How to Throw Fun Beach Themed Birthday

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I was never a beach person. I didn’t live near one, and it just wasn’t my thing. But my husband has always loved the beach. Two years ago, we visited his cousin, who lives in a beautiful home just walking distance from the shore. Before we arrived, his wife informed us that his birthday would fall during our visit, and we ended up planning a surprise beach birthday celebration for him. It was so fun, and we had one of the best times. Since then, whenever someone says “beach,” the first thing that comes to my mind is the fun beach birthday party we had. In this post, I’m sharing everything we did to plan that beach birthday, plus a few ideas you can adapt to create an indoor beach party too.

Things to Plan for a Beach Party

Choose the Perfect Beach Location

Okay, so first things first, you need a good spot to party. If you are going to the actual beach, pick one that’s clean and safe. Look for a beach that has bathrooms nearby, parking (because no one wants to carry beach chairs for miles), and some shade if possible. If there’s a spot with picnic tables or grills, even better.
If you’re not near a beach? No worries, you can throw a beach theme party at home too, just bring the beach vibe to your house. Set up a beach-themed indoor party. More details on it are covered in later sections.

Pick a Fun Theme

A beach party is already awesome, but adding a theme gives it that extra special touch. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just something fun that ties everything together. Here are a few easy ideas to choose from:

Tropical Luau
Think grass skirts, flower leis, and pineapples. You can decorate with fake palm leaves, hang up colorful paper flowers, and play island music. Have everyone wear bright shirts or dresses with flip-flops.

Sea Creature Party
This one is so fun for kids. Make your party all about sea creatures like crabs, seahorses, and sharks. Go with lots of sea items like seashells, pearls, and blue, purple, or teal colors. Add ships or submarines to make it more exciting.

Nautical Theme
Go with red, white, and blue colors, anchors, and sailor hats. It is easy to decorate with stripes and ropes. You can even serve snacks in little boat-shaped trays.

Sunset Chill Vibes (for grown-ups)
More laid-back for the grown-ups. Lay out beach blankets, fairy lights, and chill music. Everyone can bring a hoodie for when it gets cooler. This one’s perfect for late afternoon parties with snacks and watching the sunset.

Color Party
You can pick two fun colors like blue and yellow or pink and orange and use them for everything from balloons, tablecloths, and even outfits. It’s super simple but looks really cool.

Beach Party Set Up Tips

Alright, now that you’ve picked your spot and your theme. It’s time to make it feel like a party.

Before setting up, you must decide whether you want to go for a cozy mat on a beach vibe or lay picnic-style table setup. You can also arrange some logs in a circle for a cozy evening to chat, play guitar, and sing after sunset. If you have access to one, a tent can be a great addition.

Once you are clear on the kind of sitting arrangement you like, you can next start working to turn it into a birthday setup.

Lay beach blankets or big towels in a large circle or in front of the birthday setup space for everyone to sit. Next, add some shade with a large umbrella or a canopy, or a tent. Add some folding chairs to sit, especially if you have older guests.
Set up a folding table to arrange food and drinks. If birds or other animals at the beach are an issue, you must skip it and make snack boxes for easy eating.

Remember to carry a cooler to keep drinks cold.

Place some empty bins or baskets near the party space, fill them with napkins, snacks, sunscreen, or any other essentials everyone may need.

Finally, add some simple decor with balloons, banners to make it look special. You can decorate under an umbrella or a tent, or add fairy lights around the space.

Pro Tip: If there is a beachfront restaurant with a patio or a shack at the beach you can plan to host the celebration there, which will make the party super easy you can just add some simple decor and order from them and skip sitting arrangement completely.

Outdoor-Friendly Food & Drink Ideas

If you are having the party on the beach, you don’t need anything fancy; keep food simple, something people can grab and munch on with sandy fingers.
Here are some ideas for food that we carried.

Appetizers You Can Pack

Sandwiches or Wraps: Make a bunch ahead of time, wrap them in paper, and toss them in a basket. From turkey, cheese, to PB&J, as the crowd may like.

Fruit Cups: Cut up watermelon, grapes, or strawberries and put them in small containers with a lid, and place a toothpick in them. They are refreshing and easy to eat. If you are running short of time, you can also get the pre-cut fruits from the store or cut them the night before.

Chips & Crackers: Carry a few big bags and pour them into bowls, or just open the bag and fold it neatly for easy reach.

Snack Packs: You can also make individual snack packs using trail mix, popcorn, or pretzels in little baggies.

Refreshing Drinks to Beat the Heat

Water bottles: Carry ample water bottles. You can freeze them the night before; they’ll keep the cooler cold and melt into cold water to drink later.

