21 Magical mermaid party ideas for kids

Kick things off in style with some pretty conch shell invitations.

Cut the shell shape out of some coloured card, then on the back write the party date, address, and whether you need other parents to stay and help supervise.

Don't forget to mention the dress code too (mermaid costumes, of course!).

No mermaid is complete without a beautiful tail. There are plenty available to buy online, but if you're feeling crafty (or counting the pennies), you could have a go at making one yourself – it's a great craft for the kids to get involved with.

Use blue and green tulle to create your kid's mermaid tail fin, and decorate with stick on jewels and sequins. Follow our step-by-step instructions to dress up your little Ariel.

Once your kid has their mermaid tail, they'll need some long flowing locks to complete their sea fashion look.

Buy wigs in a few different colours so your kid's friends can try out mermaid hairstyles together. Sparkly grips and hairbands are also a must.

If you'd rather not splash out (sorry) on the wigs, you can always use colourful string or wool instead.

Set the scene for your mermaid party with some epic under-the-sea decorations!

Turn old lampshades into floating jellyfish for this fun under the sea party decoration.

Simply trim the bottom of the lampshade and paint it ocean blue, then hang ribbons from the bottom for the tentacles. Use string to hang up around your home.

This simple decoration is so easy to make that even young kids can help out with the sticking.

Simply take a long piece of green and blue tissue paper and cut thin strips along the paper's edge to make a fringed seaweed bunting.

Hang up around your home as is, or cut out small fish and mermaid shapes to stick onto the bunting.

These fish decorations are quick and easy to make and look great hung up around your home.

Draw and cut out fish shapes from different coloured card, then draw on their eyes, mouth and scales with black marker pen. Hang up on the wall using laundry pegs and string.

For this party craft activity, use coloured paper to make a rainbow of paper chains. These will be the jellyfish's tentacles, which you can stick onto a larger piece of card to make its body.

Cut a mouth shape out of pink paper and eyes out of black and white paper. Stick onto the body to finish.

Either try this beforehand to make pretty decorations, or show the kids how to thread their own shell mobiles for a creative party activity.

Use a sharp pin to poke a hole in each seashell – this can be quite fiddly, so you'll need to take charge of this bit.

Thread each seashell on to a piece of string or wire, taking care to tie a knot underneath each shell to hold it in place. Hang your threaded shells from a piece of wood (a stick from outside will do).

Once everybody's all dressed up, and the decorations are in place, it's time for some mermaid-themed fun!

Mermaids have famously beautiful singing voices, and there's nothing better to show them off than a classic karaoke session.

Have your kids sing their favourite songs from Disney's The Little Mermaid, or get creative and make a playlist of sea-themed songs to sing along to.

A play on the classic sack race, give your kids multicoloured sacks to wear as mermaid tails and see who can hop to the end of the race course first.

Hide pretty jewellery, seashells, hair combs and anything else you can think of around your home, then set your mermaids to work hunting down the treasure.

Whatever your guests find, they get to take home in their mermaid party bag.

Another variation is to bury the goodies in sand, and have each child put a flag in the sand; whichever trinket is closest to their flag is theirs to keep!

Upcycle your old loo roll tubes in this fun arty activity for the craft table.

Cut out a mermaid tail shape and wavy strips of paper for the scales, and stick onto the tube. Use coloured wool for the mermaid hair.

Browse more toilet roll craft ideas in this list.

If you, like us, have a random collection of shells that your kids have found at the beach, now is the time to put them to use.

Get a selection of gold, silver, purple and blue paint and have your kid's friends decorate the shells to turn them into mermaid treasure.

These can go into the mermaid party bags at the end too!

Set up your mermaids with coloured beads and string and show them how to craft their own deep sea jewellery designs.

All the finished bracelets and necklaces will make great additions to your mermaid party bags when the party is finished.

You can buy custom underwater-themed piñatas online, but if you're making your own you'll need lots of cardboard, a balloon and papier-mâché.

First blow up your balloon and cut fin shapes from pieces of weak cardboard. Use PVA glue and newspaper to stick the fins to the balloon, and add two layers of papier-mâché all over to construct the fish shape.

Decorate with fringed tissue paper and paint to make the fish scales. Don't forget to add the treats inside!

These instructions from Red Ted Art show you how to make your own fish piñata.

After all that excitement, the kids are bound to be hungry! Keep the fun going with some epic mermaid-themed snacks.

These marshmallow sharks couldn't be easier to make. Just spread a layer of blue icing on top of some marshmallows, then use black and white icing to make the eyes and teeth.

Whip up a delicious snack with help from our macarons recipe.

Use purple food colouring for the clams and serve on a sandy seabed (you can use crushed up digestive biscuits for this).

A fun (and healthy) snack inspired by Ariel's friend Sebastian the crab.

Simply chop up some strawberries and arrange around a croissant to look like crab pincers, then use two blueberries and slices of banana for the eyes.

Try your hand at a plate of homemade doughnuts with this simple recipe from us.

Use blue, purple and pink icing to decorate, and add a mermaid tail sugar topper to each doughnut – you might not find these in shops, but you can order them online relatively easily.

You can have a lot of fun making different sea creatures using cookie cutters.

Follow this step-by-step recipe to make quick and easy biscuits, cutting out starfish and shark shapes before you bake in the oven.

You could even bake a batch before the party and let everyone have a go at decorating their own!

Of course, no kids' party would be complete without a cake!

This mermaid birthday cake is simple to make and looks gorgeous with your under the sea decor.

You'll need cake moulds to make the fondant icing tails, or you can buy ready-made mermaid tail sugar toppers online.

Follow this recipe from Anges de Sucre to make a mermaid sponge cake. Decorate using blue icing and mermaid tail sugar toppers – it will look like your mermaid has broken the ocean's surface for one magical moment.