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Shark Birthday Party Ideas
Shark Tale is a fun theme to base your party celebration on. Kids will absolutely love it!
Shark birthday party ideas from this page will help you plan a spectacular event!
Resources:
Party Supplies Free Printable Invitations
Invitations
Print images of sharks on the front of your shark birthday party invitations, and write "Let's Play with Sharks!" Then on the inside print a photo of your child standing in bathing suit with "shark" swimming goggles (available at most swimming supplies stores) over his or her eyes.
The invitation wording can say "Come celebrate (child's name) __th Birthday!" Then include the rest of the party details following with "You Will Get Wet... Hopefully Not Eaten!"
Decorations
Best colors to use for your Shark Tale party decorations are blue, yellow and lime green. Make a balloon arch by tying balloons (about 12" apart) on a kite string. Cut out and tape tropical fish to the fence. Post a sign that says "Welcome to Shark Birthday Party!". Play Shark Tale theme music in the background.
Ask the birthday child to decorate driveway with a colorful chalk, drawing sharks and coming up with more of his or her own designs. If you can get a Shark Tale character standee, then put it in the middle of the yard. Create various signs to post around the play area and party room: "Watch out for the Sharks!", "No Lifeguard on Duty!", etc.
Make small stuffed sharks: simply cut out shark shapes from silver, white, black and blue paper. Then put two shapes side by side, stuff with cotton balls and staple together. Decorate the "sharks" by drawing eyes, mouths and gills. Hang them from tree branches and from furniture fixtures inside the house.
You can cover the lights in shark birthday party room with blue cellophane paper which will give the party an "ocean feeling." Hang Shark Tale posters on the walls. Spread stuffed sea animals around the room.
Drape green netting (available at most department stores) from the ceiling to represent seaweed. (You can also hang lots of green paper streamers for the same effect.) Place fish nets in the party room, and insert small toy (or inflatable) fish in the nets.
Cover your shark birthday party table with a theme tablecloth. Place a large seashell for a centerpiece. Use large clam shells and new pails to serve food in. Tie helium balloons to the backs of the chairs. (Have Shark Tale Mylar balloon for the birthday child.)
Guest Arrival and Introductory Activities
Greet your guests as they arrive and welcome them to your Shark Tale party. Provide them with diving masks and other gear.
*Shark Tale Coloring Pages: Invite your shark birthday party guests to color activity book pages while they are waiting for others to arrive.
*Design a T-Shirt: Have children print seashell designs on white T-shirts or tank tops. Put newspaper inside T-shirts to prevent bleed-through. Next, pour paint onto the sponge. Press the outside of the seashell into the paint and then onto a shirt. Repeat the process experimenting with various colors.
*Fishing for a Name: Before the party, write names of various sea animals on masking tape strips, so each kid would have one. When the kids arrive, attach a strip to each child's back, but don't let them see it. The children must try to guess which sea animal is on their back by asking questions that can be answered "yes" or "no."
As a variation, write names of the characters from the Shark Tale movie. (Use pictures for young kids.)
Favors
For shark birthday party favors, hand out such items as plastic tropical fish, starfish, sea shells, diving masks, squirt guns, Shark Tale sticker sheets, blowouts, etc.
Shark Birthday Party Games
*Pin the Fin on Lenny: For this shark party activity, enlarge and glue an image of Lenny the Shark onto a poster board. Draw and cut out fins from grey or blue construction paper. (Make sure that you have enough fins for all your party guests.) Write guests' names and put double-sided tape on the back of each fin.
Mount the poster of Lenny on the wall. Blindfold the kids one by one, spin them around and get them to stick their fins on Lenny where they belong.
*Shark Alert: Before the party, create a cardboard cutout of a shark fin that children can wear on their back. You'll need to attach extra cardboard at the base so the fin doesn't flip over. Cut a hole at the base, and thread with the string or fabric strip so it can be tied around child's waist. Next, hide the fin.
At game time, invite the kids to "hunt" for the fin. The first child to find it must put it on as secretly as possible and start catching fish (everyone else). When a fish spots a shark, it should send out an alarm yelling "Shark Alert!" so players can hide.
Whenever the shark catches a fish, the fish has to go to a designated area called the "frying pan." All the fish there must remain still with their fins (legs) spread out, until a free fish rescues them by "swimming" through their legs. The game ends when all the fish have been caught, or when it's time to move on to the next game.
*Tall Shark Tale: Here is an activity where the kids can create their own story.
Invite all your shark birthday party guests to write a beginning sentence on a slip of paper about sea life. (e.g., "Once upon a time, deep under the water surface an octopus was born.") Put all the slips of paper into a bowl.
Have the kids sit in a circle. Choose one player to pick one slip from a bowl, read it out loud, and then add a sentence related to the original one (but even more exaggerated than the last). The round continues until everyone has had a chance to add a sentence. Then a new slip can be drawn.
*Hip Hop 'Till You Flop: Play some of Oscar's favorite music: hip hop! Invite the guests do dance as long as they can, but only on one leg! If they touch the floor with another leg - they are out. Have them continue until there is only one person who hasn't flopped. He's the winner.
