Beach themed candy bar decorations were a hit at my daughters 5th birthday party. She had a mermaid themed birthday party. I took liberty and included beach type things too. We had a candy bar buffet with different candy types that were given beach themed names like – Salt Water taffy, Golden Sea Pearl bubble gum balls, Green Sea pearl Sixlets, Fish Bait Gummy Worms and Gold coins. The candy and the buckets were sent to me by Oriental Trading Co. and I received product samples in exchange for my honest review. The beach themed Candy bar decorations were delicious according to the kids in attendance. It is candy, what’s not to love? I created the decorations for the outside of the jars using this tutorial and the labels for the candy were made from art I purchased from Ann Krier at Whimsyville and this tutorial.
The names for the beach themed Candy bar decorations if you want to copy and paste the list:
Salt Water taffy (Taffy)
Golden Sea Pearl bubble gum balls (Gum balls)
Turquoise Sea Pearls (Chocolates)
Fish Bait Gummy Worms
Gold coins
Supplies for beach themed candy bar decorations:
- Muslin
- Scissors
- Jute cording
- Starfish (Tutorial)
- Labels
The candy from the buffet went home in personalized mini beach buckets and the shell sand art were the other favors. I tried to keep it as junk free as possible. I try to keep the piles of plastic crap to a minimum in our house so we picked something that could be reused. My daughter uses her bucket on her desk with pens in it.
To personalize the mini bucket – have someone with neat handwriting (my mom – not me) write the names of the children on each bucket as they arrive. If you do it in the beginning it will give the names time to dry. I think the extra time helps it to stay on better and prevents smearing. I could be wrong.. LOL but I will still stick with my theory.
To decorate the jars my mom and I made a ton of Polymer Clay Star fish using the same technique that was used on the headband. ( link) Unbleached muslin is one thing I pretty much always have on hand. It is really inexpensive. I purchase it by the bolt I use it so much. One reason I use it is because I love how it frays. To create an awesome frayed edge, snip one edge of the fabric about an inch and then rip it off of the main fabric. Do that for as many strips as you need. I think I used about an 1/4th of a yard for the entire party. When it is only $1.20 a yard it comes to about $0.60 for all the strips on the jars. I am totally positive I used less than a $1 of muslin. To top of the frayed muslin strips after tying them on anything and everything, I hot glued on starfish.
My secret to making parties look extravagant is to use one decoration and place it on everything. When I say everything I really mean it. I add it to baskets, serving dishes, serving trays, light fixtures, ice buckets and anything else I can. I reuse the same dishes and containers for most events. I keep my basic pieces just that basic. The extra details come in the less expensive things to change like linens and little decorative accents.
This was her outfit for the party. Mermaid Tutu Tutorial Here
What a cute birthday party theme! I wish my mom did this for me when I was little!:) I’m sure everyone had a great time, your decorations look GREAT!
Thanks. I went a little overboard but it was worth it. I never had this kind of a party either.
I love the tip of coming up with one decoration and using it on everything! Very cute theme.
It really does make a difference. I did it with Hello Kitty too.
Oh the mermaid parties… my daughter would have one every year if I would let her. I love the candy decor. Super cute!!
I am pretty sure I would let mine have a second one… this one was so much fun.
LOVE this! So very cute! I did a candy bar at my wedding, it was a hit! Was kind of sad there wasn’t much candy left for me. 🙂
That sounds fun at a wedding too. Congratulations.
I’m in love. My daughters birthday is tomorrow and unfortunately she wanted power rangers but next year I am doing mermaids theme!!!!
You have a whole year to work on her….LOL
What a fun birthday idea. I bet the kids loved the chocolate pirate coins the best!
I am not sure what they loved the best. It was a feeding frenzy.
This is such a great idea for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. All different colored salt water taffy is all I can think of having. Lol
Sounds delicious salt water taffy is delicious.
What a cute idea-what kid wouldn’t like this? Even adults would like it!
The adults certainly did too.
I LOVE Oriental Trading Company; they have such great items! These decorations are the cutest! Perfect for a summer birthday.
Thank you my daughter loved it and OTC does have great stuff at nice prices.
What a fun party, great job on the decorations and theme. Just love anything beach themed.
Thanks my daughter loved it too.
Pinned! Very pretty colors and decore ideas. We love us some beach themes! Also salt-water taffy…so smart!
Thanks. We love the beach too and the taffy was amazing.
What a cute theme! The starfish blow me away. They’re very realistic.
Thanks. The mold is what makes it so realistic looking.
This is so cute. Thanks so much for sharing. We love the beach and beach themed things. I have pinned this!
Thank you for pinning. It is a huge vote of confidence when people let us know they like our projects.