Sunny skies, cool blue water and a festive atmosphere: these are what’s going to welcome you when you go to the beach. Whether it’s summer or not, many people consider it a relaxing place to visit. Nothing can compare to the pleasure the beach brings.

If you adore the sun and sand, you probably love going to the beach. The next time you go there, why not make it more enjoyable? Have a fun and exciting beach party.

A beach party is a popular party trend enjoyed by many people today. It’s loved by many because it’s not only fun, it’s also flexible. A beach party can suit any occasion, whether it’s formal, like a wedding or reunion, or casual such as birthdays or spontaneous get-togethers.

Even if it’s very common, it doesn’t mean that planning a beach party is going to be easy. You have to take care of many party aspects to make sure you end up with a fun and unforgettable celebration.

If you’re ready to soak in the fun, here are some ideas you can use for a fantastic beach event.

To Beach Or Not To Beach?

Before you prepare the food, invite the guests and put up the decorations, there’s one crucial factor you have to take care of first: the venue. Many hosts hold their party on an actual beach so everyone will really feel the enjoyable atmosphere. Minimal decorations are needed since the place itself is enough to give the proper party ambiance.

While this idea sounds appropriate, it’s not always practical. What if you’re miles away from the beach? Not only will it be hard to plan, but your guests will also find your party cumbersome to go to.

You can then try another option. Why not prepare a beach-theme celebration at an indoor location? It can be inside a function room, a restaurant or by the poolside. What’s important is you set the right party atmosphere. This will mean a lot of work on the venue’s decorations.

If you’re really eager to have the celebration at the beach, there are several considerations you have to take care of. For one, you have to coordinate with the beach management and make sure they allow parties on their beach. You have to know their fees and restrictions, such as the number of guests you can accommodate, the type of activities you can have and the decorations you can set up. In turn, they’ll help you organize the party. Some beaches even provide services for party venues, menus and decorations to make it easier for the host.

Another factor to remember if you’re having a beach party is the weather. You have to make sure the season will offer you clear and sunny skies. It won’t be very enjoyable if it rains all day, right? Even if you have tents and shelters ready, no one will have that much fun.

When deciding on your beach venue, think about these factors first. If you think you can manage them, then you can go ahead and start planning the event.

Cool Beach Invites

Most hosts just grab beach or ocean-themed invitations from their local party supplies store. With the many designs and patterns available, they easily find one that suits their taste. They’ll just write in the party details and mail the invites to the guests.

Another easy option is to send electronic invitations through the Internet. The host can just mail cyber invites to the guests’ e-mails. It’s quick, easy, and less costly.

These two options seem practical, but if you really want your celebration to stand out and be more enticing, you can send personalized homemade invitations. You’ll need time, creativity and art materials for these invites. Making them can be cumbersome, but you’ll surely end up with delightful-looking items your guests will find interesting.

One popular idea is to send “message in a bottle” invitations. You’ll need clear glass bottles for these. First, write the details on parchment paper. You can burn the edges to make them look old. Roll them up, tie with a blue ribbon, and place inside the bottle. Add in some sand, glitter, and bits of shell. Seal with a cork. Give them personally or mail them.

Another idea is to make starfish invites. First, cut star shapes from cardboard paper in different colors. Write the details on these shapes. Smudge a bit of glue over it and sprinkle with glitter and sand. Let dry before sending them.

If you can get conch, bivalve and clam shells, these will also make stunning invitations. Just write the party information on them using markers or attach a tag with the details. Using coconuts is also an amusing invitation idea you can try. Just paint the brief party message on them, let them dry, then personally give them to the guests.

A Beautiful Beach Aura

Whether you’re at the beach or just by the poolside, you have to take care of the decorations for your beach party to be a success. Here are some ideas you can try.

• Use ocean colors for your party like blue, blue-green or green. You can also mix in some sunny hues, like yellow, orange and red-orange to add a festive touch to your celebration.
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  Put in beach balls for added fun
  If you’re at the beach, gather seashells, coconuts, and put them around the place.
• Put beach items around the venue, like beach balls, pails, shovels and beach chairs.
• Get blue and green colored tablecloths for your surfaces. Sprinkle some sand and glitter over them.
• If you’re expecting the party to last until evening, get tiki lamps and hang colorful lights on the trees or walls nearby. On the tables, place aromatic candles.
• Find a CD that plays ocean sounds and use it as your background music. You can also get soundtracks of movies like “The Little Mermaid”, “Shark’s Tale” and “Finding Nemo”, because the songs are related to the beach.
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  The ultimate beach party decorations
  Have a bonfire at night if you’re on the beach. Not only will this give you light, but you can also use it to make s’mores and cook hot dogs and marshmallows. If you’re indoors, just make a fake bonfire by twisting yellow and red cellophane and putting it on top of a pile of sticks.
• If you don’t have real surfboards, create fake ones using cardboard and paint. You can lean them against the walls.
• Have a tent or tarpaulin ready, in case of emergency. Remember, the weather can be very unpredictable, and you might encounter a little drizzle every now and then.
• Instead of the usual streamers, use flower garlands to hang on your walls.
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  Acolorful fishbowl table centerpiece
  Lay colorful mats or beach towels on the floor or the sand. Your guests will enjoy using these instead of the usual chairs and tables.
• For lovely table centerpieces, get small fishbowls and fill them with blue-colored water. Then, let a few flowers or candles float around them. Another idea is to have actual gold fishes swimming around fishbowls Just make sure the blue water doesn’t harm them though.
• Get a fishnet, and hang it over a wall.
• Tie colorful bandannas to the edges of the chairs.

Are Your Swimsuits Ready?