*Musical Sea Animal: Have your shark birthday party guests sit in a circle. Play lively music in the background, and let the kids pass around a sea animal toy. Whenever the music stops the person holding the toy - goes out of the game and receives a prize (e.g., favor bag). Play until everyone has won a prize.
*What Time is it Mister Shark?: Pick one player to be the Shark. Get him to stand on one side of the party area, while the rest of the kids stand on the other side. (The Shark should stand with his back towards other players and looking away the entire time.)
The group calls "What time is it Mister Shark?" and the shark responds with "5 (or any other number) o'clock". The group then makes 5 steps toward the shark.
The game continues in this manner until the Shark decides to answer "Dinner time!" At that moment the kids run away to safety while the Shark tries to catch them. The last player to get caught is the next Shark.
*Beanbag Fish Toss: Place candies or small prizes in three or four pails. Place the pails against the wall. Provide a couple of beanbags for children to throw. (It's ideal that you have the beanbags that look like fish, but it's not crucial!)
Have the kids take turns throwing beanbags into the pails. Allow children to choose a prize from whatever bucket the beanbag lands in. Be sure that every guest receives a prize.
*Fish Pond: Here is a great shark birthday party activity for a group of young kids. Hang a line of clothesline, or rope about 6 feet from the floor, and spread a sheet over it to create a fishing wall. Next, take a fishing pole, or a long stick, and attach string to one end; tie a clothespin or a paper clip to the other end.
Then create a variety of goody bags and label each with a different sea animal name. Cut out fish shapes from construction paper and label each with a fish name to match those on the goodie bags.
Put the fish shapes into a designated "fish" bowl and have each child draw one. Kids then take turns baiting the clothespin "hook" with their fish and throwing the line over the fishing wall. On the other side of the fishing wall you remove the fish and attach the matching goodie bag. Give the string a good tug to show something is on the line. Kids haul in their catch and enjoy!
*Watch a Show: Invite the kids to watch Shark Tale movie at the end of the party. It's a great way to calmly entertain the kids while they waiting for their parents to arrive.
Food and Drink Shark Tale Birthday Cake:
*Something's Fishy Cake: Bake two round cakes. When cool, place one layer on a large piece of cardboard covered with foil. Cut the second layer into fins, a tail, etc. Trim the curved edges of the fins and tail, so they fit snuggly against the round edge of the body piece.
Frost with bright blue icing. Decorate with NeccoŽ or other colorful candy to make scales, an eye, mouth, etc. For more fun, spread a lighter shade of blue frosting on the cardboard or serving tray to make it look like the "fish" is swimming in the water. Shark Birthday Party Food Ideas:
*"Seanut Butter & Jellyfish" Sandwiches: Prepare a bunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cut them into fish shapes. To do this, carve a horizontal oval with pointy ends, and add a triangle so the point of the triangle meets one point of the oval.
*Lenny's Sea & Cheese: For this shark birthday party recipe, you'll need 16 oz of seashell pasta, 2 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 2 tbsp of melted butter and 2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
Boil pasta for 5 minutes until partially cooked, and drain. Place in a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish. Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl. Then add butter and cheese, and mix well. Pour over pasta and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 30-40 minutes. (Cover with foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent scorching.)
*Angie's Sweet Cupcakes: Bake regular cupcakes and let them cool. Frost with tinted blue icing. Pile the icing in extra thick shape "waves" (if possible) and top with gummy sharks.
*Frankie's Favorite Tuna Melts: For this shark birthday party recipe, you'll need 1 can tuna, 2 tbsp mayonnaise, English muffins, chopped celery and mozzarella cheese slices.
Mix tuna with mayonnaise and add celery. Spread on top of split English muffins. Bake at 375°F until golden, then add a slice of cheese and bake again until it melts.
*Octopus & Seaweed: Take a hotdog and cut an "x" on each end creating 4 "octopus legs" on each side. Serve hotdogs on a platter of "seaweed" (green spinach linguine noodles). Add butter and parmesan cheese to the noodles for extra flavor.
*Gelatin Sea: Cover the bottom of a large, clear bowl with fruit cocktail (about 30 oz). Make gelatin from 6-oz package according to directions. Slowly pour the gelatin over the fruit, and place uncovered in the refrigerator to chill. Once the gelatin has set, cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
*Seashell Snacks: Fill sea shells with various snacks like nuts, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, fish-shaped crackers, banana chips, dried fruit pieces, etc.
*Sweet Sharks: Make sugar cookies with blue icing and happy faces.
*Goldfish Crackers
*Gummy Sharks
*"Turtle Eggs" (meatballs) Shark Birthday Party Drink Ideas:
*Shark Punch: A day before the Shark Tale party, make "shark ice cubes" by freezing gummy shark candy in ice cube trays filled with water. Let the trays stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes to remove air bubbles.
Prepare drink mix, such as Kool-AidŽ, according to package directions. Pour into a punch bowl and add 2 liters of ginger ale. When serving, place 2 or 3 "shark cubes" in tall, clear glasses and fill with punch.
*Ocean Cocktail: Mix SpriteŽ with Kool-Aid.
*Tropical Fruit Punch
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