Nautical Birthday for Your Little Sailor

If you are celebrating a child’s birthday in the summer months, try planning a nautical themed birthday for your little one.  Whether you live near the ocean or in the middle of the country, a nautical theme will conjure up images of summer fun. This theme is also perfect for a Spring or Summer baby shower!

• Decorations: Start by establishing a color scheme. Classic nautical colors like navy and red are gender neutral and can be coordinated with other colors and patterns. Add accents like anchors, whales, or ship wheels to make a sweet statement on the decorations and cake.

• Welcome Activity: Buy sailor hats, or make your own using newspaper, and have the kids decorate their hats. This can be a fun activity for kids old enough to cut and fold. For smaller kids, set up a sandbox with sand toys, and fill a kiddie pool with tub toys like little boats and fish.

• Main Activity: Create a nautical obstacle course. Put 6 or 8 buoys on the ground and have the kids run through them. Then put out a couple treasure chests full of sand that the kids need to dig through to find a nautical flag (each kid will pull out a different flag). Once the kids find their flag, have them run through a couple more creative obstacles then end at a table with all of the nautical flags. They need to find the match to the one they pulled out of the treasure chest. The kid with the fastest time through the obstacle course wins!

• End of Party Activity: Reuse the treasure chests at the end of the party. Create treasure maps for kids that lead to the goody bags. Fill goody bags with saltwater taffy, little toy boats, and temporary tattoos!

A nautical theme can be as simple or as elaborate as you'd like. Have fun getting carried away and get ready to make a splash at your child’s next birthday!