A Mermaid Birthday Party

Last Updated on July 8, 2021

A mermaid birthday party is a thing of my dreams! As a kid, all I wanted to be was a mermaid andI  suspect that’s true for many little (or big) girls now too. I live near the ocean and I love all things nautical, so dreaming up the perfect mermaid birthday party has been loads of fun for me! I rounded up a few of the essential items you’ll need to create a lovely mermaid-themed day for your special little girl as well as some ideas for food and entertainment.

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A mermaid theme is very popular these days for birthday parties. And because of that, there are a lot of amazing party supplies and DIY ideas available to make a nautical party come to life!

Why not start the bash off by giving all the girls mermaid names? You could go with the names of Ariel’s sisters in The Little Mermaid! Then collect up some fun costume pieces to dress the girls up and prepare a few ocean-themed games or activities. (Pin the leg on the octopus maybe?)

(If you’re wondering, the sisters’ names are Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella and Alana.)

How Do You Throw a Mermaid Birthday Party?

Just like any other themed birthday, you will need some party basics:

1. Decorations
2. Food
3. Costume Pieces / Photo Props
4. Treat Bags for guests
5. Games and Entertainment

The only difference is everything will be mermaid themed!

Get started by considering some of the items listed below. They’ve been carefully curated from some amazing Etsy shops that I know you’ll love as much as me! (And yes, shameless plug, I listed my shop too. Haha)

I’ve rounded up the best info and ideas about how to throw a mermaid birthday party that I could find and that includes sources of fantastic decorations and a whole list of mermaid party food ideas

I’ll touch on all 5 categories listed above and by the end of the post you will able to host the best mermaid party there ever was!

Before we even begin though, you will need invitations.

Mermaid Party Invitations

These are customizable and downloadable (is that a word? lol) totally sweet mermaid birthday party invitations.

Mermaid Party Decorations

The next first thing you need to do is set a mermaid mood. And you’ll need some pretty decorations to do that. You may also want to set up an area where you can take fun photos.

Decorations encompass everything from the room decor to the table scape.

I’ve shopped around on Etsy to find you some amazing mermaid party decorations. But if you’d rather shop closer to home, look for decoration pieces that are in shades of purples, blues, turquoise, white and gold. That will immediately give the party a mermaid vibe.

1. Balloons

“Let’s Shellebrate” Ha! 😀 (You know I love a good pun!)

You could mix in some plain coloured balloons and create a beautiful balloon arch over a doorway to welcome guests to the party and create a great photo opportunity.

2. Wall Decor

Another option that would make a great backdrop for mermaid photos! Or hang these up above the food or gift table. OR string them up and hang them from the ceiling. There are lots of options here.

Plus I love that these can be re-used another year or passed along to another mama trying to throw a mermaid party!

3. Napkins

How about an elegant mermaid tea party with fancy place settings? These napkins are so pretty I wouldn’t want to use them though!

5. Cake (Or Cupcake) Toppers

I so need to learn how to make icing look like this! Anyone want to teach me?! At any rate these tail toppers will add some sparkly whimsy to the dessert table! They’d be a perfect element for the kiddos to decorate their own cupcakes, I’ve added some advice on that idea below. 🙂

6. Shell Plates

These shell plates are so pretty and elegant! Your guests will be impressed.

7. Shell Crown Hats

The perfect mermaid alternative to a cone party hat. These vibrant and sparkly mermaid colours are so dreamy!

8. Streamers

These shades are so swoon worthy. :O And again, can be re-used. Just roll them back up after the party and save them for the next special occasion! (I think my mom bought one roll of streamers when I was born and used it every year til I moved out. lol)

I’m a DIY girl at heart, and you can totally DIY some mermaid decorations rather than purchase everything pre-made. Focus on your colour scheme and with a little paper and glitter, you can create your own garlands, pin wheels and photo backgrounds.

What to Serve at a Mermaid Party

Here are some ideas for fun mermaid themed party food you can serve to your guests. Basically, anything nautical goes.

How do you make mermaid treats? You can find some pre-made snacks like shark shaped gummy candies, goldfish crackers and Swedish fish. Get creative with presentation! Assemble everything into a mermaid trail mix of sorts with some popcorn and call it ‘fish food’, the kids will love it!

But here are some food ideas you can make if you want to be a little extra. And what mermaid mom doesn’t want to be a little extra?!

9. Clam Shell Cookies

You can do these adorable cookies with store bought wafer cookies and icing to simplify the task. Little peppermints would work well for the pearls.

10. Sebastian Sandwiches

I just can’t. These are so stinkin cute! They’d be perfect paired with a little cup of (gold)fish & (ruffled)chips!

