Looking to throw the BEST Mermaid Birthday Party? Check out these 7 essential tips for mermaid decorations, food, games, and more!
This post is all about How To Throw A Magical Mermaid Birthday Party!
My beautiful niece shellebrated her fourth birthday in an epic way with the ultimate mermaid birthday party. And she LOVED every minute!
Beforehand, I researched everything a mermaid party should include, like the best decorations, mermaid food, games, the ultimate mermaid playlist, and “the outfit.” I wanted her to feel extra special because she was finally old enough to appreciate her magical day. Like most 4-year-old girls, she loves mermaids, rainbows, and anything sparkly.
In this post, I’ll list SEVEN essential tips on how you too can throw the best mermaid birthday party even if you’re on a budget. Before ordering party supplies, I went to Party City to scope out every mermaid party theme item they sold. I took pictures of the costs because I wanted to compare those prices to what was selling online since there are a ton of mermaid birthday party packs.
So, let’s dive into this fun post so you can learn these SEVEN unique party details! Since kids’ imaginations are flourishing at this age, NEVER underestimate the impression a great birthday party can stamp in their memory.
How To Throw The Best Mermaid Birthday Party
1. Supplies And Decorations
Birthday Banner, Balloons and More!
The personalized birthday sign (pictured above) was beautiful and within budget! I spent $13.59, and it was delivered in under two weeks. If you’d like a banner that says “Happy Birthday” without a personalized name, that will cost around $8.
The sign, party pack, mermaid centerpiece, and treat bags were all purchased online through the party website Birthday Express. They have beautiful mermaid decor, and their prices are reasonable and slightly less than Party City and Amazon.
You can also purchase personalized invitations from them and customized address labels. Thank you cards and stickers are available too!
If you need more plates and napkins, you can buy these items individually for a great price as well. If you were wondering, the lovely shell wreath (pictured above) was purchased from Home Goods several years ago, and I don’t have an exact link for that item. However, Amazon has beautiful seashell string lights that look great around the table centerpiece, and they’re battery-operated.
Shop Mermaid Birthday Banner & Other Supplies:
Purchase A Personalized Mermaid Birthday Banner HERE.
Purchase A Mermaid Under The Sea Party Pack (Includes plates, napkins, silverware, cups, and a table cover) HERE.
Purchase A Mermaid Table Centerpiece (not including the seashell wreath) HERE.
Purchase Natural Seashell String Lights HERE.
Purchase Personalized Invitations HERE.
Purchase Personalized Address Labels HERE.
Purchase Treat Bags (these were great for the pinata) HERE.
More Magical Party Decor Ideas
The jellyfishes hanging above came in a three-pack, and I purchased them through Birthday Express. They take some time to assemble, but it’s easy to do!
I didn’t purchase balloons online because I don’t have a tank to fill them, and I read it’s expensive to have them blown up. I bought the mylar balloons from Party City for $20. FYI, they do offer free balloon delivery for orders over $50.
I also bought the mermaid pinata at Party City for two reasons. The online reviews for some of these mermaid pinatas were not great. Many said they came damaged. Secondly, the colors of this mermaid pinata fit in with the other party decorations.
Shoppable Links:
Purchase this Mermaid Pinata HERE.
Purchase the Jelly Fish Lanterns (Pack of 3) HERE.
Purchase the Shimmering Mermaid Foil Bouquet Balloons (includes 5) HERE.
2. Mermaid Food & Cake
Fish & Chips, Crab Sandwiches, Mermaid Cake, Pretzels And More!
What’s a mermaid birthday party without mermaid food?! Pictured above from left to right are fish & chips, crab sandwiches, oysters with pearls, and seaweed grapes.
Not pictured are sea snails, which were hot dogs in a blanket. I bought the “snails” in the frozen section at the grocery store. For more seaweed food effects, you could serve a green salad. Also, don’t forget the Mermaid Pretzel Rods!
For drinks, I served a pitcher of Kool-Aid “Blue Raspberry” juice. You could also fill a pitcher with spiked blue raspberry juice for the adults.
Fish & Chips
I bought mermaid cupcake holders and filled them with potato chips and rainbow-colored fish crackers. So easy to do, and it was a great little salty snack!
