Mermaid Shell-a-bration
When your daughter loves mermaids and princesses, no doubt Ariel is one of their favorite princesses. So, a mermaid 5th birthday with Ariel was a dream come true for her #5 shell-a-bration!
From seashell floats to mermaid tail candle to tablecloths, linked sources throughout with a comprehensive list at the bottom of this post. Photos are by Paige Beitler Photography.
We’re fortunate in Houston to have Fairest of All Parties’ princesses available to book. We have used them 3 times and are blown away by the costumes, interactions, and beautiful songs every time. Houston friends, you can choose various options for princesses, superheroes, and other characters.
For the mermaid princess party, a mermaid cake was a must! Kingwood Bakery made the delicious colorful cake, and I added sugar seashells & seahorses, a mermaid tail candle, crushed graham cracker as “sand”, and the Five cutout cake topper.
Since my daughter loved sparkly things and sequins give a water effect, I went with a blue/turquoise sequin tablecloth that switched to a pink/purple color when you move the sequins for the kids’ table.
To set the tablescape, I used vases with sand in the bottom and aquarium grass on top in blue and pink along with coral that can be used in an aquarium and seashells sprinkled around. An iridescent shell plate coordinated perfectly for the place settings. (If you want to secure the plates, curled up packing tape worked with the sequins and paper plates)
If you’ve followed along for the other birthday parties, you know I love creating a good photo spot. For the mermaid party, I found this beautiful “under the sea” backdrop that went with the color scheme PERFECTLY!
Balloon garlands are an easy way to frame things, so we assembled this balloon garland with turquoise, purple, pink, white, and blue balloons and added a mermaid tail to the end (purchased a garland set and added in the pink). We secured the backdrop and balloons to some wood panels my husband created for our daughter’s second birthday party and we now use for most parties.
When I found the white seashell float with a “pearl” ball, I probably squealed with joy. It was the perfect addition to the photo wall. We also added one of the tablecloths we used on the adult table to the top of the backdrop to cover the wood but still give the water effect.
Two other pink shell pool floats floated in the pool throughout the party for added decor and were great for the kids to play on once they jumped in.
Over the cake table, we secured another balloon garland we made with an iridescent background and pink 5 balloon. Here I used a white iridescent sequin tablecloth over a plain white one to add some texture.
Also on the tables, I used oyster/shell shaped bowls/dishes to hold food items and pull in the theme. The hope is that those dishes will find a decorative place in our home, but we have not found that spot yet post party.
Next, the decorated cookies! It’s not a party anymore without them. Jenn’s Sweet Stuff created these beauties.
FOOD
A pink seashell, mermaid tail, and 5 cookie by Jenn’s Sweet Stuff were great decorative additions that also served as food. And, the “Make a Splash” napkins found were a coordinating dream!
In various vignettes like the food table, we added shimmer gumballs in the party colors (purple, turquoise, white, & grey set and added pink) to tie everything together but also represent pearls. They were not all consumed at the party, but I loved how the gumballs looked in clear glass pieces.
When thinking through food that was on theme and easy (that kids would also eat), these Nilla Wafer clam/oysters seemed like a home run. They were super easy! Nilla Wafers, icing (we went with pink) and chocolate pearls. Bonus, these were delicious!
Another cute food addition was making peanut butter and jelly in under the sea shapes. These were fun for the kids to choose, plus most love pb&j.
Browsing HomeGoods, I came across a mermaid mix popcorn that went so well with the colors and was a yummy snack. We poured the popcorn in little mermaid snack cups (listed as ice cream cups that are now sold out).
For another snack item, we created a mermaid mix of pretzels, chex mix, marshmallows, Froot Loops, Swedish Fish, and Goldfish. Mermaid popcorn boxes were easy to assemble and fill with the colorful snack mix.
OUTFIT
What is a mermaid party without the perfect Mermaid dress?!? Cuteheads made a the prettiest Ariel inspired dress and we added a starfish headband to top it off. Sparkly shoes were necessary for our sweet mermaid!
Each friend also had a seashell drink cup to take home with them.
