Whether your little one is a fan of Ariel the Little Mermaid or just has a fascination with those mystical beings that live in the sea, throw her a magical party with our Mermaid Party Ideas! From invitations to party favors, we have all the bases covered so your party goes swimmingly!
Invitations
Decorations
Food and Drinks
Party Favors
Games & Activities
Planning & Invitations
Your first decision will be where to host your Mermaid Party. You can host a great party at your own home, complete with decorations, activities, and food that fit your theme. If you would rather choose a different location, however, an aquarium or water park might be a good choice. You could also host the party outdoors and rent a projector to watch a mermaid-themed movie on the side of a house or building. For additional ideas, see our When & Where to Have the Party article.
What do I need for the Party?
Basic party supplies include paper tableware, such as plates, napkins, cups, and cutlery, as well as a tablecloth, streamers, and balloons.
You can stick with the basics, or add other items to fit your theme. For example, for a Mermaid Party, you may also want to consider renting or purchasing the following:
- Movies: The Little Mermaid (Rated G), Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia (Not Rated), or The Secret of Roan Inish (Rated PG)
- Mylar Balloons
- The Little Mermaid Soundtrack
- Seashells
- Fish-Shaped Cake Pan
To help you with your shopping, take a look at our Suggested Party Supply List. You may not need everything on the list, but you can use it as a guide.
For additional party planning tips, our Party Planning 101 Guide includes cake ideas, party etiquette tips, a printable guest list, and more.
Mermaid Party Invitations
If you have the time to make your own invitations, here are a few ideas to consider:
- Purchase seashells at a craft store, or collect them on the beach and wash and dry them thoroughly. Write your party details on the shells and send them in highly padded envelopes, or hand deliver them to your guests.
- Cut the shape of a fish out of colored construction paper. Run a glue stick around the edge of the cutout and sprinkle with glitter. Write your party details in the center.
- Punch a hole in the corner of a card-style invitation and attach it to a sheet of mermaid stickers or a small mermaid figurine.
- Send your invitation as a message in a bottle! Write your party details on a sheet of construction paper. Clean out old pop bottles, roll the invitation into a tube and slip it inside. Hand deliver these to your guests, or to add to the mystery, leave them on each guest’s front porch! To save time, consider our Message in a Bottle invitations.
- Include creative wording for your party details, such as:
You’re invited to an adventure under the sea!
We hope that you can come.
[birthday child’s name] is turning [age], you see,
And it’s going to be so much fun!
If you would rather not make your own invitations, but would still like a personalized touch, consider our Personalized Mermaid Invitations, which include all the party details for you! We also offer blank invitations that you can fill in yourself.
Whichever invitation option you choose, seal your envelopes with mermaid stickers to add a final festive touch!
Decorating & Food Ideas
Mermaid Party Decorations
To transform your party area into a mystical, under-the-sea wonderland, consider these options:
- Scatter seashells, sand dollars and plastic starfish and seahorses on the tables and windowsills around the party area.
- Cover the ceiling, walls and floor with transparent cellophane wrap to give the impression of being underwater.
- Hang a banner near the entrance to the party. Check out our personalized mermaid banner and let us do the work for you.
- Tie groups of three or four balloons together and tie them to the backs of chairs. Anchor them with balloon weights and set them near doorways or in the corners of the party area. Scatter blue, non-helium balloons around the floor.
- Fill fish tanks or fish bowls with water and plastic sea creatures, such as fish, crabs, and starfish.
- Hang plastic fish from the ceiling using clear fishing line.
- Print out photos of mermaids and attach them along a broad strip of ribbon. Hang the ribbon along the edge of the food table or along the top of the entranceway.
- Hang a pinata in the party area that can be used as a decoration before the activity begins. Remember, you can transform any piñata into a pull-string with these easy instructions.
Mermaid Party Food Ideas
It can be fun for the host and the guests to include theme-specific treats during the party. For a mermaid theme, consider the following ideas:
- Serve blue jello in clear cups. Before the jello sets, add a gummy fish to each cup.
- Let your guests get creative by making and decorating dough dolls to eat or take home.
- Serve goldfish crackers, sour gummy fish and octopi, and chocolate turtles in large, clean, plastic seashells.
- Cook seashell-shaped pasta and serve chilled with a little butter.
- Use cookie cutters to cut fish and seashell shapes out of peanut butter sandwiches, cheese slices, watermelon, and apple slices.
- Serve soda, water, fruit punch, blue gatorade, or nanaberry smoothies with silly straws.
- Tint cream cheese with blue food coloring and spread on bagels cut into fourths. Add one goldfish cracker to each.
- Make a Mermaid cake by baking a 9”x13” cake and frosting it in blue frosting. Place a mermaid figurine in the center. Add decorations like gummy fish, wisps of seaweed drawn with green food gel or icing, and an octopus made by surrounding a red gumball body with 8 red licorice string tentacles.
Mermaid Party Favors
Put a smile on your guests’ faces by sending them home with party favors that fit your theme. You could give one large favor, such as a mermaid-themed DVD, a mermaid costume, or movie tickets; or combine smaller favors such as a tiara, candies, stickers, and costume jewelry in a nice favor bag. If you have enough Mylar balloons decorating your party space, consider allowing each guest to take one home as well.
To save time, you may want to consider our complete Little Mermaid Favor Set, that includes a matching favor bag. Or, consider our popular personalized favors. Choose from bag tags, zipper pulls, magnets, buttons, and more, all personalized with your guests’ names or a personal message from you!
Mermaid Games & Activities
An easy way to add games to a party is to alter traditional games to fit your theme. For example, play Musical Chairs playing music from “The Little Mermaid”, or play King Triton Says instead of Simon Says. For additional ideas, see the Games & Activities section below.
The Little Mermaid name and all related characters and elements are the property of Disney. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Disney.
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