When I was approached by a boy's parents to plan a 16th birthday party for him I was apprehensive about accepting the job. Teens are the most difficult to plan a party for. They're usually in that "I hate everyone and everything" phase. turning their noses up at anything involving an adult as being beyond lame.
Unless it involves their cell phones or video games, they just ain't interested. What could I possibly plan that a teenager like Jared would find interesting?
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I was scuba diving with my buddies when it hit me - introduce the kids to scuba diving.
In my state, one doesn't need to be certified to scuba dive. Not that I recommend anyone take up scuba diving for any lengthy period of time without being certified. Scuba diving involves potentially life-threatening risks so proper instruction and certification is critical.
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But my diving buddies and I are all certified advanced divers and they offered to work one-on-one and be the diving buddies to each of the party guests. My lake is on average only 25' deep, not deep enough to pose any substantial risks. Nor is there any sea life that could pose any threat as there would be in the ocean. An afternoon introduction to diving could be performed quite safely after spending a morning instructing the kids.
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My diving buddy, Will and I approached Jared's parents with the idea. We even offered to take them through the same diving instruction and experience we'd give the kids. Mom wasn't interested but Dad was so we took him diving. He was impressed with our thoroughness and dedication to safety. Jared's Under the Waves party was on! Dad even wanted to join us for the afternoon dive.
Dad later told me that when they informed Jared they/we would be throwing a birthday party for him, his reaction was the expected "NO! THAT'S SO LAME!" - until Dad said "Well, we can cancel it but it would be a shame if we did...they plan on taking you and your friends scuba diving. I've already gone on a dive with them and had a fantastic time..."
Welllllllll...maybe a party wouldn't be so LAME after all. (LOL Kids!)
Invitation
I don't normally do digital invitations but one must play to their audience/potential guests and kids are tech addicted.
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So I put together a digital invitation and sent it to the kids' devices.
I tried to make it a bit whimsical to capture their attention.
Staging
We wouldn't have that much to stage. The morning would be pre-dive instruction with brunch for the kids so all we needed were a couple tables and a demonstration table. The afternoon would be spent diving.
So we did a small area downstairs in my house where these tables would be set up.
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For the ceiling over this table area we twisted blue and white crepe paper streamers to create waves.
I made a diver silhouette out of cardboard and we suspended it through the waves.
For the demonstration area we set up one backdrop and reused the sand backdrop from the pirate party as a beach. We decorated it with a piece of driftwood from my yard. one of my steamer trunks draped with my fish net and some of the diving gear we'd be demonstrating.
We made a balloon arch of white and silver to simulate a diver's air bubbles and hung one of my buddy's musky mounts in front of the backdrop.
We had 2 tables set up for both instruction and brunch for the kids. We certainly didn't want them hungry but we didn't want them diving for the first time on full stomachs either.
The centerpieces on the tables were drink dispensers (for brunch) decorated with a diver's mask.
There are many variations you can use with an Under the Waves party - mermaid, sea creatures, etc. so how you stage will depend on what variation of an Under the Waves party you decide to use.
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Here are some staging ideas for you.
Food/Menu
We wanted the kids to have a light meal before their first dive so served them a limited brunch of a breakfast casserole, fruit bowls, toast and bagels. We put out snacks for after the dive.
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You won't have the same food restriction so here are some Under the Waves treats you could serve.
Activities
Take the kids to a pool, lake or ocean to swim.
This is a free activity or you pay nominal admission to a pool. Just make sure you have enough adult chaperones (that can swim) to oversee your number of party guests safely.
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Take the kids to an aquarium.
There are beautiful aquariums worldwide, many of them with interactive activities for kids. Not only will the kiddies have fun, they'll learn along the way. As a diver, I can tell you that entering the undersea world is like entering an enchanting and fascinating world of its own.
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Many aquariums offer free days and admission discounts.
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SCUBA BINGO
I made my own version of Scuba Bingo as an instruction aid. I made up 8 different cards (1 per guest) along with a number of slips as the 'bingo balls' - all of them having different gear and things a diver would encounter when diving.