Crab Sandwiches With Toothpick Eyeballs
I made the crab eyes with longer toothpick sticks and hot glued on the candied eyeballs. I bought Hawaiian pretzel sliders, added egg salad, and stuck two eyeball toothpicks into the sandwich. They turned out great!
Seaweed Grapes
With the leftover 4-inch toothpicks, I added as many green grapes to the stick as possible. I then placed them in a glass cup with some party seaweed decor leftover from the cake topper decorations (more cake topper details below).
Oysters With Pearls
You can buy regular-sized vanilla wafers to resemble oyster shells, or I purchased the mini-sized wafers. Add pink frosting to the middle of the wafer, and place a white candy pearl. They were a cute, tasty treat!
- Pink Frosting (A tube was easy to use)
Sea Snails
Of course, you can make these from scratch or buy them in the frozen section at most any grocery store and online. They were delicious, and kids love them!
Mermaid Juice
I bought a blue raspberry Kool-Aid flavor to resemble the color of the ocean. Bonus, if you serve the juice in a glass pitcher or dispenser, it adds a decorative blue aqua color to the food table.
Mermaid Pretzel Rods
These look impressive, and they’re super easy to make! Buy pretzel rods and first dip (2/3 of the rod) into blue candy melts and let them dry. Next, drizzle the pretzel rod with pink and purple candy melts. Add mermaid sprinkles on top and a mermaid fish fin towards the bottom. Click here for more step-by-step details.
- Make Mermaid Fondant Tails or Purchase Sparkly Plastic Tails
Mermaid Cake & Decorative Toppers
Cake Details
I ordered the cake from Albertsons, and it was delicious! Because I bought mermaid cake toppers from Amazon, I asked if they could add a rainbow to the top of the cake and make the rest an aqua blue ocean color. They left the middle of the cake blank so there would be room to add the decor toppers.
I also emailed the bakery a picture of the party decorations so they could include those colors in the rainbow. The cake was marble with fresh strawberries and whipped cream frosting. FYI, Target now sells Mermaid Ice Cream!
Decor Toppers
This mermaid cake topper pack included an adorable mermaid in a shell, a large fin, several stick decorations, a happy birthday cake sign, a ton of sparkly sand dollars, seashells, mermaid tails, and clams. I decorated the top of the cake and the sides. The pack also included sparkly seaweed paper glued onto sticks, which I stuck into the grape seaweed glass holders for decoration.
Purchase this 26-Piece Mermaid Cake Topper Pack HERE.
3. Mermaid Birthday Party Outfit
Birthday Tiara, Mermaid Pants, T-shirt, Tattoos, Shell Necklace and Shoes!
Like most four-year-olds, this girl loves to run and play while still looking adorably cute. The mermaid pants and t-shirt which said “Birthday Girl” were a hit! She loved them so much she didn’t want to change into her pj’s that night. She said they made her look like a real mermaid.
The tiara was gorgeous and surprisingly comfortable. This little girl wore it all day long and begged to wear it again the next day. The necklace (pictured below) cost $2 from Party City, and her imagination allowed her to believe the shell was filled with mermaid magic!
The sparkly mermaid tattoos and the gold chucks completed the birthday outfit. The tiara, pants, t-shirt, and tattoos were from Amazon, and the shoes were from Nordstrom.
Shop The Mermaid Birthday Outfit And More:
Purchase the Mermaid Birthday Girl T-Shirt HERE.
Purchase Sparkly Mermaid Leggings HERE.
Purchase the Birthday Tiara HERE.
Purchase the Seashell Necklace HERE.
Purchase Mermaid Tattoos HERE.
Purchase Gold Chuck Taylor Shoes HERE.
4. Every Mermaid Birthday Party Needs Music
You’re wrong if you think a mermaid playlist is overkilling the theme! Kids love music, and this playlist from Youtube won’t be annoying for adults because it mixes in a cool compilation of songs.
While some of the music includes oldies from Disney’s 1989 Little Mermaid and Barbie’s popular Mermaid song (a hit on Youtube, by the way,) it’s still slightly edgy. Whether the adults or kids are talking or suddenly want to bust out some dance moves, these songs are perfect!
Check out the playlist HERE.
5. Mermaid Birthday Party Games
Real Mermaids, Pinatas, and More!