Juice boxes: Small juice boxes for individual use it is very easy for kids

For grown-ups: Small bottles of sparkling water, iced tea, or mocktails are a good option.

Soothing Desserts

Cupcakes: Get store-bought cupcakes and add blue frosting and little paper umbrellas. They look so cute and are way easier to serve.

Shell cookies: You can serve shell or starfish-shaped cookies, too.

Cold treats: Ice cream, popsicles are also fun alternatives to desserts, and feel good at the beach.

Fun Games & Activities to Play in Sand

You don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment to play beach games. These are some of the games we played at the beach.
Beach Ball Volleyball: We all played volleyball for more than an hour, everyone enjoyed playing it, and it was a refreshing experience.

Sandcastle Contest: We had totally forgotten to plan any games for kids, but luckily, we had beach toys with us, so we just turned sand play into a Sandcastle contest. Later, even grown-ups joined kids to help them build so cool sandcastles.

Shell Collection: By the time we finished with the celebration boys came up with the fun idea that everyone needed to collect shells in 5 minutes. Whoever collects the most will win; broken shells do not count. Everyone started running as soon as the timer was turned on, with their eyes glued to the sand.

Beach Scavenger Hunt: You can also play scavenger hunt, make a simple list of things to hunt like “a shell, a feather, seaweed, and a round rock.” The first person or team to find all the items wins.

Team Rope Pull: This is pretty easy to play; just carry a long rope. Divide guests into two teams. There is something nostalgic about this game that makes it more fun.

Cool Party Favor Ideas

When hosting beach beach-themed party for kids, don’t miss the return gifts. You can give simple, small, fun, and beachy things. Something guests can take home to remember the day.

Here are some easy and cute ideas:

Mini beach buckets: Fill them with small treats like a lollipop, sticker sheet, or bouncy ball. Kids can use the bucket at home or next time they go to the beach!

Sunglasses: Bright, colorful, and perfect for the theme. Great for group photos too!

Flip-flop keychains or seashell necklaces: You can find these super cheap, and they totally fit the vibe.

Snacks to-go: Pack a small bag of trail mix, Goldfish crackers, or gummy sharks with a note that says “Thanks for making waves with me!”

How to Throw an Indoor Beach-Themed Bash

When it comes to hosting an indoor beach party, all the themes and other ideas shared above, like games, party favors are still useful even food, except that since it’s indoor, you have more options to serve. But you need to make sure to get the right decor and setup to ensure the party reflects the theme. Here is how to do so:

• You can spread out beach towels on the floor, blow up a few beach balls, and maybe even set out a little kiddie beach by adding sand to an inflated pool, fill it with beach toys.
• Hang blue streamers from the ceiling to look like ocean waves.
• Use inflatable, floaties, and palm trees for fun photo spots.
• If you have a pool, you can even turn it into a pool party paired with a beach theme.
• Play some tropical music in the background, like ukulele or steel drums.
• Use beach theme elements for decor like seashells, coconut trees, and starfish.

Food Ideas for Indoor Celebrations

The food options shared above can be used, but since it’s indoors, you can be more creative. Here are a few ideas.

Tropical Appetizers

• “Seashell” sandwiches you can make by filling with ham and cheese with some seasoning in small croissants, they look like a seashell.
• Starfish-shaped cheese crackers or mini pizzas
• Cold pasta salad served in mini beach buckets
• Tropical fruit skewers with pineapple, mango, and kiwi
• Goldfish crackers or popcorn in small sand pails with shovels as scoops

Blue Desserts

• A cake decorated with edible sand (crushed cookies) and sugar seashells
• Cupcakes with blue frosting and crushed cookies to look like sand with tiny paper umbrellas
• “Beach ball” cake pops made with white chocolate and colorful stripes
• Jello cups layered in blue and white to look like ocean waves
• Sugar cookies shaped like starfish, flip-flops, or surfboards

Beverage For Seaside Vibe

• Blue lemonade or a mix of lemonade and blue sports drink for an ocean look
• “Coconut punch” served in hollowed-out coconuts or coconut cups
• Smoothies with tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, and coconut
• Mini bottles of flavored water with beach-themed labels
• Frozen mocktails with a tropical garnish, like pineapple slices or mint

DIY Beach Birthday Decor for Indoor Party

If you want to keep decorations budget-friendly, DIY projects can add personal and creative touches to your party space.

• Make your own seashell garlands using real or craft shells and twine
• Paint mason jars with ocean colors and use them as candle holders
• Create centerpieces with sand, small umbrellas, and mini beach toys
• DIY a welcome sign with driftwood or cardboard painted to look like wood
• Fill clear jars with layered blue and white candies for an edible decoration

I hope this post helps you with practical ideas to plan a fun birthday bash by the sea and you have a memorable celebration just like we had.

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