Under The Sea

How did that beauty turn FOUR?!?!? We got to celebrate with her friends this weekend. Eden chose to have a Little Mermaid party, so we went all out. Everything was "under the sea" themed.

I tried to scour the internet for food ideas that were ocean related. We had "Shark's teeth" {cheese triangles}, "Under the Sea Shrimp" {most awesome shrimp that my aunt makes}, "P-nut Butter and Jellyfish Sandwiches" {pre made, right out of the freezers at costco!}, and "Sea Cucumbers" with hummus. Of course we couldn't have a party with out goldfish and some sweets. My favorite was the cookies that we had. The pearls were made by a friend of mine from Virginia {Fat Girl Cakes} after I realized I didn't want to have to learn how to make them. I was so excited to get the pearls because she made them with a pearl dusting - mine would have been just plain white!

For the goodie bags for our friends we did sand castle buckets with treasures inside. They got some goldfish, bubbles, a necklace, and a chocolate coin. I always try to make the goodie bags filled with things that can be used, and not so many trinkets that break and/or don't get used. Since we live near the beach the sand buckets seemed like the perfect choice! To decorate the table we used a picture that Eden drew. She had traced her Ariel doll and colored it in. As soon as I saw how awesome she did, I decided to use it somehow during her party.

 I didn't have any organized activities for Eden's party, but we did have an area with treasures for the kids to find.

 For the most part, the kids just wandered around and played in the back yard. As parents hung out, the kids ran around and had a good time. People were free to eat whenever they wanted to and it was just an easy-going party.

 After some running around we paused the fun for some singing and celebrating the birthday girl.

 We didn't open presents while friends were there {because it can get out of control with so many people around}. It was peaceful and nice to open gifts at a slow pace. Eden was able to soak in what she was getting. We were able to talk about what was in the bags and boxes. My favorite is that she's got a memory like a steel trap and she remembers who gave her what.

And don't worry! I got plenty of pictures of kids at the picture board! It was a hit for sure.