I can’t help but really get in to a theme (I blame my mom who does the same), so continuing with food that coordinated: strawberry wafers, pink goldfish, and unicorn sandwich cookies that are purple and pink with blue crystal sprinkles and cake batter flavored! (We find the yummy unicorn cookies at Kroger)
Next to the platter of cookies, we made a charcuterie platter with cheese, fruit, nuts, dried apricot, crackers, and yogurt pretzels.
My mom always helps with florals, and we located flowers that coordinated by color but also gave a little bit of a coral vibe. Don’t ask me the names of each (Mom could tell you) but I thought what we found accomplished that goal.
On our vine wall, the “FIVE” banner was displayed with seashell balloons on each side.
The turquoise raised petal tablecloth has been such a great purchase on our end. We used them for my son’s fishing party and they were perfect with the mermaid theme. I also own the ivory color and am contemplating other colors as they look so luxurious.
Ariel made her way to the pool with Prince Eric and sang, read to the kids, and showed off her treasures. The kids had the best time and then got to swim with her!
The bubble machine was on during the entire party and made for cute pictures during story time with Ariel.
The birthday song was extra special with Ariel singing along, too!
FAVORS
For favors, the kids took home their seashell cups, mermaid towels they could use after swimming and take with them, and cute mermaid tail bags filled with gummy sea creatures, Princess Play Packs, a mermaid tail key chain, and a mermaid notepad with a feather pen.
Iridescent Mother of Pearl film was a nice filler for the gift bags. The exact tags used on the gift bags have changed, but here’s the same shape in a different color - “Thank you for making my birthday a splash”.
It was a wonderful shell-a-bration topped off with a beautiful tiara Ariel gifted our sweet birthday girl! I hope you enjoyed following along and find all of the links you need. Feel free to message me if I missed something you’re looking for!
Photos by Paige Beitler Photography
SOURCES
- Backdrop: Under the Sea Mermaid $15.99
Balloon Garland with Mermaid Tail $33.99
- Balloon: Pink 5 Balloon $6.28
- Banner: FIVE Banner with Seashell Balloons $13.99
- Bowls: Seashell Bowl $9
- Cake: Kingwood Bakery
- Cake Topper: Mermaid Five Glitter Topper $7.99
- Candle: Mermaid Tail $12.99
- Centerpieces: Aquarium Grass $11.98 (comes with more than we used)
Coral in Pink & Blue $18.99
Assorted Seashells (50 pieces) $9
- Cookies: Jenn’s Sweet Stuff
- Cookie Cutters: Under the Sea Cookie Cutters $8.99
- Dress: Cuteheads
- Favors: Mermaid Tail Favor Bag with Keychains (13 each) $13.59
Sea Creature Gummies (80 count) $24.99
Princess Play Pack (set of 15) $21.99
Mermaid Notepad with Feather Pen (set of 12) $23.99
Mermaid Beach Towel, Quick Dry $9.99
Iridescent Film, Mother of Pearl (1 roll) $19.89
Favor Tags (24 pieces) $6.99
- Gumballs: Purple, White, Grey, & Turquoise (2 lb bag) $14.24
Pink Shimmer (2 lb bag) $14.25
- Iridescent Fringe Curtain $9.99
- Mermaid Popcorn Containers (Pack of 36) $15.99
- Mermaid Princess: Fairest of All Parties (Houston, TX area)
- Plates: Iridescent Seashell Plates (set of 24) $23.55
- Pool Float: White Seashell with Pearl $51
Pink Seashell Floats (set of 2) $29
- Seashell Drink Cup $9
- Sugar Seashells & Seahorses $12.99
- Tablecloths: Turquoise/Pink Sequin Reversible $11.97
Taffeta Raised Petals Tablecloth $39
Iridescent Sequin Tablecloth $18
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BIRTHDAY ARCHIVES
4th Birthday: Swan Princess
3rd Birthday: Sundae Funday
2nd Birthday: Bubble Bash
1st Birthday: Garden Party (I managed to never share these... will have to post them once I catch up on parties for you all)
