An underwater background sets the mood for your party.
The best beach party decorations are ones that consistently reflect the theme and put all your guests in celebratory moods. Achieve this by placing seaside-related props and other embellishments throughout the location of your beach bash. Does this Spark an idea?
Transforming Your Space
You can use a number of decorations to make guests feel like they're really at a beach. Laying out such items as beach umbrellas, suntan lotion, goggles, floaties, hula skirts, coconut bras, surfboards, life jackets, colorful towels, buoys and beach balls is easy to do and very effective. Flower garlands, beach pails and shovels can enhance the theme. If you have the time, it's a good idea to go a beach and fill up a couple of bags with sand, or just purchase sand at a toy store if you don't live near the beach. You can spread the sand out in different areas, and add such items as starfish, shells or flip-flops to the piles. Dollar stores, party supply stores and craft shops are great resources when it comes to finding these items at reasonable prices.
Additionally, consider making your own decorations using construction paper, poster board, glue, markers, scissors, tape and glitter. Various websites offer free beach-themed clip art and templates for signs and banners. For example, draw or print out pictures of beach balls, flip-flops, seashells, sand castles, palm trees and other beach-related images. Color in the pictures and hang them around your space. Additionally, make poster-board signs with such warnings as "No Lifeguard on Duty," "Low Tide" and "Dangerous Currents Ahead." For a keepsake, have each guest sign his name and write a message on the board.
Balloons and streamers add color and a beachlike vibe to your party. Hang them from trees, doors, gates, tables and your entryway or mailbox. The balloons can follow the classic beach-ball color scheme (blue, white, red, yellow and green), convey a more tropical vibe or be in different shades of blue for water. A number of retailers sell inflatable palm trees, mermaids, beach balls, flip-flops, hula girls, rafts, ice cream, popsicles, anchors, fish, surfboards and more.
Table Decor and Furniture
Beach furniture, lounge chairs and tables can also serve as decorations. Entwine flowers (fake or real) around the legs of tables and chairs, and light tiki torches around them. Purchase beach-themed tablecloths and matching themed plates, cups and napkins, or get the plates and cutlery in colors to match the balloons and decorations. Place cards can be made from paper beach balls or other items.
For the centerpiece, consider making your own treasure chest, lining up different seashells or scattering plastic fish bowls filled with sand. Arranging tea lights alongside the center of the table over a bit of sand or next to the centerpiece makes for a catchy effect. If you have old books or magazines lying around, cover them with paper and make up your own titles and pictures. For example, you can create magazines with such titles as "Surf's Up," "Hang Ten" and "Beach Yard Boogie" to place around the table.
Games, Party Favors and Other Ideas
Before the party, send out beach-themed invitations that tell the guests to wear their best beach attire (bathing suits, Hawaiian shirts, wetsuits and other apparel). Blow up a kiddy pool, and fill it with water for the guests to cool off in. You may also want to set up a sandbox where partygoers can play and build castles. Games and party favors can also be part of your decor. For example, lay out hula hoops and hold a hula-hooping contest, or see who can build the best sand castle. Set up a net to play volleyball or badminton. If you're playing games, give out party favors that double as decorations, such as whistles, sunscreen, water balloons and pistols, sunglasses, noisemakers, leis, inflatable balls, pails and shovels, hula skirts and bubbles. The music and food at your party can also reflect your themed bash. Playing beach-related tunes (think the Beach Boys or Bob Marley) is another way to help loosen the mood and get your guests in a beach frame of mind.
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