Beach bash party

What makes this an experience?

Picture bathing suits, warm air, tropical music and palm trees waving in the breeze. Your little kahunas will ‘swim’, learn to surf, play volleyball and dance to the best of beach music. And all of this happens inside the comfort of your home! Your kids will love this beach birthday party.

Beach birthday party preparations

It pays to plan ahead. Your guest list and beach party theme are intertwined. We recommend drawing up your guest list only after you have chosen this theme and thought about what the party will involve and the space you have available.

Planning your party space

We like to use three rooms for this party, though you could easily do it with two – a meet and greet room, the beach, and the pool room. The meet and greet room could be a family room or TV room, the beach could be a finished basement or play room which has lots of open space to move around and the pool room needs to be big enough for a good sized inflatable pool (more to come on this!).

The guest list

This is a great party for both boys and girls, after all everyone loves the beach. The list should be appropriately sized for the beach room you have chosen, as there will be a lot of action taking place in here. Be sure to tell everyone to wear a bathing suit!

Invitations

Beach birthday Invitations are an easy do-it-yourself project if you have a computer and color printer. We have put together an idea to get your creative juices flowing. We also show our favorite online option.

Do it yourself:
Project – beach bash party invitation: Here is a simple invitation, perfect for your child's beach bash and easy to make yourself. Just open it in PowerPoint, fill in your details and print it on some nice card stock. [click to download]

Have someone else do it:
Want something more fancy, or just do not have the time or inspiration to do it yourself? There are thousands of options online, from budget to divine. We've hand-picked our favorite option which you see here. This comes from the huge collection of unique birthday invitations at FineStationery.com. Do a search for 'Beach Party' and you'll see there is a huge selection. We were torn between this beach bucket card and surfboard card!

Ready to decorate?

A truly unique birthday experience starts with the decorations. Some effort here will help  bring your guests into the world that you are creating. We generally prefer not to spend a lot of money on elaborate decorations, rather our focus is on projects we can do ourselves and inexpensive store bought items that have a big bang for the buck. 

What will you need

Consider the items below as our wish list of decorations. Pick and choose what works best for your space and budget. The placement of each item will be described in more detail in the sections that follow.

To make:

- Beach signs (to look like old weathered wood)

- Sun shaped wall hangings (made from yellow poster board)

- Volleyball net (use your imagination to convert something you already have into a volleyball net)

To buy:

- Balloons (yellow)

- Streamers (blue)

- Beach balls (the bigger the better)

- Inflatable pool (keep your eyes open for deals at the end of the Summer)

- Inflatable palm tree (great for picture taking)

- Beach wall scene setters (we covered almost every square inch)

Room-by-room guide

Outside: Your decorating begins outside. Picture a beach rental after a one week stay: towels hanging on the porch, boogie boards and other ocean toys strewn about. A sign that looks to be worn by the sea and salt says, “This way to the beach” (see below). This is the scene that greets your guests. If you do not have a usable outside area, then consider moving the same scene into your entryway.

Project - beach signs: The signs are homemade, constructed out of cardboard, but decorated to look like driftwood. To start, sketch your design on a piece of brown cardboard. Your sides should be bumpy as shown in the picture. Draw horizontal lines from the low points of the bumps inward to look like cracks. Use white chalk to "age" the wood by rubbing over the sign and highlighting the cracks.

The meet and greet room: You can keep decorations simple here. This is a beach house, so it need not be overwhelmed with party paraphernalia. Almost any color scheme works here. Our suggestion is blue streamers (representing the sky or ocean), and yellow balloons (for the sun).

The beach: There is a lot you can do in the beach room, and some of it will depend on the games you choose. Your goal should be to turn your party room into a beach.

- Make some suns out of yellow poster board and place them strategically on the wall. Alternatively, there are hanging suns you can purchase

- Scatter beach balls around the area

- Place an inflatable pool in a corner and fill it with inflatable beach toys

- Place an inflatable palm tree in another corner

- Set up a small volleyball net

- Cover the walls with beach scene setters

- Place beach chairs around for kids and parents to sit in

Act 1, Scene 1

We like to think of your party as a production.  If your party is successful, your guests will be transported into your theme (and you may even get some applause at the end if parents stick around). So, if the party is a production, this is the script.

