My kids were really into Octonauts around age 4, so they both had “under the sea” themed birthday parties. I made the invites and decorations more of ocean themed instead of outright Octonauts, so that I could still use the designs and share them as my own designs. We had so much fun planning, crafting, and baking!

Feel free to follow my 4-step event planning checklist below, to keep your Under the Sea themed event running as smooth as the ocean!

STEP 1: invites

Instantly download this under the sea ocean themed invitation. After downloading, simply print, cut, and fill in your event’s details. There’s also a version you can type your information into, using Canva.

step 2: decorations

We made cardboard sharks to go behind blue plastic table cloths. They looked really convincing and cool! 

We also made seahorses out of cheap paper plates. My daughter had so much fun painting and decorating them with sparkles. 

We even made an anemone and coral reef. We had green streamers hanging from the curtain rods to look like seaweed. Then I had to put my graphic design skills to use and make a customizable under the sea themed printable banner in Illustrator. It includes all the letters of the alphabet, if you want to print out your birthday kid’s name!

step 3: food

We had all kinds of fun ocean themed food, like jello aquariums with Swedish fish in them. Cookies and cake pops with tiny bubbles and fish sprinkles (from Michael’s). Maybe a little inappropriate, but we also even had tuna sandwiches! I made these printable food labels to write in cute ocean themed menu names.

step 4: party favors

For party favors, we had a great time making these little aquarium soaps. 

These little printable star fish tags can be attached to the bags that the soaps go in.

planning checklist

And finally, here is your printable party planning checklist to keep you on track and make sure your event goes swimmingly!

about me

I am an experienced freelance graphic artist based in South Florida. With over 15 years in the graphic design field, I have worked for a diverse range of companies and clients. I specialize in print design, including package design, catalogs, flyers, business cards, collateral, signage, as well as digital graphics, such as email marketing graphics, animated GIFs, landing page designs, web banners and more. My work is characterized by efficiently and successfully interpreting the request and translating it into a finished design. I am excited about the opportunity to work on new graphic design projects. If you’d like to work with me (or just say hello!), you can contact me at www.giddyhedgehog.com/contact.