Beach Party Theme - please give me ideas for games, food, etc?

[onceinalifetime]

We've recklessly decided to hold two parties on the same day - 2 hours for 2yr old ds followed straight afterwards with 2 hours for 4yr old dd. It's going to be at home with a beach party theme and surprise, surprise, I've invited far too many people

Any inspired ideas for games - taking into account potentially disastrous bad weather?

What about props? I think I could end up spending a fortune on inflatable palm trees. Are those helium balloon canisters worth getting?

Any ideas for food? Thinking sandwiches, sausages, fruit kebabs, cupcakes, juice cartons, etc. What I'd love to do is an ice cream stand with bowls of marshmallows, hundreds and thousands, etc to put on the ice creams but this will require a volunteer. Tapas type stuff for the adults with jugs of sangria as well as soft drinks.

If I use skewers or cocktail sticks, is a toddler stabbing on the horizon?

Any ideas welcome, thanks.

Anyone?

bump

Helium balloon canisters are great - and helium balloons look a hundred times classier than non-helium filled balloons!

All that you have said sounds great. Can I come?

How about getting in a candy floss machine, or a surf machine for the older ones (and adults) or having beach-themed games? Like volleyball and bat-and-ball for outside. And you could get some sand in (you can get it cheap) and have a sandcastle building competition? Maybe set up a coconut shy, you could make papier mache ones if you wanted? Or a Limbo competition? Also, of you have a little spanish theme going on, maybe a pinata. Maybe do like pin the tail on the donkey, but instead use a big sun and sunglasses, or a hawaiian girl and a grass skirt or something?

Maybe give everyone a lei when they arrive?

I will keep thinking..

Thanks DSM, we've got a roof terrace, not a garden so have to be careful with ball games as they could short-lived/hazardous to passers-by . We've got a sandpit and paddling pool, deckchairs and mini parasol.

Coconut shy is great idea - will have to think of what to stand them on. Like the sun and sunglasses/tail on donkey idea.

What's a surf machine? A simulator thing?

Yeah, its like a surf simulator. I hired one for a party I did once. They are really, really good fun!

Ah, just looked them up - they look great fun but I haven't got enough space for it.

I need to get some beach type things, like windmills and buckets and spades which could be a bit challenging as I'm in London and nowhere near a beach.

Do you have time to order them online and have them delivered?

Use brown paper for palm trunks and green for leaves, bluetak them to walls or wherever you can. cover an area with blue paper then create water ripple effect with silver paper, cut out fish shapes for little ones to decorate, use bamboo canes with string and paper clip, unbend iyswim, same on fish mouth and have a fishing competition. Limbo dancing using bamboo cane.Lilo and Stitch dvd just in case you need a back up something and of course music has to be the Beach Boys. Good luck.

That's brilliant, thanks - will need to go and get various paper and stuff.

Just ordered a lot of party bag and prize stuff from Baker Ross - they do the windmills, dolphin and parrot balloons on sticks, ice cream shaped bottles of bubbles and 36 pairs of sunglasses for £4! Got 10% discount too.

You can make windmills - google for a pattern to cut & fold
Fishing - card fish with a paperclip & a magnet on a pol
We also did Find the Fish & hid cardboard fish around the garden - see who can collect (catch) the most
Treasure HUnt with clues
Digging the treasure - hide objects in the sand pit

You can get backdrops of beach things

Where do you live?
I have a load of beach party stuff you can borrow (had one a couple of years ago)

A couple of palm trees
cocktail sticks with palm trees on
backdrop (i think i still have)
hula skirt etc for dd

CD, that would be fantastic, I'm in London - SE1 - where are you?

Right, have decided our very boring hall will be turned into an underwater scene with blue paper sea, fish and seaweed and pillars in the living room will be palm trees. DH will kill me, he's already dreading it. Need to do everything with a bad weather back up plan.

SW14 - not too far!
I work in Camden if that is any good
Am around next week due to half term if you wanted to nip over

let me have a look in my party drawer and see what I have tonight

Are you sure? I am can come over and collect. Thanks very much.

'I can come over'

Isn't MN great !

Yes of course
Let me see what I kept though as if it isn't much I could post it to save you the journey

do you want to email me
countessdrac at gmail dot com