No beach party is complete without the right attire. Ask your guests to come in their best and most colorful beach outfits. They can wear their favorite swimming trunks, bikinis, sarongs and beach shorts. Open-toed sandals and flip-flops are also encouraged. Sundresses, Hawaiian shirts and shorts are also great.

If you’re having kids at your party, let them enjoy the festivities by telling them to wear their best under-the-sea costumes. They can dress up as mermaids, starfish, crabs, squid or any sea creature they want. Give special prizes to entice them.

Make sure you inform your guests about the dress code. You should also tell them to bring their beach towels and sunscreen.

You can also give out party costume items to the guests, like flip-flops, flower garlands and sunglasses. They can wear them during the party and bring them home as party favors.

Fun In The Sand

It’s a wonderful idea to plan exciting activities and games to keep your guests happy and entertained. Here are some ideas you can try.

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  Busy making a sand castle
  Sandcastle Challenge - This is a must-do activity if you’re on the beach. Group the guests into pairs or teams of three. At a given time, each team must make a sand castle. When time runs out, have a set of judges choose which castle looks best. The team who wins gets a special prize.
• Frisbee Catch – Adults and kids will both enjoy this game. Pair up the guests and give each pair a frisbee. The pairs compete on who can throw and catch theirs at the longest distance.
• Beach Sports – Organize sports like beach volleyball or water polo for everyone to enjoy.

Check out these cool Water Polo tricks

• Limbo Rock – There’s nothing like a little limbo game to get everyone in the party mood. Get a stick or any long object you can use and let the guests cross under it while shaking their hips to upbeat music. The last person standing after all the rounds wins a prize.

See how fun Limbo Rock can be by watching the video below.

• Wipe Out - This is perfect if you’re in an indoor location. First, use Styrofoam or cardboard and blue paint to make an ocean horizon. Cut it in sections so waves will rise up to the top. Then, create small cutouts of surfers and tape them on the back of the waves, just enough so they can be seen at the top as if they’re riding the waves. Afterwards, let the guests stand a few meters away from the cardboard horizon. One by one, they’ll throw water balloons at the surfers. The one who knocks the most surfers down wins a prize.
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  Getting ready for the water balloon challenge
  Water Balloon Challenge - Just like the game above, this also needs water balloons. First, pair off the players and give each pair full water balloons. The partners then face each other, standing a couple of feet apart. The first person throws the balloon, and the second one catches it. Each time they successfully throw and catch a balloon, they take a step backwards. They then throw the balloon again. Once a pair’s balloon bursts, they are out of the game. The last pair standing wins.
• Sandy Pants - You can do this in an indoor venue. First, prepare some fake sand, either by using Styrofoam beads or torn-up strips of yellow paper. Arranged these fake sand in equal amounts, and put them in small boxes or bowls. Then, give each of your guests a pair of Speedos. Let them wear these over their clothes. When you give the signal, they must fill their Speedos with as much sand as they can. When you say “stop”, measure each guest’s sand. The one who holds the most sand wins.
• Fruit-Legged Beach Relay - Here’s a game that’ll have everyone laughing out loud. You need two pails and a variety of fruit (apples, melons or oranges) for this game. First, divide the group into two teams and let them form two lines. Each player is given a piece of fruit. The two buckets are placed a few meters away from the lines. At your signal, the first two members from the teams should shuffle down the beach holding the fruit between their thighs. Once they reach their bucket, they must drop the fruit in it, then run back to tag the next person in line. The team that finishes putting all the fruit in their bucket wins the game.

Your Beach Buffet

Having fun under the sun can be tiring. Your guests will surely be craving some delicious treats. Make sure you’ve prepared enough party food for everyone. Food that can be cooked easily and that doesn’t spoil in the heat are more practical since you’ll be under the heat throughout the party.

For appetizers, you can prepare munchies like nachos, tacos, potato chips and popcorn. For your main dish, you can have barbecued meat, like chicken, pork and beef. You can marinate these and cook them during the party. Ask someone to help you watch the grill. Serve yummy side dishes, like mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, pork and beans, coleslaw, pasta salad and grilled vegetables.

It’s also great if you can have seafood on your spread. Prepare dishes like:

• Fish tacos
• Lobster and chips
• Grilled shrimp kebabs
• Fish fillet in sweet and sour sauce
• Squid calamari

Crispy lobster and chips, the perfect appetizer

Try eating grilled shrimp kebabs

This shrimp calamari is simply the best

For dessert, serve an assortment of fruits, like strawberries and oranges. These will keep you hydrated under the sun. You can also roast marshmallows and make s’mores. Ice cream and snow cones are also delightful treats you can serve.

As for the drinks, serve the usual fruit shakes, fruit juice, milk shakes, and sodas. Serve them in tall glasses, with bendable straws and cocktail umbrellas. Alcoholic drinks, like beer and wine, are also perfect but if you’re on the beach, make sure you’re following their alcoholic beverage policy. Ask the beach official ahead of time if these drinks are allowed.

Beach-Themed Giveaways

Before everyone goes back to dry land, give them a little something to remember the fun time they had. Give beach-related party favors like sunglasses, sunscreen lotion, beach balls, visors and sarongs. Flip-flops are also useful giveaways they’ll like.

You can also give them items that are beach-themed, like refrigerator magnets, soap or candles in the shape of dolphins, starfish or boats. Seashell photo frames are also lovely giveaways. If you want to give away edible favors, you can give assorted cookies in the shape of sea shells.

You can make your celebration as wonderful, as special and as exciting as the beach if you try these ideas. So what are you waiting for? Get your swimsuit ready, invite all your friends and be ready for a splashing beach party!