Octonauts 4th Birthday Party


My children are complete opposites when it comes to picking birthday themes. My daughter will make a (LONG) list of all kinds of things…books, movies, tv shows, toys, candy, etc and then narrow it down until she arrives at what is usually an unexpected choice. My son’s birthday themes are easier to predict. Whatever his favorite toys are at the moment will not only be his theme of choice but also will fill his gift wish list.

So, it was of no big surprise to anyone that his 4th birthday theme choice was….Octonauts! And to be honest, I can’t say that I was sad about it. I love a good under the sea theme and those little characters are so cute, especially Peso the Penguin.




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Did you know that beyond the popular television show (that most every boy-mom knows about), there is also a series of books written by Meomi? They are smart, entertaining and beautifully illustrated.


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Here are the available titles and where to buy them:

The Octonauts Explore the Great Big Ocean

The Octonauts and the Growing Goldfish

The Octonauts and the Frown Fish

The Octonauts and the Great Ghost Reef

The Octonauts and the Only Lonely Monster

The Octonauts and the Sea of Shade

When I create events, I tend to focus a lot of energy on bringing the theme across with one dynamic focal point. More often than not, that focal point will be the dessert table. When you are surrounded by talented bakers, it is the obvious choice.

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My son’s Octonaut dessert table was full of bright colors, especially his favorite BLUE, and lots of different types of sweets. Like most of you, I am a fan of Pinterest and often look to the platform for ideas. (Just because I am a party planner doesn’t mean I know what to do for everything!) I always try and pull a few dessert inspiration pictures and use elements from each to give my vendors some ideas of what I am looking for. I never want to hold their creativity back though so I just suggest things and let them do their thing.

And do their thing they did! For this party, my gals really outdid themselves…April from A Custom Kreation made the fabulous 2-tier cake, Kate from 2 Smart Cookies FL made the adorable character cookies and Nini from Sugar Chic made the Professor Inkling strawberry mousse cups and created cake pops that came to life as Barnacles, Kwazii and Peso.


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An often overlooked area of parties is the food and beverage station. Now, I am not a big fan of theming food and you will never find me naming food items to try and match the theme…a PB&J is just that, a PB&J. But, I do believe is adding decor to make the food and beverage look like part of the party. Simple decor items and themed tableware is all you need to make a real difference.

I especially love to decorate my custom built lemonade stand with decor for every party. It was originally built as an actual lemonade stand for a client but it has been everything from a mimosa bar to a hot chocolate stand to a cotton candy carnival game…definitely worth my investment in it!



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Of course, we had to have the requisite bounce house/slide for this party…I would be ridiculed by my son if I didn’t. But as with every party, I included lots of other games, activities and play areas for guests of all ages. After all what is more fun than a kiddie pool turned ball pit filled with pre-schoolers!

At one station, guests were able to pick up an Octonauts character mask (from CammysCostumes on Etsy) and snap pics with an adorable blue Fujifilm instax Mini camera. I adore this camera and love having it out for parties. The film can get pricey so look for deals (I hear Groupon has good ones) but it is always entertaining what pictures you get and believe me, the cost is worth the memories!

Little guests also had the chance to make these fun Octonauts bracelets with supplies I also bought from CammysCostumes on Etsy.



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After they took their pics, made their bracelet and raided the candy on the sweets table, kiddos could pile their goodies into these DIY doctor bags that I made with White Gable Boxes customized with these stickers (FREE PRINTABLE ALERT!) and a Thank You tag. Inside were some other sea creature themed gifts…a hard toy similar to these and some swedish fish.

The decor around the favor table was one of my favorite DIY projects for this party. Professor Inkling is by far my favorite character….an adorable pink Dumbo octopus that loves books! If you are thinking about having your own Octonauts party, I have linked the instructions on how to make your own Balloon Inkling using simple party and office supplies.



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I hope you enjoyed a peek into my son’s party and got some ideas for your Octonauts bash. Leave me a comment with what you think or if you have any questions about the theme.

Until the Next Adventure!

XO -



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I’d love for you to pin this post to save it for later!

 

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