Each time a player got a match on their Bingo card, they had to raise their hand and had to answer a question about the item they'd matched.
For example, if they matched the pressure gauge on their Bingo card, they'd be asked a question pertaining to the pressure gauge such as "What does the pressure gauge tell a diver?"
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This tested their diving knowledge. If they got the answer wrong, they were eliminated from the game.
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The game continued until only one player was left standing and was the game winner.
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We awarded the winner a new full face snorkel mask.
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You can adapt a Bingo game to your own Under the Waves party theme.
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The Artisan Life offers 2 printable versions of Mermaid bingo cards - One version is a traditional 5×5 grid with 25 different mermaid and undersea images, and the other version is a smaller preschool bingo with mermaids.
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You can use these bingo cards in a ‘traditional’ way by cutting out the pictures on the call list sheets, placing them in a bag, and drawing them randomly.
Photo credit: The Artisan Life
Alternatively, you can save some cutting and the risk of lost pieces by giving the call sheet to an adult and having them ‘randomly’ call out images. I think this is a good choice if you’re at a pool party because it means fewer pieces to keep track of!
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If you laminate the cards (or use dry erase pockets), you can use markers to mark off called images. Or use something like goldfish crackers as markers.
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FOR YOUNGER KIDS
Welcome the kids to the party with this wonderful Deep Blue Sea Bin from Happy Hooligans! Party-goers will enjoy exploring the different animals and areas.
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Add interest by hiding some hidden treasures in the bin for kids to find.
Photo credit: Happy Hooligans
BACKYARD FISHING
Photo credit: Spaceships & Laser Beams
Cover cardboard trifold with blue gift-wrap paper and decorate it with colorful paper cutouts of fish, octopus, starfish, and turtles using ocean-themed printable outlines. Make extra cutouts for the fishing prizes and place them in a safe spot behind the trifold. Attach a clothespin to the end of each dowel rod with string. When the kids reach their fishing pole over the trifold, have one person behind it attaching the extra cutouts on the clothespin at the end of the fishing rods.
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I put my own twist on this game. Rather than using cutouts of the sea creatures, I bought a bulk 50 piece assortment of Mini Stuffed Sea Life from Oriental Trading and
attached these to the kids' fishing lines.
To each, I pinned a small prize - shark tooth candy necklaces and other small favors.
HAVE A LIVE MERMAID AT YOUR PARTY
Photo credit: Fin Fun
Bring the fantasy to life with your own live mermaid! If you’re throwing a pool party, professional mermaids can swim, lead party games, sing songs, and tell tales from the deep. No pool? No problem! They’re happy to perch on land, too.
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Budget friendly alternative:
Professionals are expensive to hire: $200-$300 per hour normally. If you have a friend who's good with kids and is entertaining, consider renting a mermaid costume and have her act as your mermaid.
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Tip:
Fin Fun offers swimmable mermaid tails and outfits currently for between $35 to $45. You'll spend this much buying a regular non-swimmable mermaid costume from Amazon.
They come in sizes for all ages, children to adults and come in a variety of different colors and styles.
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So if you want a mermaid who can frolick in the water with your guests, you might want to consider this option.
COLORING PAGE
For a quiet activity, how about leaving some coloring pages for the kids to enjoy. There are also 6 hidden treasures in the reef to be found.
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Download Your Free Ocean Adult Coloring Page
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You can use this as an activity or a party favor kids can take home.
See who can find the 6 hidden treasures the quickest and award a prize to the winner. At the same time, have a coloring contest and award a prize to the child who did the best coloring job.
Source: Arts & Crackers
Photo credit: Arts & Crackers
SET UP A SLIP 'N SLIDE
Kids love 'em and they're a great way to cool off on a hot day!
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I also had water balloons and squirt guns on hand for the kids, who fired them at the kids going down the Slip 'n Slide.
Photo credit: Walmart
For more Under the Waves party ideas, check out this Pinterest page.