Summer is here and that means lots and lots of birthday parties and best of all, backyard parties!

The Under the Sea theme is very popular in the summer months for obvious reasons but it can be used any time of the year just bring the party indoors - minus the water of course!  The theme is great because you have a lot to work with and it can be a very easy unisex birthday theme as well.  There are so many great colors and animals to work with you don't just have to stick to one.  Please take note of the great coupon codes at the end of this post.

Lets start with location. If you have a backyard with a pool then perfect, your set.  But not all of us do, so if you don't have a pool, fill tons of baby pools - add sprinklers, slip-and-slide type water games and make your own "water park."  Fill a colorful tub with water balloons and water guns and have them run around to cool each other off!  You could also ask a community pool if they rent out an area for events and you can use their pool and facility.  A park or beach park is another great option.  Check to see if they permit gatherings and the cost, some may even be free you may just have to clean up!  If you have a pool a great safety idea is to hire a lifeguard for the day to come and watch the kids in the pool. You hear of so many tragedies this time of year; it's better safe then sorry .

Once you have your location and a date set it's time for invitations. Here are two different examples of invites for this theme.  The invitation on the left is a very cute Mermaid theme invitation from BonJourBerry
This invitation is a digital invitation that you can choose your size of 4x6 or 5x7.  Once you order it you will get the file and print the invitation at home or your local printing store. The second invitation (right) is from TooCuteInvites and is a printed and assembled invite in the underwater theme in the 5x7 size and has a great little crab on it. Both shops offer matching items to complete the party needs as well.

[Image]  Once that is in place then its time to plan the birthday boy or girls outfits ! Here are some great options. This Coral Ikat and Pink Chevron made by Wearyougo dress is a beautiful peasant dress mixing a great color combo or teal and coral for that underwater / beach feel but the best part is if you don't love this one you can design your own dress ! The Steel Blue with Orange Whale Applique by BrownOwlDesign is so cute for your birthday boy to wear on his big day The colors are great and it can be worn again after the party! The Felt Fish Crown by Feltlikecelebrating is great for both boys and girls and also comes in different colors  another great picture prop as well for those special pictures! The Personalized Sea Creators  Birthday Shirt by JustJoshinKids is another great unisex shirt and it is personalized for the birthday boy or girl with their age and name! All great and very special .

[Image]  Now its time to decorate! Use aqua blue, coral , peach and sea foam green as a great color pallet and use it in linens, napkins and utensils. Balloons in blues representing bubbles are cute too. Here are some great items to use as well. Banners are always great and personal. This Mermaid banner from Teapartydesigns is adorned with rhinestones, glitter and already strung for you ready to hang. Another adorable product is these Seahorse Wash clothes from Princessandthepbaby would make great favors but I would add them to a centerpiece ! fill a beach pail as a balloon weight and add these to make a beautiful table scape. The little Goldfish cupcake toppers by Yourlittlecupcake are great way to show off your cupcakes! They come in sets of 12 and they also sell the matching wrappers . Hang green and blue streamers from your screen door making an entry way  and have some falling straight down to add that effect of entering a water oasis would be perfect for setting the scene!

[Image]  Activities to keep these kiddies busy are a must and here are some that would be fun for them to play! Set up a table as if you were at the carnival playing the goldfish toss game. Buy the same amount of small goldfish bowls as you have kids and fill them with water and a little goldfish.  Make them line up and toss a ping pong ball onto the bowls and if they get one in they get to keep the fishes inside and the bowl.  Have them all wait until everyone goes and as a surprise give each kid a fish bowl so they don't get upset as they leave attach a little zip lock bag with fish food and a favor tag as a thank you and you have both a favor and a game!
Another cute idea is fill a kiddie pool with little blue and white balloons representing water.  Cut out little card stock fish in different colors and attach a paper clip to their mouths.  Place them in the tub and have each child fish with their fishing pole that you can use a wooden dowel paint it and add string with a magnet at the end. Whoever fishes out a special fish wins a prize.  
Sand art is another way to keep them busy you  can set up a sand art station and buy different color sands and little containers they can fill and make there own thank you gift they will remember forever!
Here are more great favors and or a prize idea to hand out! Fill these adorable 4x6 muslin hand stamped bags by Littlechicklets with candies or toys the ink comes in many colors as well. This Little Crab hair clip by MarmaladeCreations is perfect for all the little girls there! it is a 1x2 snap clip and comes in different backgrounds colors as well. I love these Eco Friendly Fish Crayons by ChildhoodStore they are perfect for little hands and are in a set of 6 2x1 1/2 inch crayons and are made by soy/bees wax so they are green too ! Also another green option are these Reusable coloring pages  by BabyZebracreations that they can use over and over again ! just color with washable markers and wash them when finished ! I am sure they would love any of these products.

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Last but not least you have to feed these little fishies use your imagination and try some of these out.

Fish shaped sandwiches - make your favorite sandwich then cut them use a fish cookie cutter or other favorite underwater animal. Goldfish crackers in cupcake cupcakes that they can snack on as they play are always a favorite treat. Macaroni "Sea Shell" Salad - Make your favorite macaroni salad and use the large shell shaped pastas. Blue Hawaiian Punch Bowl - add some Fish ice cube shapes to make it like fishes are swimming in there. Carrot sticks can be turned into "crab legs" with dip Rice Crispy Treat Star Fish - make Rice Crispy Treats and use a star shaped cookie cutter for the shape
Use your imagination!  Decorate the table with brown sugar for a sandy effect as well and use matching color linens to tie it all together.

No matter what you choose to do have fun! and make the party about the children most importantly isn't it all about them and there day anyway?

All these Items were selected from EtsyKids Team members by me and they have been kind enough to include some coupon codes below! Saving money anyway you can is always a perk! All shop names mentioned in the post are linked to the shop.

FeltLikeCelebrating - code - FLC10 10% off your order
WearYouGo -  code- LOVEIT2013 - 10% off your order
BabyZebraCreations - code - Shipforfree - Free domestic shipping
JustJoshinkids - code - handmadebirthday - 15%off all custom birthday shirts exp 6/21/13
brownowldesign - code - Summer20 - 20% off entire order
BonjourBerry - code - Etsykids10off - 10% off your order exp 7/31/13
PrincessAndThePbaby - Like on Facebook and get 10% off code
YourlittleCupcake - code -EtsyKidsParty - 15% off your order
TooCuteInvites - code - UNDERTHESEA - 10% off your order
Littlechickletes - code- etsykids - 10% off your order

Happy Celebrating and Stay tuned for next months post !
Xo
Adriana

Adriana's shop is Too Cute Invites, Unique handmade invitations and party accessories. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter for updates and new items.