Make the contents simple like peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese. Kids don’t go for complicated food. lol But if you wanted to impress the adults in attendance, you could fill a few of the sandwiches with crab meat!

11. Mermaid Cake

This is a gorgeous DIY cake you can wow your guests with! It’s all about the colours with a mermaid party. So make your life easy and get boxed cake mix and icing. As long as you dye it all the right colours, no one will know the difference! Cover it in bright icing and a beautiful sprinkle mix.

12. Seaweed Sticks

There’s no tutorial for these but they are very self-explanitory. Green grapes on a stick. Done.

13. Colour Changing Lemonade Slushie

Wow that’s some pretty lemonade! Yes, it is fairly labour intensive, but what a result!

14. Sand Dollar Cookies

Another adorable cookie option. I like that these are simple sugar cookies and I wouldn’t feel too bad about the kids eating lots of them. The iced cookies are so pretty, but too much icing tends to make kiddos go a little nutso. lol

15. Veggie Boats

Are kids more likely to eat their vegetables if they’re shaped like a boat? Asking for a friend.

Mermaid Birthday Party Outfit Ideas

16. Starfish Headband

What is a mermaid without her accessories?! Give these out ahead of time for the girls to wear at the party or include them in the goodie bags. See more photos of headbands in the gallery, or head to the shop to see what colours are available.

17. Shell Hair Clips

Another fun way to dress up your little mermaid’s hair is with these beautiful metallic felt shell clips! These would also be great in treat bags to send home.

18. DIY Mermaid Tail Skirt

Mermaids need their tails, but mermaids on land need to be able to walk too. A skirt is the perfect alternative. 

19. Mermaid Tail DIY

Here’s another option for a DIY mermaid tail.

20. Personalized Mermaid T-Shirt

This adorable t-shirt can be personalized with your child’s name and age! Pair it with one of the tails above and your girlie is party-ready!

21. Mermaid Photo Props

These photo props are so much fun! Everyone will have a blast posing for a mermaid photo shoot.

Mermaid Treat Bag Ideas

Assemble some lovely treat bags to send home with your guests. This is one party they will never forget!

22. Customizable Treat Bags

Your little people will be so excited to receive custom little tote bags like these! Especially when they are stuffed full of mermaid things.

23. Hair Ties

Fill up the goodie bags with fun accessories like mermaid hair ties!

24. Mermaid Play Dough

Again it’s all about the colours. You might be able to assemble something like this yourself if you can find the right play doh colours.

25. Thank You Tags

Attach these to the goodie bags and send your guests off in style!

26. Bracelet Favours

These bracelets are so cute! If you’re feeling crafty, wouldn’t it be fun to include bracelet-making as an activity during the party? These ones are ready-made though, in case you’re not up for the challenge!

27. Sea Shell Stickers

These are really pretty stickers for adding to mermaid treat bags!

Mermaid Birthday Party Games and Entertainment

To keep your little guests entertained during the party, you can try some of these game ideas!

28. Make Mermaid Slime:

This is a super fun tutorial for making sparkly ocean slime. And most kids go nuts for slime!

29. Design a Treasure Hunt:

Have little prizes hidden around the party space and draw simple maps for them to follow. They’ll love it!

30. Seashell Painting:

Exactly as it sounds. Collect (or purchase) some seashells and let the kiddos paint them. Try to include some glitter paint and sparkles if you can. Mermaids like sparkly things!

You could also pre-drill a hole in each shell so that they can be strung after they’re painted and turned into a necklace, bracelet or ornament.

31. Make Mermaid Bookmarks:

This is a great free printable bookmark craft.

32. Driftwood Painting

Collect some small pieces of driftwood and let the kids paint them. Then assemble them into starfish shapes that they can take home and hang in their rooms.

And last but not least, if you’d rather have cupcakes instead of cake, why not get the kiddos to decorate them as a fun activity?!

How Do You Decorate Mermaid Cupcakes?

Start with a basic cake recipe, a boxed sprinkle cake works really well too.

Bake them using cute cupcake liners like these.

Then get gel food colouring to dye some icing in fun mermaid-y colours, blues and purples mainly.

Decorate the icing using a fantastic sprinkle mix like this:

Then top them off with ocean themed gummy candies like these octopus, or these little fishies and don’t forget the adorable tail toppers I listed above!

There were so many more mermaid birthday party items I would have loved to include in this post, but then it would have been ten pages long. I needed to draw the line somewhere unfortunately.

But did I miss anything crucial? Have you hosted a mermaid birthday party? What else would you include in this list?

I’m a boy mom. As much as I love my boys I get the feeling they are never going to want a mermaid birthday party. (Lego and Minecraft, absolutely. Mermaids and unicorns, not so much. lol)  So is anyone willing to let me plan a birthday for their daughter? Pretty please?!