Party # 67: Under the Sea

With the youngest member of the herd turning 9, I can feel the cutesy theme parties slipping away. Maybe I'll get to do a few more...maybe. I wasn't taking any chances though. I was determined to make this party awesome.

I started a few weeks ago. I ordered party supplies. I made coral from dyed coffee filters. I covered suckers with tissue paper and twisted on little pipe cleaner legs; glued on wiggly eyes and made them into octopuses. Or octopi. Merriam Webster is undecided. I put together 24 adorable little party favor bags and tied them up with curling ribbon, a seashell strung from each one. I put all of the party supplies on the hearth.

And then...

We returned home one evening to a massacre. 

The dog sniffed out the fun-size candy bars tucked into each party favor and shredded the bags to retrieve them. He ate 20 candy bars, wrapper and all, and in the process he crunched the bubble containers and soaked everything in bubble solution and slobber. 

So, with just a few days before the party, we started over. It became a group effort. We picked up some ocean-themed favors and a new set of treat bags. I stuffed them Friday night and The Boy and his girlfriend tied them with ribbon just minutes before the party. All's well that ends well, right? (Shaking my fist at the dog.)  

We covered the dining room with water-print paper and hung crepe paper seaweed to set a very under-the-sea mood. 

Set out a few fishy thrift store finds...

The Big Guy made some jelly fish, a la dyed coffee filters and plastic table cloth strips...

And he painted a boat bottom to hang from the ceiling so we could truly feel under the sea.  

I baked and frosted cupcakes (20 minutes before the party started) and we were all set!

Little Bean said it was the best birthday party ever. 

What more could a mother ask for?

(Shaking my fist at the dog.)