Meriwether Turns Three
Let’s Shellebrate!
Meriwether loves collecting shells and pebbles. Any amount of time we spend outdoors, you can guarantee she’s on the hunt for special treasures. Most years we try to make it to the beach, and every year we come home with buckets of shells.
For her third birthday, she chose a seashell theme. I ran with the idea and sourced all the things to make her celebration special. Since everyone was in lockdown for her second birthday, I wanted to make her day extra fun. Grandmother sewed her a special outfit, complete with a mermaid in an underwater scene.
I did a bunch of DIY for this birthday and also shopped Meri Meri Party for most of the banners and paper goods. Sharing all the details below x
MENU
For the menu, I wanted options appropriate for both adults and children. I decided to serve a light lunch, along with snacks and birthday cake since her party was held close to lunch time. I tried to keep the food prep simple so I could also enjoy the day!
Here are the menu items I served, along with “under the sea” names I chose for each.
Shellwiches — Uncrustables cut out with a seashell cookie cutter
Crab Croissants — Stuffed with chicken salad and pimento cheese. I used a hot glue gun to attach eyes to toothpicks!
Seashells — Ruffles potato chips
Shrimp — Shrimp on ice with cocktail sauce
Shark Teeth — White cheddar cut into triangles
Coral Reef — Cheetos
Driftwood — Pretzel sticks
Mermaid Food — a fruit medley
Star Fish Pops — Rice Krispie treats cut out with a cookie cutter
Birthday Cake
Fresh Water — Iced water
Ocean Water — Blue Kool Aid
PARTY FUN
Since the weather took a turn for the worst, I had to be creative with fun things for the kids to do inside. We decided to get Meriwether a blow up pool because she had been asking to go swimming in the weeks leading up to the party. Instead of water, we filled it with balloons. It was a bigger success than I could have ever imagined. We couldn't get them out!
They had a blast, and it was a lovely soft surface for all the smaller children.
I ordered a bubble machine for the front porch because I thought it would be fun to have bubbles blowing by the front door as guests arrived. The kids loved it so much we could hardly get them inside to enjoy the actual party!
We also had a sand station with seashells for them to dig and discover. We used kinetic sand to keep the mess at bay and it worked like a charm! I was expecting a little bit of sand around the table, but to my surprise, there wasn't a trace! We put the sand in a water table and they were so excited to find the different shells in all shapes and sizes.
To end the party, I set up a path of seashells to a treasure chest. I used an old wooden box my mom found at an estate sale decades ago, and draped some netting on it. Carson read the message in the bottle and it instructed the children to follow the path. They found the chest on the front porch with their goodie bags inside! For the bags I included a snack size goldfish, bubbles, yogurt raisins, sea stickers and chocolate coins.