Mermaid Party–Decorations & Food

Instead of doing two separate posts on the Mermaid party food and décor, I decided to cover both today.

First, the decorations.  The fun started at the back door with a welcome to all the little mermaids.  I painted this sign on a piece of scrap wood left over from when we built our chicken coop.  I actually had this sign hanging in the corner over a bubble machine.  The little mermaids loved being greeted by a deluge of bubbles as they entered the party.

I made this simple “4” wreath to hang on the back door.  I just knotted strands of tulle around the wreath.  The 4 is made from cardboard that I cut from a pizza box top, painted, and sprinkled with glitter.

I had so much fun planning and prepping for the party room décor.  Most of the decorations came from the dollar store.  You have to be creative sometimes, but it’s possible to find some cute stuff to work with there.  For the mermaid party I was able to pick up the fish nets, table cloths, vases, votives, candles, serving dishes, sand, and seashells.

One of the main projects I worked on for this party was making the twisted tissue paper tassels.  I used these tassels to make a few garlands and to decorate the chair backs.  Tissue paper is probably my favorite party staple, because it is so versatile and inexpensive.  It can be used for so many things – table runners, placemats, vase filler, tassels, pom poms, flowers, and of course for gift bags.

I made the placemats by cutting seashells shapes from a plastic table cloth.  Inside the little boxes were favors for the girls - tiny Ariel Squinkie rings that I picked up at Target on clearance.  What a score!  There was also a seashell hair bow waiting at each place setting for the girls.

Down the center of the dining table I used my burlap table runner which sort of reminded me of sand.  Then I scattered some seashells and glass beads on top.  I also filled candle holders with water which I dyed with food coloring.  And to my surprise, I discovered that tea lights would float in the water.  Love it!

Here are a couple of those tissue paper tassels tied on the chair backs.

For the china cabinet behind the guest of honor I made a “Happy Birthday” bunting with scraps of burlap and muslin.  I used foam stamps and acrylic paint to spell out Happy Birthday.

Now on to the food table!  I tried my hardest to come up with some cute mermaid-y treats for the party goers to enjoy.  I’m aggravated with myself, though, because in all the party rush, I totally forgot to take a picture of the food table.  All I managed to get were a few shots of the individual dishes after they’d already been picked over.  Oh well, at least I got something.

I created these simple food labels using some free mermaid clipart I found online.

The oyster cookies were probably my favorite treat simply because they were so cute!  Ty and Lucy helped out by rolling the fondant pearls for them.

What little mermaid wouldn’t love to sink her teeth into a Peanut Butter and Jellyfish Sandwich?  I’ll tell you who.  Lucy!  She’s not a fan of PB&J.

And a little something for the older mermaids… Seaweed Sushi.  No cooking involved here.  These are just assorted pinwheel sandwiches I picked up at Sam’s.

Sweet & Sour Eels because every mermaid needs her sugar fix.

The easiest nautical treat of all – Goldfish!

I also served up some Oyster Firecrackers, Chicken of the Sea Sandwiches (chicken salad), and Assorted Shells (chips) with “Shore is good Dip.”

Nothing like a glass of Ocean Water to wash everything down.

One more birthday post to come – the birthday girl and friends!

Lindsey