Shark Birthday Theme

December 19, 2020

Shark Birthday Theme

Although this year's birthday looked much different than last, I wasn't about to let my little man feel like his BIG day wasn't special!

I asked William what theme he wanted for his birthday and he yelled "SHARKS!" This made absolute sense since thats the only thing he's been playing with these days. So I began my intense research (log into Pinterest) and started collecting data (save pins). My next step was to choose a color scheme. BLUE, duh, thats the only color he ever wants.

We decided we would have a Blue, Shark, themed Birthday Caravan.

Next I mapped out what our event timeline would look like. We'd start with some morning playtime for the kids in the driveway while my husband and I started setting up the decorations and snacks. We'd spend about 2 hours outside welcoming all of our guests that participate in caravan (about 27 kids came by to celebrate!). This was adding up to be a LONG time outside! So I decided we'd put our awesome 10' x 10' canopy tent out on the driveway to protect is from the summer heat.

I knew I definitely wanted a giant balloon arch to drape the front of the tent to jazz it up and feel festive. I was a little intimidated about how to make and set up a balloon arch, but once I opened up a million tabs and google searched DIY videos, I figured no better way to learn then to dive in and try!

I made the balloon about a week before our party and stored them in spare guest room. They last about a month (maybe longer) in the AC, so I planned to start with the project that I was most apprehensive about- just in case we needed to do a last minute Party store order!

The AC will dull the balloons. So if you have a shiny/metallic theme, I do not recommend blowing them up early. For example, our silver balloons were a dull grey by the time of our party.

I purchased my first ever electric balloon pump. because I nearly passed out at the thought of blowing up each balloon by mouth! And to no one's shock, I couldn't be happier with my purchase! I inflated over 100 balloons in about 1 hour. We've used the pump several times since.

I used different hues of blue balloons for accent colors I chose grey (think shark) and white. While all the balloons were 12in latex balloons, I alternated the size of the balloons by blowing them up at different volumes. The pump came with a balloon arch garland. It's basically a flexible plastic strip with holes in it to help you build your arch. You'll need some string to attach and shape your garland to the structure (because balloons are not helium filled, they need to be held up). And Voila, you have yourself a beautiful garland!

*my tent is 10' x 10' x 10', I made a 30ft long garland

I put out our 6 foot folding table, covered with a disposable shark table cloth. I also added shark paper plates and cups for us to cut the cake after the caravan.

We bought the cutest and smallest shark Piñata which I also used to style the party table. I linked a similar one which is great because it is a friendly shark!

I baked a gluten, dairy and egg free cake because of Emma and my allergies. I frosted it in blue and white marble. Super Easy! (recipe post coming soon!).

I brought out ALL his shark toys to decorate the table and even threw some in the kiddie pool.

The main attraction was a Walk the Plank! I ordered a kiddie pool and my husband gathered some cinder blocks that we walk around the yard. He bought 2" x 6" wood planks and drilled them using masonry drill bit and tapcons to the cinder blocks. I added a little water to the pool and threw in some shark toys and balloons.

*always have adult supervision while on plank.

I had a TON of Amazon boxes laying around so I traced some fins on them and then cut them out with a box cutter. My father-in-law kindly spray painted them for us using this matte grey paint. He then cut up metal hangers (the one the dry cleaners send) and thread them through the fins to use as stakes. We placed the shark fins around the pool (in the lawn) and it was AMAZING! Our yard was converted into shark infested waters.

I also added a bubble maker machine and a Pin the mouth on the Shark to our garage door.

I was pleasantly surprised that a couple of our dear friends got out of the caravan and were able to run around and jump in the pool.

I created easy gift bags for every child in the caravan. I purchased Shark bags and added the Amazon shark party favors inside. I also included bubbles that I scored from Dollar Tree!

My sweet friend, Ingrid, used her Cricut Explore Air 2 to cut and print the gift tags!