Scene 1: Your party will begin in the meet and greet room. Before the party, cut out a surfboard from poster board for each guest and put their names on them. During meet and greet the main activity will be decorating the surfboards with markers and stickers. These surfboards will be used later in the party. In addition we suggest a tattoo parlor where kids can get temporary tattoos. If you want one more activity try face painting. No need to hire a professional, just buy a decent kit and limit the options to simple designs .

There will be no access to the beach room at this point, so to keep kids engaged, we recommend a TV show a beach-themed video, like Disney's Sing Along Songs Beach Party DVD.

Summary of activities:

Decorate a surfboard: pre-cut poster board surfboard can be decorated with markers and stickers

Face painting: with a good, but simple, kit you can create some impressive little designs

Tattoo parlor: give your guests the look of a real beach bum with some temporary tattoos

Show: Bob the Builder or Handy Manny can keep their attention while others arrive

Scene 2: With everyone arrived, announce that it is time to go to the beach. Lead the group to the beach room and let them play around for a bit: jumping in the pool, throwing beach balls, and playing volleyball. While the kids are playing bring them over, individually or in groups, to the palm tree for a picture with a boogie board or other beach toy. For added fun, have some grass skirts, sunglasses, straw hats, leis and other beach accessories available for dress up.

Before the fun turns to chaos, pull everyone back together to play some games. You can pack these in, one after the other. Our preferred order of play is:

Limbo: You can buy a limbo kit, but a broomstick with two willing volunteers will work just as well. Purchase some limbo music for an added touch.

Clean up the beach: Place all of the beach inflatables along with some towels on either side of the mini volleyball net.  Put half of the kids on one side of the net and half on the other. Inform them that the beach is messy and needs to be cleaned up. The goal is to get all of the beach stuff on the other side of the net. When the game starts, mayhem will ensue, but the laughs are priceless. There will be no winner in this game.  Playing a song like ‘Wipeout’ or the theme to Hawaii 50 will add to the experience.

Beach songs: put on some beach songs for some free and organized dance. For organized dances we recommend a train dance like “Hot, hot, hot”. They may not know the song, but if you give them some maracas and sunglasses, and lead they way, trust me, they will follow.

Learn to surf: Its time to learn to surf. Hand out everyone’s surfboards that they made during meet and greet. Have them all lay belly down on the surfboard and inform them they are going to learn to surf. Show them how first. Lay on your belly and paddle. Watch for the wave. When it comes, jump on your board and try to balance. Once they all have it, turn on the music and begin surfing. For music, you can't miss with “Surfing Safari” and “Wipeout”.

Scene 3: Take a break for food and cake. Instead of having the kids sit at the table, put beach blankets down on the ground for the kids to eat on. I guarantee they will get a kick out of this. Afterwards, send the beach bums back to the beach for some free play until pick up time. If you want to get one more activity in, a piñata is always a kid favorite. When it is finally time for your guests to pack up their surfboards, send them off with a party bag.

Food for thought

For children’s parties, food is not a big part of the presentation. What is important is that they eat, so it is best to keep it simple. Great for the beach party are mini hot dogs and hamburgers. Round it out with a selection of fresh cut fruit and vegetables, and juice boxes.

The do-it-yourself beach party cake is a breeze. In fact it is not a cake at all. What would be better for a Summery-themed beach party then ice cream cone cupcakes! These treats are a breeze and the kids love them.

For a cake alternative, another simple, but appropriate option is a beach ball cake. Simply bake a round two-layer 9-inch cake and frost it in the pattern of a classic blue, red, yellow, orange, green and white beach ball.

                 

Birthday-in-a-Box has a selection of beach themed candles to top off your cake. Flip flop candles and a beach ball cake would make a great combination.

