January 7, 2012

Dolphin Birthday Party

My daughter turned 9 this past November and asked for a dolphin party.
When she told me she wanted a dolphin party, I was not enthusiastic.  I tried to talk her into many other themes which I thought would be much more fun and much easier to plan.  I even came up with an awesome foot themed party that I thought would be hilarious, but she was less then thrilled with that idea.  However, we came up with some fun activities and I think everyone who came had a good time.

When the partygoers arrived, they drew on our traditional "mural on the hallway wall".  This is a great opening activity because it gives the kids something to do while they are waiting for the other kids, and sometimes kids go back and do more on it during the party.





We started the dolphin party by practicing to catch fish in our mouths, ya know, like dolphins do.  I gave everyone a cup of goldfish and they all practiced.  It was fun to watch.  Some were quite incapable of tossing the goldfish anywhere close to them.  After a while, they all sat down and took turns demonstrating their fish catching prowess, if they wanted to.


catching fish

Next, I gave everyone a little stuffed dolphin (I had found these for about a dollar each at a place in town that sells things from oriental trading company) and we threw the dolphins through a hula hoop.  The kids stood in a line and took turns.  If they missed, they sat down.  If they made it, they went to the back of line.  I moved farther back with the hula hoop each round.



Then we put the dolphins aside and decided to throw ourselves through the hula hoop.  I got our gymnastics mat out ($5 at a yard sale, such a great deal) and the kids who were interested took turns jumping through the hoop.  Some even did rolls or spins through it.  Fortunately, no one was hurt.




Next we played a shark/dolphin version of the "detective handshake" game I used to play with students in summer school. In this game the kids would close their eyes while I walked around and tapped one of them on the head.  This child was the "shark". Then everyone opened their eyes. They walked around shaking hands with the other players.  If the shark decided to eat a dolphin, he would gently scratch the inside of that person's hand while they were shaking hands.  The dolphin was supposed to shake 2 more hands and then die a dramatic death.  The playing stopped, anyone who had been scratched but hadn't died yet went ahead and did their dramatic death,  and I let a couple of people guess who they thought the shark was.  If no one got it right, we kept playing.  The kids thought this game was a lot of fun, and it took a while for some of them to remember the 2 handshakes after being scratched rule, so it was easier to guess the shark.  We played many rounds, and we went back and played more after cake and presents.


This picture makes me laugh for 2 reasons - first, my little 2 year old decided
to lie down and be dead with the other kids, and second, it looks like Maren's
friend Josh is stepping on him.  


For the dolphin cake, I used green sour strings for the seaweed, and airheads and starburst to form fish, a mermaid, and a dolphin.

I used sprinkles around the bottom for the sandy ocean floor

This dolphin was on top of the cake.  I thought it was pretty cute.


 We sent the kids home with a party bag full of ocean things, such as sweedish fish, a handful of salt water taffy, bubbles, an ocean themed eraser, their stuffed dolphins, and a glittery plastic necklace which I had initially planned to use in some kind of ring toss game, but the kids liked using them as mini hoops to throw their stuffed dolphins through.




It turned out to be a great party, but I'm still going to try and get her to do a foot party someday.







27 comments:

  1. This all sounds so fun. I think we're going to have to have a dolphin party here some time.

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  2. Such a fun idea with the mural! I'll have to keep that in mind for when I have little ones. I love all the water themed games, and that cake is gorgeous! Glad the kiddies had a great time!

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  3. You are so creative. I love what you did with the party!

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  4. Found you on Nap Time Crafters. Such a fantastic post! Would you please share this with our readers for Fun Stuff Fridays? http://www.toysinthedryer.com/2012/01/fun-stuff-fridays-6.html

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  5. Wow! Great ideas. Going to borrow some ideas for my daughters dolphin party!

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  6. This is the best way to make fun at the special day of kids birthday party in Orlando.

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  7. I love these ideas! My three year old wants a dolphin party and I had no ideas for activities, especially since it's an October birthday. Thank you for sharing these great ideas...and the cake is adorable!

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    1. thanks! so glad my ideas are useful to someone else. Have a fun party!

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  8. A Dolphin party is simply unique. Although it may not sound easy at first, but for as long as you have your creativeness and willingness with you, planning can be easier. Of course, party bags to go with the theme are plus factors to achieve such a cool celebration. Kudos for a job well done! :)

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  9. We just got back from Sea World, so my five-year old wants a dolphin party. These are such great ideas!

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  10. Love the mural on the wall idea! Where do you buy the big paper? Thanks!

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    1. I got mine from my mother in law who had some left over from teaching days. But I know you can find it at parent-teacher stores in large rolls or you can buy some by the foot.

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  11. Great party, I am trying to find ideas for my daughters dolphin party, and am so glad I found your fun party!

    Carlee
    www.ladybirdln.com

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    1. Thanks Carlee! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  12. Great ideas. Planning my daughters dolphin party for tomorrow.

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  13. Great ideas thank you,my daughter is turning 3 and she wants a dolphin party so you definitely helped me....

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  14. Fantastic Job!! I will definately borrow some of these ideas for my little girl's 4th B-day! She is Winter Dolphin obsessed! Thanks so much for sharing!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and commenting! You made my day! I'm so happy when I can help.

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  15. I also want to say a huge thank you for these fantastic ideas. I had no idea how solve this 'dolphin party' mystery, but your description helped me a lot. Thank you and kind regards from Hungary. :-)

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  16. Thank you so much for all of these great ideas!! I too had been initially stumped by my daughter who is also turning 9 in November and wanted a Dolphin-themed party. Thanks to your help, the project is no longer a daunting one but fun!

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  17. Hi! Love your ideas. Where did you buy the paper for the wall mural? It looks like one big piece. Thanks in advance! ZB

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    1. Hi ZB! I bought the roll of paper at a local parent-teacher store. It looks like you can also get some at amazon (and this is an affiliate link): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IDXW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00006IDXW&linkCode=as2&tag=chickenbabies-20&linkId=SSB26MKFHZM2QN4I

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  18. Thank you for these great ideas! They all seem fun and manageable. I am definitely going to use some or maybe even all of them for my daughter's 6th Birthday party!

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  19. Fantastic ideas as my Miss 6 has asked for a Dolphin Party for her 7th birthday. I did my best to sway her into something easier but even Mermaids are not allowed *sigh*
    Thank you!

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