Hire A Mermaid
This is a great way to entertain the kids, and having a “real” mermaid at the party for a few hours is a fantastic photo op! If you’ve ever hired a clown or other character for a kid’s birthday party, then you know they come prepared with games and other entertainment. And no, you don’t need to own a pool to have a mermaid at the party.
Hire a Party Mermaid HERE.
Mermaid Pinata & Fillers
As mentioned earlier, the mermaid pinata was from Party City. I didn’t want to fill the pinata with a ton of sugar, so I went to the 99 cent store (and Party City) and found plastic rings, stickers, slap bracelets, lip whistleblowers, Barbie lip gloss, nail polish, and a few candy ring pops.
Purchase the Pinata HERE.
Purchase A Larger Pinata (excellent reviews) HERE.
Pin The Tail On The Mermaid
This is a cute little game for kids, and the poster adds to the mermaid decor! It comes with a blindfold and 24 reusable tail stickers.
Purchase this Mermaid Game HERE.
6. Mermaid Wrapping Paper & Bags
If you look closely at the picture above, you’ll see a mermaid sequin drawstring bag (in the red wagon) and recycled mermaid bags and wrapping paper to the left. If you have a little one in dance, the drawstring bag is advertised as a dance/gym bag available in seven colors!
My niece loved it all, and at this age, it’s so easy for her to unwrap bag gifts over the paper. However, I did sneak in some mermaid wrapping because it looked pretty.
Shop Wrapping Paper And Recyclable Bags:
Purchase A Mermaid Sequin Dance Bag HERE.
Purchase A Large Mermaid Recycled/Reusable Pink Bag HERE.
Purchase A Medium Mermaid Recycled/Reusable Gift Bag HERE.
Purchase Mermaid Wrapping Paper HERE.
7. Best Mermaid Birthday Party Gifts
The mermaid above is from a specialty store in Laguna Beach, so I don’t have an exact shopping link, but I did find a similar one on Amazon with great reviews! The other mermaid toy gifts included a Mermaid Unicorn Squishmallow, Mermaid nightlight, Mermaid shell Polly pocket purse, a coloring book, and a Mermaid Barbie.
Non-related mermaid gifts were a Present Pets toy, a Lalaloopsy Doll, a Radio Flyer Wagon for her dolls, and Disney’s Raya and The Last Dragon.
Shop Mermaid Birthday Gifts:
Purchase a Mermaid Squishmallow HERE.
Purchase a Mermaid Nightlight HERE.
Purchase a Mermaid Polly Pocket Purse HERE.
Purchase a Mermaid Coloring Book HERE.
Purchase a Mermaid Barbie HERE.
FAQs For Throwing The Best Mermaid Themed Birthday Party
How Do You Have A Mermaid Party?
Having the best mermaid birthday party starts with the decorations and the food! Entertainment is always a plus, but most importantly, if you’re having fun, your guests will too.
What Are Mermaid Parties?
Whether the kids are playing pool games, non-pool games, or swimming with a hired “real-life” mermaid, an essential thing is to create an environment of magic and fun. Music and decorations always help create this vibe.
What Should I Make For A Mermaid Party?
This will depend on the number of guests you’ve invited. While there are many mermaid food ideas listed in this post, you might want to consider having the party catered if you’re hosting many people.
Does Party City Have Mermaid Tails?
Yes! You can purchase mermaid tails at Party City for under $30.
What Are Some DIY Mermaid Birthday Party Ideas?
Ask a friend to dress up as a mermaid for 90 minutes to save some money on entertainment. This is a great budget-friendly DIY alternative to hiring a mermaid.
How Can I Throw A Disney Little Mermaid Birthday Themed Party?
You can throw an Ariel Little Mermaid Birthday party but know that decorations and party supplies are limited for this theme, and they will cost you more because it’s Disney.
What Are Some Mermaid Party Ideas For A 4-Year-Old Toddler?
The food and games listed in this post were perfect for a four-year-old toddler. It’s pretty easy to entertain kids at that age!
Final Thoughts On How To Throw The Best Mermaid Birthday Party!
I hope this post inspired you to plan a Mermaid Birthday Party for the special little person in your life. It was fun to see my niece’s face light up when she saw the decorations, games, presents, and cake! If you have any questions, ask away in the comment section below.
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