My now 3-year-old toddler daughter loves sharks so we decided that was going to be her third birthday theme. She is not very into baby shark, though, just real sharks. Her favorite species of shark was hammerhead shark (until, of course, the week of the party, when she informed me that it’s actually great white shark – typical toddler!) I got lots of shark decorations but tried to shy away from scary and bloody ones. I was so thankful for amazon because if I had to do this when I was a kid, I think I would have had to make all the decorations myself! I don’t remember seeing any shark-themed parties, even at Party City.
If you’re looking for gifts for a shark-loving toddler, you can check out my post here.
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Decorations:
- Waterfall doorway streamers
- Hanging spirals and sharks
- Shark dining set (be aware no large plates are included; I didn’t realize it and had to send my husband out last-minute for large food plates)
- Shark balloons which I filled up at Party City for about $8 each (the price fluctuates based on the size of the balloons and yes, this was pricey but they’ll last awhile and she loves them). Some dollar stores also fill up balloons that you can bring in, but the ones around me don’t.
- All her stuffed sharks set up on her shark blanket in a corner
- Clear vases with pebbles and her plastic shark figures as centerpieces
Cake
The cake was my personal highlight while preparing for this birthday party. I used a local mom baker who works out of her home. I found her via recommendations on my local mom facebook group and love her work. Her cakes are beautiful, and tasty. We also hired her to make the beautiful cookies for my son’s Canticos first birthday party back in July – she’s definitely an artist! I highly recommend using a local baker if it’s in your budget (my baker is very reasonable – this cake cost us $140 with two differently-flavored tiers and all those sharks on the top).
For food, we just got a bunch of snacks (including goldfiish) at Costco, and ordered Shakeys.
Birthday outfit
I bought her a special handmade birthday outfit (this one is baby shark themed but it’s so cute and Lily loved it! It was handmade by KellerfulCreations on Etsy.
Craft:
I had planned out a Shark craft for the toddlers to do but they spent almost the entire party playing with the toys in the playroom so I didn’t need the activity. Instead, I saved it for a new activity for me and Lily. I got the idea and instructions here (and so you can see how it’s supposed to turn out): https://buggyandbuddy.com/shark-crafts-for-preschoolers-shark-suncatcher/ And I found the fish outlines here: https://onelittleproject.com/fish-outlines/
