Jamie Gottschall IndomitableStyle: Nautical Inspired Children's Party Made Simple

Nautical Inspired Children's Party Made Simple

Above: glass apothecary jars filled with gummy fish, sharks and more make for the perfect nautical sweet nautical birthday treat

Is your child celebrating a summer birthday like mine? One that is celebrated between three patriotic holidays: Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day? Well, then you probably have already hosted an Independence Day theme. Let's face it though, you still have that yearning patriotic spirit that you just can't seem to shake. If you are anything like me, this is tried and true,

Above: a lighthouse I found at a craft store made a simply perfect nautical centerpiece. The openings at the top made the perfect place to anchor some mini flags. I tied red and blue balloons to the top.

Need an event planner? NOT! What you need is one simple item to inspire an entire theme and for me, it was a lighthouse I found in a craft store. That's right, I built my sons party around a lighthouse. With that said, I decided to make it a Cape Cod theme and began hunting for beach like treasures. It couldn't have been easier, as it was summer and beach items and accessories were abundant from the grocery store to the craft and dollar stores. I have found Walmart to be extremely patriotic and loaded with red, white and blue merchandise even in the off season. Kudos Walmart for being not only an amazing resource, but über American!!

Above: patriotic candy sticks

Above: I placed starfish I purchased at the craft store all around the tablescape and some miscellaneous nautical brick-a-brack finds.

Above: I used red, navy, light blue and green M&M's to fill this jar. Simply tied striped and nautical ribbon made for the perfect presentation tied to the jar topper.

Above: fun cherry suckers were an all American prop placed in miniature apple baskets and adorned with flags.

Above: I found these adorable mini folding cardboard snack containers at Marshall's/Homegood's to hold scoops of candy.
I had to keep in mind that nautical didn't only mean the US flag, but flags of the world. On that note, I went on-line, typed in the key words, "nautical flags" in the search engine and in an instance I was able to order an endless variety of miniature flags.

Above: to keep the expense at a minimum, I used gingham paper plates with a starfish to hold each one in place. After a trip to JoAnne's craft store, I found the perfect Nantucket-esque fabric to use for my table cloth. No hem was needed. I loved the raggedy threaded edge showing. For an easy hem solution in minutes, HOT GLUE! No one would ever notice. I then placed strips of nautical grosgrain ribbon horizontally across my long vertical table. I found miniature globes in the dollar section of Michael's craft store and sporadically placed them along the table.

The long sticks all along the length of the table were shark headed noise makers from the dollar store. They were a huge hit!

Below: also found at Marshall's/Homegoods were these sailboat honey comb straws...adorbs!

Keep your color scheme ongoing with the simplest of details. I picked up patriotic colored sodas at Old Navy, yes, sodas in a cooler at Old Navy. I buy them often, either there or at Target, both amazing resources for miscellaneous party brick-a-brack.

Below: Don't forget to set up a drink station!

Scrumdiliumptious!!!

The birthday boy devours his favorite party food above.

Above/below: Although not the healthiest of choices, turkey burger sliders, French fries and more, make for occasional fun treats. To make the presentation inviting, use nautical flag pics to top the variety of treats. Remember , presentation is everything! A first impression is a lasting impression.

Below: Let's party!!!

Let them eat cake! Okay and cookies. Grocery stores usually make sheet cakes because it's protocol, but don't assume they can't do better than that because usually they can. Each time I go to my local Weis Market, I come with a plan and by that I mean a cake design idea or photo of an image that I like. In this case, I requested a dye cut sailboat cake and that's just what I got. Never be fearful to inquire if your baker can do it, the worst they will tell you is no and you move on. Nothing is impossible.