I am the mother of a whole 7-year-old! How and when did that happen?!! A few weeks ago we celebrated my little (guess I may not be able to say this for much longer) mister's birthday, with a shark themed party. Today I'm sharing all the details on how you can host your own shark birthday party while keeping cost low and stress at a minimum.
Location
My son said he wanted a pool party, and although we have a pool at our house, I opted to have the party at Emler's Swim School. I decided against having it our house because I knew there would be quite a few kids, and I didn't want the parents to feel obligated to get in the pool with their kids. I also wanted a lifeguard present for my own peace of mind. In addition, although we are in September, it's still very hot in Dallas. I like that Emler's has an indoor pool, they provide life guards, and provide an area for parents to sit and watch their children, without having to get in the pool.
Theme and Decorations
My son is all boy. He loves dinosaurs (we've done a dinosaur theme party before too) and sharks. So a shark party was a no brainer. I reached out to *AdorePaperCo. for my invites. Their invites are so creative and they are timely with requests. The table cut outs and the cake topper were from Hobby Lobby. Everything else was from my local Dollar tree. I found this tutorial for the balloon tower. It was surprisingly easy to create, and I'm not crafty, so I'm sure you can do it too. I created food labels on my computer, with a clip art shark, and straws I found in Dollar Tree.
Food
My go to menu items for kids parties is pizza, it's inexpensive, easy to serve, and most kids enjoy it. Because it was a pool party I knew the kids would be famished when they got out the pool, so I provided plenty of snacks. I also wanted to have snacks for the parents while they waited. Keeping with the theme I had gold fish, Doritos, and blue apple sauce cups I found in my local grocery store, topped with Swedish Fish. The snacks were a big hit.
The cake was from Walmart! People are always surprised when I tell them this. Kids seem to love the white cake from Walmart, so that's my go to. I ordered a simple blue cake and brought my own cake topper that I asked the baker to add. When I tell you these kids were asking for second servings of cake, the Walmart birthday cake has never failed me. And for the size of the cake and how many people it feeds, it is very affordable.
Favors
The shark cake pops are from Big Top Cake Pops. They were delicious and so fitting for our theme. I made favors with store bought rice crispy treats dipped in blue candy melt and a fondant fin. I was pleased with how everything turned out, and my son and his friends really enjoyed the party, which made it all worth it.
*Disclaimer: This post contains items gifted to me. All reviews for items gifted to me are my own honest opinion.
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