Favor ideas

Below is a list of favor ideas for your beach birthday party. For the do-it-yourselfer, consider filling small buckets with theme-appropriate goodies. For example:

Mini beach balls (inflatable): these can either be in a favor bag or blown up and spread around the beach area

Sunglasses: these could be in a favor bag for the end of the party, or received when the kids take their picture at the palm tree

Tattoos and stickers: you can not go wrong with these easy kid favorites

Sand art: this is a great take home craft project for kids and fantastically appropriate for a beach party

Birthday-in-a-box offers several all-inclusive favor options to make your party extra special and low stress. Your guests will go home with a smile after receiving one of these unique favor packs.

Final tips and pointers

This party really can be done with many objects and games that you already have at your house. Use your imagination and see how resourceful you can be to make this a truly unique (and low cost) party.

As with many kids parties, crowd control is critical. So why not dress yourself up as a lifeguard complete with whistle?

Shopping list summary

Below is a selection of items we have pulled together to help make your party a success. All items are available for purchase from our affiliate sponsors. Visit their websites for even more selection.

Invitations:

www.FineStationery.com. If you've opted not to make the invitations yourself, you can't go wrong with the selection available online. Here is our favorite, but search for 'Beach Party' at www.FineStationery.com for more options.

Decorations: (featuring a selection from Birthday-in-a-Box)

	Solid Latex Balloons Combine yellow balloons with blue streamers for a sun and sea effect.		Solid Crepe Streamers Combine blue streamers with yellow balloons for a sun and sea effect.
	Inflatable Palm Tree An absolute must-have item for your beach party. Great for taking pictures next to.		Mylar Beach Balloon An extra special balloon for your extra special child
	Luau Wall Decorations Decorate your party room the easy way with these		Beach Ball Fill the inflatable pool with small balls and have a few large ones throughout your beach.
	Surfer Banner Welcome your guests surfer style		Beach Ball Banner Welcome your guests to the beach
	Placemat Make mealtime fun with personalized placemats

Activities: (featuring a selection from Birthday-in-a-Box)

	Surf Party Tattoos What would a beach party be without tattooed kahunas?		Face Paint No need to hire a professional. Get a decent kit and do simple designs yourself.
	Flip Flop Sun Catcher Kit If your guests are into art, this could be a great ice-breaker project.		Mini Hula Skirt Set Hot pink hula skirt set comes with mini skirt, 1 Kauai Lei, 2 Bracelets and 1 Headband.
	Inflatable Limbo Stick Guests will have fun playing limbo with our inflatable luau limbo stick.		Limbo Party Music What would a limbo be without limbo music!
	Luau Party Music A perfect music mix for the learn to surf and clean up the beach games.		Beach Ball Pinata What party would be complete without a pinata?

Favors: (featuring a selection from Birthday-in-a-Box)

	Beach Favor Set The ultimate favor set for a beach theme		Surf Party Favor Set A perfect favor set for your little surfer
	Flip Flop Favor Set The flip flop favor set is a fun alternative for the beach theme		Surf's Up Favor Set Surfer girls will love the Surf's Up favor set
	Bucket and Shovel Great as a parting gift and to use as a favor bag		Bookmark Instill a joy of reading with the Beach Ball Personalized Bookmark
	Mini Zipper Pull Beach Ball Personalized Zipper Pulls feature a 1" round design on a detachable metal clip		Bag Tag Personalized Beach Ball laminated bag tag comes with 6" plastic lanyard
	Button Round Beach Ball button can be printed with names or a brief message		Magnet Round Beach Ball magnet can be printed with names or a brief message
	Stickers Each sheet includes 12 round Beach Ball Personalized Stickers		Ice Cream Cone Straw Package of 4 Ice Cream Cone silly straws in assorted colors
	Ice Cream Punch Cone Ice cream punch cones make a cool favor or activity for your beach or summer party		Ice Cream Putty Kid's will love this mousse-like putty in a cone that can be molded, stretched, and bounced