Age group(s) for this birthday party activity:
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School

Birthday party planning information:
Create a Beach Party without leaving home, any time of year! It's an Attitude as much as a Place.

Turn up the heat a li'l bit if you have to. Guests can bring their shorts, T-shirts, and flip flop sandals in a bag and change clothes, if need be.

Think Tropical, for food, decor, and activities. Use "native materials" (baskets, wood bowls and trays, cleaned coconut shells, abalone shells) for serving whenever possible, like Ginger and Mary Ann did on Gilligan's Island. Use "finger foods" as much as possible. Have a tremendous bowl full of Fruit as a feast for the eyes as well as for food. Make some fresh pineapple "boats." Have fruit juice punch, and little paper umbrellas for the cups ;-) Use some unusual items like Star Fruit...and gummy candies shaped like things people might eat if they were stuck on a deserted island!

Flowers and Ferns (real, or realistic) look good on the table.

Serve Banana Bread, with choice of cream cheese or butter on the side. Make some simple sandwiches, like peanut butter and jelly, and cut 'em with Star shaped cookie cutters.

Hot Dogs and Chips are speedy items to add, if you need something more substantial.

Bring out some soft old, colorful cotton blankets and quilts for a Picnic on the floor. Let the kids help arrange the picnic area and tote supplies.

Cake options are many. Cupcakes might be frosted in any color that's pleasing, and set about on the table, like clusters of colorful flowers. Edible flowers, such as pansies, can be rinsed, gently dried, and placed on each one. A single large cake might be decorated with several flower clusters.

Another way with cake would be to use Paste coloring to tint icing ocean Blue (use care; frosting will darken as it sits a bit), frost the whole cake w/"waves" here n' there, and put some plastic toy sailboats on top.

Cake could be skipped altogether with options like cookies. Sea creature shaped cutters are available, and coconut cookies are Sooo Fine!

Coconut Gelatin is one of the most awesome things I've ever had, but I am not quite sure how to go about making it. I am going to have to get up courage to Ask the people who run our local wok buffet place...

There's also options like a fruit-laden "pizza" with a cookie-type crust. Do It Yourself ice cream sundae building. Mango ice cream! Kiwi sorbet...can ya tell I haven't had lunch yet? ;-) Or for something light and refreshing, "sno-cone" type treats made with a Shave Ice machine (plastic home version; some work Very nicely!). Fruit juice and punch concentrates can work as well as syrups, for shave ice.

Other suggestions or comments:
"Aruba, Jamaica, ooo, I wanna take ya, Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama...down to Kokomo, that's where I wanna go..." don't forget the Tunes!!! They set the mood. Beach Boys, even videos of Muppets singing Beach Boys... whatever ya got, bring it out, use it! "Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top o' the world..." Dance, rock on, boogie.

No sane parent would do all the things mentioned here; these are merely a "pool" of ideas. Feel quite free to add more ideas to the pool! (You can even rent a swimming pool and lifeguards and a party room for a block of time, in many communities---whatta plan! Marine parks, science centers, or zoos may also be more than happy to help create some happy Teachable Moments, and Party On at the same time.)

Games can range from Bingo to Twister, to silly relay races. Example: kids do some sort of light obstacle course, and have to pick up/find certain objects along the way, such as rubber sharks, seaweed, shells. Form teams; use a stop watch. Make sure everyone gets prizes. If you have the luxury of a big yard and nice weather, you can do Water Balloon relays, and things like Super Bubbles (coat hangers and berry baskets make interesting bubble makers).

Older kids might enjoy an activity like creating a tie-dyed shirt (kits can usually make multiple shirts; read instructions well beforehand!).
Sponge-painting a T shirt with sea creature shapes is achievable by many age groups, with some parent helpers.

Sea Shells and plants can make interesting textured paintings, on cloth or paper (put a sheet of aluminum foil inside the shirt to prevent color bleed to the back of shirt). Fish from the fish market can actually be used to print on paper or cloth, too!!!

Visors, beach Hats, or flip-flops (need to know size) can be decorated with plastic buttons, critters, shells, ribbons, n' bows. It takes time for even "tacky" glue to dry, unless you are using cool-melt glue guns (w/parental assistance/supervision).

"Forts" can be made, using cardboard appliance crates, ropes n' old sheets, card tables, etc. Or a couple of tents can be set up in a backyard, and kids can pretend to be "stranded on a deserted island," just like Gilligan and the Skipper. Your laundry basket might be the SS Minnow, for the young ones...

Take-Home items range from the usual things, like beach pail and shovel, candy, soap bubbles, or coloring books, to books about beach and Ocean life. Bath Soaps can be found in sea shell and starfish shapes; must be clearly labeled as Soap, and look good tied up in nylon netting. Some of the new Kid's Shampoos come in Fish shaped bottles, and have cool tropical scents; kids love them, and they would make a nice addition to a Beach Bucket.

Naturally, these ideas cover a broad range of Ages and Interests. It is up to the Parent hosts to supervise (or eliminate) anything that has choke hazards or other injury potential to Very Young party-goers! Barbecue grills and sharp things are obvious hazards, but there are certainly potential hazards aplenty at parties.