Explore the undersea world of Spongebob at your child's birthday party.
Many kids are fans of the cartoon "Spongebob Squarepants," so if your little one rushes home to watch the the show, host a Spongebob party for his next birthday. Learn a little about the show -- the characters, setting and general story-lines -- to help you with the planning. Many Spongebob decorations, favors, invitations and other party supplies are available from party stores, but you can create your own items, too. Consider hosting the party at a beach or community pool, since the cartoon takes place underwater. Does this Spark an idea?
Decorations
Make sure your party color schemes match the Spongebob cartoon hues.
Drape blue sheets and blankets over the furniture or hang them on the wall and pin paper fish and sea creatures to them. Hang netting on the walls and tape blue or white paper bubbles around the party area. Use bright colors, particularly Spongebob's shade of yellow and Patrick's pink, in addition to the undersea blue. Many items from a tropical-themed party would also work at a Spongebob party, such as sand pails, sand dollars and beach umbrellas. Make an octopus centerpiece from one large round balloon and eight long ones.
Activities
Retain the "sponge" theme throughout the party.
Play pin-the-pants-on-Spongebob, just as you would play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. Print out a picture of the character and trace his pants for a template. You can also have a crafting corner during the party where kids can do some sponge painting. Cut up regular sponges into small squares and put one square in each of several colors of paint. Lay out white paper and an example of an undersea scene done in sponge-paint. Blow bubbles for younger children to chase or create a jellyfish scavenger hunt for older children. Hide cutouts of jellyfish throughout the party venue; give a prize to the guest who finds the most.
Food
Pineapple adds to the fun.
Since Spongebob lives in a pineapple, be sure to have plenty of this fruit around. You can use them for decorating and cut them up as the kids eat. Make some healthy fruit kabobs as well as a batch of cookies to decorate like the cartoon characters. Bake rectangles for Spongebob and stars for Patrick, then ice them with yellow and pink icing. Add mini-marshmallows with chocolate chips in the center for eyes. You can also ice cupcakes in yellow or pink and add the eyes, or frost them all pink and arrange them in the shape of a starfish on the serving platter.
Favors
Buy sand buckets to use as goody bags for take-home party favors.
Buy some little sand buckets from the dollar store to make into goody bags. Put a bottle of bubbles into each pail along with a few chocolate shells and some tropical dried fruit mix. Kids will get a kick out of Spongebobs made from regular sponges. Draw a face with big eyes, eye lashes, a long nose and two teeth to make it look like Spongebob.
Tags: goody bags, regular sponges, sand buckets, Spongebob party, throughout party, white paper