Updated on: Oct 05, 2024
No time to go to the beach and soak in the ocean life for a day? No problem! We bring the sea experience to you with lots of ideas for hosting the perfect ocean theme party! No matter if it's a child or an adult party, you can get just as much enjoyment out of these party recommendation ideas. Set sail on the ocean with these creative invitations, party food, and activity ideas that make the ocean come alive. The sharks are nice, the fish are tasty, and the sand is smoother than ever with our ocean theme party ideas!
Ocean Theme Party: Decorations
1. Under the Water
Use blue streamers, blue balloons, and sea animal balloons to create an under-the-water feeling for your guests. These decorations are simple but tie in perfectly with the ocean theme party.
2. Fish Paper Lanterns
Shine the spotlight on your DIY skills with fish-shaped paper lanterns. A school of fish illuminating your living room will be sure to set the right mood for your ocean-themed party.
3. Watery Walls
Add blue metallic fringe, bubble hanging decorations, black fishnet wall decoration, or other ocean life cutouts to your walls or on the doorways to give your venue an extra splash of the ocean.
4. Under the Sea Photo Booth
Capture the moment by having your very own photo booth area. Bring the ocean to life by hanging up an ocean backdrop and adding some fun sea life photo booth props.
5. Jellyfish Paper Lanterns
If you're short on time (or just want to provide some companionship to your fish paper lanterns), add jellyfish paper lanterns to the mix. The light will beautifully mimic the jellyfish's bioluminescence!
Ocean Theme Party: Favors
6. Fish Bag Filled With Candy
Send your guests home with a cute ocean-themed party bag and fill it with your favorite candy. This is a great way to show appreciation towards your guests for coming to your party.
7. Beach Bag
Whether your party was at the beach or not, make your guests a beach bag that they can bring with them the next time they are at the ocean. Fill the bag with a beach ball, a pair of flip-flops, and some sunglasses. This is a great way to remind your guests how much fun they had at your party the next time they find themselves at the beach.
8. Water Growing Sea Creatures
When the party is over it can be hard to find something else to look forward to. Give your guests an ocean-themed coffee mug and fill it with water-growing sea creatures so that they can leave feeling excited to watch their animal grow.
9. Cuddle Buddies
After a long day of partying, it is nice to go home and relax with something you can hold and cuddle. Send your guests home with some cute stuffed sea animals or a pretty stuffed mermaid.
10. Scented gifts
An ocean candle and ocean soap bar are the perfect party favors to provide for your guests. It is a great way to keep the ocean vibes lingering on long after your party.
Ocean Theme Party: Food Ideas
11. Fish Snacks
Serve candy gummy fish and goldfish during the party as snacks. Although these fish are not from the sea, they are just as tasty.
12. Fish-Shaped Sandwiches
Make sandwiches (Ex. peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese) and use fish-shaped cookie cutters to cut the sandwiches into fish shapes. This is a quick and delicious way to incorporate the ocean theme into your guests’ experience.
13. Fish-Shaped Cupcakes or Cookies
Using the same method as the fish-shaped sandwiches, cut cupcakes or cookies into fish shapes with a clean fish-shaped cookie cutter. This is a fun method of creating a unique dessert for your guests. If you are looking for an ocean-themed cake for your party, you can find a local bakery to fulfill your dessert needs.
14. Underwater Graham Crackers
Cover the bottom third of some Graham Crackers with blue frosting and sprinkle ocean-themed funfetti on top. Sprinkle a layer of brown sugar at the bottom of the Graham cracker to mimic a sandy bottom and add 2 Goldfish to the middle.
15. Edible Ocean
Get a glass baking dish and put blue and green jelly beans on the bottom of it. Pour blue Jell-O over the jelly beans and add gummy sea creatures before the Jell-O sets. Make sure you do this the day or night before the party so the Jell-O has time to form. This creative edible ocean dessert will impress your guests and leave them wanting more.
16. Tropical Fish in Jelly Cups
A tropical fish in a gradient jelly cup is bound to be a party favorite - you will get a beautiful end result using only 4 ingredients!
17. Tasty Octopus Treats
Cut red licorice into 8 equal lengths for the octopus legs. Cover large gumballs with frosting, and attach 8 pieces of licorice to a single large gumball covered with frosting or many gumballs if you want your octopus to be larger. Add eyes to the gumball(s) with black decorator icing. This sea creature is a treat that your guests will not forget!
18. Octopus Veggie Tray
Way to spruce up a tray of veggies! First, cut up your veggie slices - you can use carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, or any other vegetable of your choice that pairs well with hummus. Cut a small portion off the bottom of a bell pepper and empty the insides, being careful to keep the bell pepper intact. Once the insides are empty, slice the piece you cut off into 6 long strips and save them for later - these will be the tentacles.
Place a bowl of hummus in the middle of a platter, and surround it with the sliced veggies. Place the bell pepper on top of the hummus and add a pair of edible googly eyes to the top. Add the 6 remaining slices to the sides of the bell pepper and your octopus veggie tray is ready for snacking!
19. Ocean Drinks
Put blue food coloring in pitchers of apple juice or grab some blue punch for a refreshing drink that looks like it came right from the ocean. You can also use red food coloring or normal fruit punch to make it look like a shark attack may have happened right in the punch. Make sure to fill the pitchers with ice to keep your splash-tastic drinks cool.
