My son turned five in December and it was his third annual shark party. It’s always nice to repeat themes when you have a birthday two days after Christmas!
I used some stuff from previous shark parties as well as some decor from his submarine themed room – I’m all about double duty! Everything else I got from Party City or downloaded Etsy printables (links below).
This is what I started with: a couple old banners (the “Ethan” is currently in his room) and some bunting from Party City.
Then I decided to add in some of his shark crafts, so I dug through the artwork in his room and spent an hour hanging them, only to have him come home upset because I didn’t ask him. Lesson learned: don’t surprise artists!
It wasn’t exactly the reaction I expected, and at one point he even told me that I ruined his birthday, but he eventually forgave me and was showing off all the shark species to the fam.
The cake and cupcakes were the biggest labor of love. I thought it would be easy to cut a shark (I used two round cakes), but it turns out that cake isn’t really easy to frost when it’s been cut. I felt like I was losing my mind at 2 a.m. and then to top it off, I looked at the ingredient list of the silver spray icing (they might as well call is spray paint) and I was ready to throw in the towel.
But I’m too stubborn, so I finished and luckily he loved it. He named him “Sharka” and told us that no one could eat him, which I was happy about because I didn’t want anyone to ingest the spray icing chemicals. It’s a good thing I made cupcakes as well!
I wanted the cupcake icing to look like waves so I just used an icing tip that had the lines and did little bumps with it. That’s the technical term: bumps. Just kidding – I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to cake decorating – I just wing it.
I used Etsy printables for the liner and topper.
Here is the rest. One of his shark creations was a perfect centerpiece for the banners.
Love Panera catering when you need some easy lunch options.
Once I added the balloons, it was a lot. But I like a little over the top for birthdays. 😉
He also enjoyed a game of sharks and crocodiles with the fam.
I downloaded some shark party photo booth props from Etsy – those were a big hit.
It was a fun “5” birthday!
Etsy printables links (all instant downloads):
Shark Sighting: Enter at Own Risk sign – $2
Shark fin cupcake toppers – $7
Photo booth props – $7
These shark parties are so cute! And his face in the pic where he discovered you used his artwork? Haha!! Way to keep it real. Love the “bumps” on the cupcakes. You did a great job on everything!!
Thank you, Amanda! Last year it was the sparkler candle that set him off, haha.