Beachy Mermaid Party

This beachy mermaid party was perfect for our little girl. With all of this, our party budget came in under $200!

Every time I throw a party I declare it my favorite party of all time, and this Beachy Mermaid Party for Trouble’s fourth birthday was no exception! Sand, starfish, & mermaids….what’s not to love? Best. Party. Ever. (Until the next one, of course!)

Beachy Mermaid Party

There were so many fun elements that came together for this party, but what I loved most about it is that most of the “beachy” decorations are now able to do double-duty as my summer home decor, which meant that my party decorating budget could be stretched even further. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a lot more details about all the individual DiY projects that went into this party, but for now, here is the final result:

My budget for kid food, treats, cake, decorations, favors, & outfits for the girls was just under $200. We did spend a little more than that on additional food & drinks for the adults that joined us. (We had about 65 guests overall. I didn’t include photos of the guests because a.) I was too busy hostessing to take a lot of photos and b.) I would’ve had to get permission from 60 people to post their photos online which just seemed like a hassle! 🙂 )

Here is the breakdown of how I spent my budget:

• Invitations ($0)–My graphic design student niece Coryn designed me the cute little mermaid, which I then used to design my own invitation. I printed it on matte photo paper I got free at Staples during back-to-school time last summer, then cut it and put them in 4×6″ envelopes I already had on hand.

• Pallet Projects ($0)–The beachy pallet artwork, “mermaids this way” sign, and the mermaid photo op stand were all built by my husband using old pallets that we picked up for free and a piece of scrap wood he had in the garage. It is so nice to have a handy husband! He carefully deconstructed the pallets then re-constructed for each project. I did all the painting & embellishment, which meant that our only cost for those was basically a few pennies in paint.

• Seashells & Sand ($20)–most of the sand and seashells were collected ourselves at the beach–we do live in Florida, after all–but I did have to purchase a few “fancy” shells and starfish. I found some on Etsy, then found a few more (for cheaper) at a local store.

• Craft Supplies ($15)–Most of the craft supplies I used for this party were things I already had on hand, but I did have to buy some burlap ribbon for the burlap wreaths, as well as a few bottles of aqua paint. Since JoAnn’s accepts competitor’s coupons I was able to use coupons on pretty much everything!

• Home Accents ($22)–I bought the galvanized tray & “net” candle holder at TJ Maxx, and then I found 4 corked bottles at a local thrift shop for $0.75 each. Score! The mini lanterns were borrowed from a friend, while the large glass candle holder was something I already had on hand.

• Table Decorations ($25)–The skirted tablecloth on the round table was not made specifically for this party, but I did sew it myself using Edie’s awesome tablecloth tutorial. The aqua tulle I used on the food table and then again on the chairs outside was actually something I already had on hand, since I’ve been meaning to use it to make tulle tutus for the girls for some time now. I was careful to cut it in the lengths I will need so I will still be able to use it for the tutus! The plastic silverware and basic white napkins were both things I already had on hand, but I jazzed them up by adding some twine (stolen from Husband’s supply in the garage) and some mermaid tags that I printed myself. The main expense was this ruffled aqua shower curtain I purchased to use as the backdrop to the table. I hung it with Command hooks and it worked like a charm!

• Sand Castle Cake ($15)–The cake was definitely the focal point for the whole party! I was able to keep the costs WAY down because I had almost everything I needed already on hand in my baking stockpile. The only things I specifically needed to purchase were this seashell candy mold and this starfish candy mold, as well as some white chocolate candy melts and some butter & cream cheese for the frosting.

• Kid-Friendly Food ($40)–For the kiddos we served PB & “jellyfish” sandwiches, tuna “starfish” sandwiches, starfish rice crispy treats, goldfish marshmallow pops, pretzel & cheddar goldfish, oyster “pearl” cookies, and saltwater taffy. It was all a lot of fun to make, and not too expensive since I was careful to stock up items while they were on sale. In fact, the most expensive part of the kids food was the saltwater taffy from a local candy store!

• Drink Station ($10)–As usual we served homemade lemonade made from our own lemon tree. The plastic “mason” jars were special-ordered several years ago (from a wholesale container store) just to use for parties, since we have a very strict no-glass policy around the pool. We have gotten SO much use out of them since then! The paper straws were ordered from Etsy.

• Favors ($20)–Rather than goodie bags, this year we opted to give out little “messages in a bottle.” The mini corked bottles were a daily deal on Pick Your Plum.

• Party Outfits ($24) –I also found the girls’ blue skirts on Pick Your Plum for only $9 each! They have pretty much worn them every day since they got them, so I think it was a pretty good purchase. I found the white t-shirts on clearance at Target for $3 each, and then added the mermaids using printable iron-on transfer paper that I already had on hand.

{Party Total:  $191}

Finally, for those of you who are wondering (and since I get asked about it almost daily on the post I wrote about taking my kids’ toys away), we are very adamant about our birthday parties being gift-free. Thankfully our friends know us well enough to honor that request! While Trouble received lots of very sweet cards (that she loved), she was thankfully not overwhelmed by a huge stack of gifts, and she was just super excited about being the birthday girl.

What do you think of the beachy mermaid theme? How do you maximize your party budget?

Other similar articles:

• How to Make a Paper Party Hat
• How to Plan a Party in 48 Hours
• How to Make a Sandcastle Cake

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