit. These colorful little cubes make a cute favor. I love how so many of these favors are actually useable and not just a bunch of little plastic toys that never get used and take up space.
Mermaid Party Favors - Mermaid Favor Boxes
For small party favors, these little gift boxes from Party With Unicorns are the perfect touch. Of all the options she provides, I love the mermaid scales box topped with the glittery clam shell the best.
Activities
Need something to keep the kiddos entertained at your party. Check out these fun ideas.
Free Printable Little Mermaid Ariel Ornament Craft
This one is for the Ariel lovers, but really who isn’t one. Mama Likes This created this fun project creates an adorable Ariel ornament. You may want to leave out the glitter part at the party depending on how messy you want it to get and how old the kids are.
Mermaid Art for a Beautiful Under the Sea Activity
This art project from Natural Beach Living is so cute and fun. Just print out enough mermaid stencils for the kiddos and then let them go with the paint and confetti for a cool work of art.
Free Printable Mermaid Bingo
My kids love bingo night when they have it at my son’s school. This free printable mermaid bingo game from Natasha’s blog is the perfect activity for a mermaid party.
The Best Free Printable Mermaid Coloring Pages
Also from Natasha is a set of free mermaid coloring pages. I love having coloring pages out for when kids first arrive to give them something fun to do and to break the ice a bit.
Photo Mermaid Craft Idea For Girls
This photo from Simple Everyday Mom is a great way to personalize your mermaid projects. You can ask each mom to bring a photo of their kiddo or you can take photos as guests arrive and print them with a photo printer.
Easy 4 Ingredient Mermaid Slime Recipe
This slime recipe is also from Simple Everyday Mom. She uses contact solution to make a fun glittery slime for the kids to play with. Provide jars and it doubles as a favor too!
Mermaid Party Games - Mermaid and Pirate Names and Treasure Hunt
Cutesy Crafts who had the idea for the mermaid and pirate hats also has a fun activity for the kiddos. These games to create your fantasy names and go on a treasure hunt are awesome.
How to Make Sparkly Mermaid Slime Without Borax
This sparkly mermaid slime recipe from Crayons and Cravings is super slimy but leaves out the borax. The soap colorant she uses gives the perfect teal color. Or you could make multiple colors and mix and match.
Decor
In order to create the feel of partying under the sea, the right decorations are a must. These decoration ideas are sure to get you singing like Sebastian.
Decorate your Mermaid Party like a Pro
Just everything about this is gorgeous! There are some freebies in this post and links to things you can buy to re-create the scene. It’s perfect if you are into the more pastel and graceful color wave.
How to Make Striking Tabletop Coral Reef Decorations
This coral reef table decoration from Press Print Party is just beautiful. It’s perfect for a dessert table or a favor table. I love the pastel colors. It really makes you feel like you are under the sea!
Mermaid Party Ideas : Mermaid Pool Party
If you are into more deep, vibrant colors then these decorating ideas are for you. I love the backdrop using scrapbook paper. So simple, but a great effect.
Mermaid Hair, Don’t Care Decorative Printable Sign
This cute sign from Mama Cheaps is available for free. Just download it, print it out, and hang it up to add to your mermaid decor.
Mermaid SVG File for Free
This cute “mermaids make waves” file from The Country Chic Cottage can be used for so many items. You can put it on shirts, cups, or a million other items.
INTRODUCING....Cricut Infusible Ink
In this post Lindi Haws shows you how to use Cricut infusible ink to make “Mermaid Vibes Only” totes, shirts, and more. It’s a great way to use your Cricut machine to add to your decor.
Personalized Mermaid Wall Decor
This is a cute idea from Sustain My Craft Habit to make a mermaid themed name sign for the birthday girl. It’s great for the party and can then be hung up in the birthday girl’s room after.
DIY Sparkly Mermaid Wall Art
This project from Party With Unicorns is super simple you can probably get your birthday girl to help you. Just print out the mermaid designs, add glue and the add glitter. They came out so cute!
I hope you enjoyed these party ideas for your mermaid bash. Pick the ideas you like the best and go for it. Remember a little can go a long way for an awesome party.
Cheers,
Emily
