Under the Sea for Evie’s 4th Birthday

How is it that our oldest is already 4? It wasn’t long after her 3rd birthday that Evie started telling us what she wanted for a theme for her next birthday. She had watched The Little Mermaid and immediately proclaimed “I want to be a mermaid. I would like a mermaid party.” and from that moment that’s  what the theme stayed on. An Under the Sea, mermaid 4th birthday.

Sure, she did keep adding some things that needed to be part of the party…. pink (lots of pink), sparkle (a ridiculous amount of sparkle), and a cake. It had to be a mermaid cake with the ocean. Plus she knew who she wanted to invite. It was so sweet because she had her guest list all figured out. If Evie loves you, that’s it, there’s no hiding it, you are near and dear to her. 

Of course, my search for inspiration started on Pinterest and I always had a little shadow looking over my shoulder telling me what she liked and didn’t. From the food she wanted, to what she wanted to wear. As soon as she saw one mermaid outfit, she knew that was what she had to wear in order to be a mermaid. She had her say in a lot of her 4th birthday planning. It was actually a lot of fun having her help with planning her party.

We decided to have a party early in the afternoon so we served mostly snack food. There were fruit and veggie trays, deviled eggs, sandwiches made with mini-crescents, some kettle corn, and of course Swedish fish and goldfish crackers. Also, some starfish sugar cookies, layered jello, and the cake Evie requested every detail of. – Thank you family for helping… couldn’t have done it without you! 

Decorating our party location was interesting this time. We had a bit of a hiccup a few days before that thankfully got sorted, but not without my having a panic attack over it first. The saying many hands make light work was proven to be very much true. We did a good chunk of the decorating the night before and finished up the last touches the day of.

As soon as you entered you were greeted by the ocean up above and turtles swimming, as well as a few jellyfish. We took blue table cloths and draped them across the ceiling and then we placed turtle silhouettes on top. With the light shining through it looks great. The jellyfish were actually made out of paper lanterns we used to decorate our wedding venue – yes I saved them that long. All we had to do was tape some crepe paper streamers to the lanterns and there you go, jellyfish!

The balloon garland was my favourite part of all the decorations, as well as the seaweed streamers and balloon fish. The balloon garland took us about an hour to do with only 3 casualties and that was from pinning it to the wall. Never would I have thought that I’d sew balloons together with fishing line and not have one pop. Part of it taking so long was due to only having one balloon pump and the other part was the fact that the girls really wanted to play with all of the balloons. 

Using more crepe paper streamers we made seaweed going up the walls and then added fish that were made out of balloons and craft paper for fins. We added in more of the sparkle Evie wanted by making a sign that said “Under the Sea” and was covered in glitter. It made for the perfect photo backdrop and focal point where a certain special guest would be upon her arrival to the party.

We made sure there were a couple different activities for all of the kids who attended the party to do. We had a sensory bin filled with water beads in shades of blue and green so that they looked like the ocean, plus we hit different mermaid foam bath toys in it. This was a huge hit with the kids. We also had a simple plank that we dubbed “walking the plank”. It was incredible to see how fast the kids picked up on just walking across it. Some got creative and even used it for launching toys from. As well as a “bean bag toss” which we forgot the bean bags for and resorted to using plastic fruit… the kids decided that they had to feed the mermaid and get food to the sailors.

The sensory bin made out of blue and green water beads.

The big surprise though for Evie and all her friends was that Ariel came to visit for her birthday. It took Evie a second to realise what was going on, but she quickly warmed up to the fact that a princess was at her party. Ariel read a story to all of the kids, it was honestly the most still I have ever seen Evie sit.

Ariel also painted a little face painting item on each child that wanted it. Evie immediately went for a heart, others had spiderwebs and boats. It was fun seeing each personality come through in what they requested. The highlight for all of us was hearing Ariel sing “Part of Your World”. She also led the singing of Happy Birthday.

 It was so much fun celebrating our little mermaid, Evie, and her turning 4. We all had a wonderful time putting the party together and celebrating the day of. Thanks to family and friends it was the most relaxed I’ve ever been at a birthday party yet. I have a lot of fun doing themes like this, but this will likely be her last big party like this.

I had a friend tell me that she can honestly say as a girl who once had a Little Mermaid party herself, this is surely going to be a birthday she always remembers. I truly hope my friend is right about that! For now, I’ll just continue to be in shock over the fact that our baby girl is 4.

Finished decorating the cake the morning of the party… Evie said it was everything she wanted!

My Mom made these amazing Jello cups with layered Jello… these were a must at parties when I was a kid.

Pink starfish sugar cookies.

Ariel from Crowned Princess made her grand arrival. 

Ariel won Evie over with a little help from Flounder. Addie wanted Ariel’s suitcase… all that pink sparkle!

Story time with Ariel and friends. 

Ariel led the singing of Happy Birthday.

She didn’t want to blow out her candles though when she noticed they were pink.
So, she let one of her friends help her out. 

That’s a wrap on the celebration… time to clean up and pop all the balloons!

My dear friend Alysse, of Peekabloombaby, made Evie this gorgeous flat crown, that just ties behind her head. She also made beautiful hair ties and seahorse hair clips for all the girls at the party. The sad news was that they arrived a couple days after the party – Thanks Canada Post – It’s alright though because Evie has been living in her crown, and we’re sending out the hair accessories in her thank you cards. 

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Mermaid Skirt and Peplum Top: Carken Design

Evie’s Necklace: Glitter & Spice

Birthday Crown & Seahorse Favours: Peekabloombaby

Party Decor: Turkey’s Party Makers

Princess Ariel: Crowned Princess

Tamara’s Ariel Shirt: Torrid

Addie’s Ariel Shirt: Disney Store

Invitation Design: Print Magic

Ariel Cake Topper: Disney Store (part of a figurine set)

Food and Cake: Made by Evie’s family and her Mom

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