Thursday, September 27, 2012

Tyler's Beach Party



My son, Tyler, is an avid fisherman, so the beach party theme I decided on, was absolutely perfect. Tyler wasn't let it on any of the details, until he showed up a few minutes before his friends, he was more than surprised. The entire yard had balloons strung up over it, lei's for for all the guest, ukuleles, palm trees, beach balls and some beach music as our soundtrack.

To start everything off, we changed up the classic party game of "hot potatoe", to "hot coconut".


It wouldn't be a beach party, without doing the LIMBO!!!! All the girls impressed us with their flexibility. 

This next game wasn't exactly planned, since it doesn't follow the beach theme. It was a last minute decision, but so glad we decided to do it. The kids were paired, and each given a roll of toilette paper, then they raced to cover their partner in toilette paper. The first team to use the entire roll won. Was a great time for the kids, and the adults really enjoyed watching this game.

Last but not least, my favorite game, the FISH POND. I basically just threw a sheet over the fence and decorated it with a few fish I printed off online. If anyone knows my son, we all know he loves (LOVES) to fish! He'll take any opportunity to throw a line or two. The kids waited patiently in a row as Tyler cast out the first line....

...and they laughed so hard when he reeled in a pair of his own underwear!!

After a few "joke" gifts at the end of their fishing lines, including ; dirty socks, dish rags, kleenex, Canadian Tire Money and buttons, the kids each got their own summer toy. The fish pond was a complete success!


Beach theme cake ideas seemed endless, and expensive. So, I decided to make my own cupcakes at home to save a few bucks. I used store bought icing and colored them blue and green to look like water. I added some cupcake toppers that were in the shape of octopus, fish, and sea horses. These were bought for $6 on eBay. These toppers also serve as really cool rings for the kiddies.





The kids had a blast playing with all the blowup toys we had in the backyard, blowing bubbles and playing soccer.  Lots of snacks were provided, mostly veggies and fruit. For drinks, I threw water, pop and juice boxes in a little kiddie pool bought from the dollar store, topped it with ice and the guests helped themselves.


Here are some pics of the kids enjoying the beach party,





This year I didn't do loot bags, I tried something different. I have been seeing different versions of the candy skewer on Pinterest lately. So I bought a tub up candy sharks, some worms, peach rings and candy ribbons and made some pretty awesome candy skewers. They were very inexpensive to make. Added a little ribbon and a thank you note for the birthday.

This party was by far the best I've thrown for Tyler. A little planning, and some online research can go a long way. I've always put the parties together last minute, but so glad I spent the time this year. On behalf of Tyler and myself, we'd like to give a big thank you to all our friends and family who attended Tyler's beach party. The weather wasn't PERFECT, but we still had a blast and created some amazing memories. Tyler has come a long way in his reading and writing skills this year, he worked hard in school and I couldn't think of a better way to kick start the summer.


-Michelle