20. Watermelon Shark
Cut a third of the watermelon off and place it on its flat side. Using a large knife, cut out the shark's jaw and its bottom and top teeth. Carefully remove the outer layer of the rind off the teeth with a small knife, and empty the insides of the watermelon using a watermelon cutter. Once the inside of the shark head is emptied, place it on a round tray and fill it up with the slices you cut out. To finish off your jaw-dropping arrangement, secure two blueberries in place of the eyes using toothpicks.
21. Banana Dolphins
These banana dolphins are so cute you won't want to eat them! Cut the bottom ends of the bananas and place them standing upright. Cut a deep slit into the bottom stem - this will be the dolphin's mouth. To keep the mouth open, place one small grape into each of the dolphin's mouths. Use a black marker to dot the eyes on the banana.
22. Edible Seaweed
Buy some green sour punch straws and put them in a clear glass labeled as seaweed. Decorate the glass with seaweed cutouts. You can make your own cutouts using a template and green construction paper.
Ocean Theme Party: Games/Activities
23. Ocean Trivia
Look up interesting facts about the ocean and create a trivia game. You can have each participant take a quiz and see who gets the best score or split guests into groups so they can compete against each other. Or you can order a trivia game online so you don't have to create your own.
24. Jellyfish Piñata
Fill your paper-mâché piñata with Swedish Fish, shark gummies, and shark candy bracelets. Decorate the body of the jellyfish with crepe paper and add streamers and curly ribbons for the tentacles. Finish it off by taping some construction paper onto the body in place of the eyes. Your piñata will be just as sweet on the outside as it is on the inside!
25. Shark Attack Photos
Make a large shark cut out with an open mouth or order it online. Have guests stand in front of it and take their pictures or you can easily find a local photographer to come to the party and capture all the fun. It will be a personalized keepsake for your guests to remember your fun party.
26. Backyard Fishing
Cover cardboard trifold with blue gift-wrap paper and decorate it with colorful paper cutouts of fish, octopus, starfish, and turtles using ocean-themed printable outlines. Make extra cutouts for the fishing prizes and place them in a safe spot behind the trifold. Attach a clothespin to the end of each dowel rod with string. When the kids reach their fishing pole over the trifold, have one person behind it attaching the extra cutouts on the clothespin at the end of the fishing rods. They are bound to love this activity!
27. Sandy Art
Create 3D artwork by covering a piece of cardboard with glue and adding colored sand on top of the glue one segment at a time. Shake off the sand that does not stick and do this with multiple colors until the board is covered. This activity lets guests show off their creativity while feeling like they are playing on a real beach with real sand and can even act as a cool gift if it's a birthday party!
28. Edible Sand Art
Offer different flavors and colors of Pixy Stix candy. Pour the “sand” candy into empty soda bottles so there are layers of color. Once they are filled, seal the bottles so you have a fun snack for later.
29. Seashell Jewelry
Order seashells with holes in them, and let guests thread them onto colored strings to create necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. This is a creative way to bring the beach to your party, as they can also be great kids' gifts too!
30. Tropical Fish Bean Bag Toss Game
This classic game of toss is a wonderful way to add fun and bubbles to your ocean-themed birthday party. Gain points by tossing the bean bags into the netted holes.
Ocean Theme Party: Party Supplies
31. Deep Blue Dining
Set the tables at the party with under-the-sea paper dinner plates, ocean blue tablecloths, under-the-sea paper dessert plates, under-the-sea luncheon napkins, and blue plastic silverware. Place seashells on the table as the finishing touch to your guests’ deep blue dining experience.
32. Mermaid Fairytale
Add a little sparkle to your party by using mermaid-themed tableware that will make the perfect fairytale. Use mermaid straws for your ocean drinks and a mermaid cake topper to add the magical effect.
33. Party Hats
Get everyone on the guest list in the party mood by providing ocean-themed party hats. This will give you a great opportunity to capture some fun pictures of everyone wearing their matching hats.
34. Surfers up
Ride the waves into your party with surfer cupcake toppers and surfer-themed paper plates. Keep your drinks cool with an inflatable palm tree cooler.
35. Gone Fishing
Catch everything you need with a fishing-themed table cloth, paper plates, and napkins. You will not strike out with these!
Ocean Theme Party: Invitations
Paper Invitations
36. Message in a Bottle
Jot down the party details on antique stationery paper. Next, clean out or order empty glass bottles online. Finally, roll the papers up, stick them in the bottles, and drop them off at your guests’ houses for a creative message-in-a-bottle invite.
37. Seashell Notes
Order large scallop seashells online and write your party details on them with a permanent marker to invite your guests to a fun day filled with ocean-packed treats. You can hand-deliver them or send them in padded envelopes. These add a personal touch because they double as a party favor and are sure to be cherished for years to come.
38. Under the Sea
Get your guests excited about your celebration with under the sea invitations. You are able to customize the name, date, place, and time for your event so they can mark their calendars to join you under the sea.
39. Finding Nemo
Remind all your friends that "fish are friends, not food" through Finding Nemo invitations. This is a good way to motivate your guests to "keep on swimming" until your party.
Online Invitations
40. Ocean-Themed Invitations
Customize your own ocean-themed invitation online and save paper. There are many different designs to choose from to ensure you have the perfect invitations for your guests.
Ocean Theme Party: Conclusion
Now you see that bringing the ocean into your house is not as hard as it sounds. Whether it is an edible ocean or watery walls, these little hacks ensure an under-the-sea adventure for all your guests to enjoy in your next big ocean theme party. Be sure to check out our other theme party blogs if you enjoyed this one, at easyeventplanning.com!
Written by Kaitlyn Malcom and Natalie Davidson; Contributors: Blake Rubenstein and Lilly Bernardis
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