Table of Contents:
- Water is Center Stage
- Easy, Gluten-Free Mermaid Cupcakes
- Beach Balls for Decor, Entertainment, and Party Favors
- Grab and Go Gluten-Free Snacks
- Use a Free, Mermaid-Themed, Electronic Invitation (Evite)
- Shop Online for Your Gluten-Free Mermaid Birthday Party Supplies
We had a precious little girl living with us when her first birthday rolled around. This little one never met a body of water she didn't love, from the pool to splash pads to the dog's water bowl, also known as the "indoor water table".
A Mermaid Birthday Party at the pool was the perfect way to celebrate her!
When she turned four, that same little girl asked for another Mermaid Birthday Party. I was immediately on board, thankful for the simplicity of a summer birthday at the pool.
Because Miss E and I have celiac disease, all parties we throw are gluten-free, even when neither of us is the birthday girl. We want to participate fully in the fun. Plus, I have a 100% gluten-free kitchen.
Read on for inspiration for your Mermaid Birthday Party!
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Water is Center Stage
I have done it all for birthday party entertainment, hiring a magician, scientist, superheroes, princesses, you name it. I have set up carnival games, arts and crafts, and slime parties. A pool party is the antithesis of all of that.
There is so little to plan. The water is the entertainment for your mermaid birthday party. Throw in a few inflatables and mermaid tail mono-fins, and the water is the party!
If you can have your little one's mermaid party at a pool, do it! If you do not have access to a pool, use a slip and slide or a splash pad. Entertainment, done!
Indoor pools provide an alternative for winter birthdays. If you have a Great Wolf Lodge location near you, they are top tier for celiac-safe, gluten-free food.
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Easy, Gluten-Free Mermaid Party Cupcakes
These gluten-free mermaid cupcakes are so easy.
All you need is Pillsbury gluten-free Funfetti cake mix (along with oil and eggs), mermaid cupcake liners, frosting, pearl sprinkles, and a mermaid tail topper.
I usually prefer to make my own gluten-free buttercream frosting using this simple and delicious buttercream frosting recipe from Betty Crocker.
An even easier option is Funfetti frosting. It is labeled gluten-free and comes in bright colors perfect for a mermaid birthday party. To thicken the frosting for piping, use a hand mixer to mix in a small amount of powdered sugar, approximately 1-3 tbsp, mixed in one tablespoon at a time until your frosting reaches the desired consistency for piping.
For piping, you can use a decorating kit with a frosting bag and tip. Or, in a pinch, a ziplock sandwich bag with the corner cut-off works beautifully.
Hobby Lobby sells colored pearl sprinkles, which are labeled gluten-free. Betty Crocker sells white pearl sprinkles, which are listed as gluten-free sprinkles on the Betty Crocker website. Hopefully, it goes back down, but the current price for the Betty Crocker pearls on Amazon is outrageous. My local grocery store (Albertson's) carries them at a reasonable price and often with a two-for-one deal... so you can buy ahead for gluten-free Christmas cookie decorating!
We used different mermaid tail toppers at each mermaid birthday party, but the mermaid tail rings were the bigger hit with the kids.
If easy isn't your thing, check out my article on Miss E's Uni-Pega-Mer-Kitty (unicorn, pegasus, mermaid, kitten) birthday party. The multi-day masterpiece of a gluten-free birthday cake had a mermaid-themed bottom layer, which you could use as a stand-alone mermaid birthday cake.
Beach Balls for Decor, Entertainment, and Party Favors
As the parent of frequent party-goers, I have never been a fan of goodie bags... a bag full of themed junk that delights my children and ends up all over my car and house. Instead, I typically give each guest one or two fun or useful items that match the theme.
Beach balls are the ideal mermaid party multi-tasker. For my little one's first mermaid birthday party, I found adorable mermaid and shark beach balls at Party City to hang from the ceiling and then send home with the kiddos as party favors. Party City no longer carries those beach balls, but Amazon has cute mermaid-scale beach balls.
For her second mermaid birthday party, I went with traditional-style beach balls and started with them in the kiddie pool, where they were both a decoration and entertainment. At the end of the party, the beach balls went home as party favors.
For the second mermaid birthday party, we also gave the kids drawstring backpacks and super cute emoji water blasters, in addition to the beach balls. I recommend the drawstring backpacks, which are so useful for regular pool trips; but I would definitely leave out the water blasters next time. Half were broken before the party ended.
Grab-and-Go Gluten-Free Snacks
Grab-and-go snacks are well-suited to dripping-wet kids at the pool.
We served naturally gluten-free items including cherries, red grapes, green grapes and Babybel cheese.
We added pre-packaged gluten-free snacks that my kids enjoy, Kirkland organic applesauce pouches and crunchy rice rollers.
We also set out the Frito-Lay Party Pack of single serving chips. Important! Not everything in the Frito-Lay party pack is labeled gluten-free. I selected a pack that contained no-gluten ingredients, even though some of the bags in the variety pack are not celiac-safe, due to risk of cross contamination from shared lines. Miss E and I stick to eating the varieties which are labeled gluten-free, such as Cheetos, Fritos and Lay's Classic Potato Chips. To be safe, I do a gluten-free check of the labels every time I purchase a variety pack of chips.
For an effortless decorative touch, I wrapped mermaid duct tape around water bottles.
Use a Free, Mermaid-Themed Electronic Invitation (Evite)
There are several free templates for mermaid invites on Evite. There are paid, premium options as well, but the free invites are so cute that I did not feel the need to splurge on a premium one.
I have been using Evite for over a decade. Contact information for all of my usual guests is already in my Evite account and it takes about 10 minutes to select an invite, add party details and send invites. I prefer the organization of an electronic invitation to send reminders to guests and track my headcount for food and party favors.
Of course, a group text works, too!
Shop Online for Your Mermaid Birthday Party Supplies
As a busy mom, shopping online means not taking a gaggle of children from store to store in search of the limitless possibilities for a Gluten-Free Mermaid Birthday Party. This is especially true when hunting down gluten-free baking supplies and snacks. Online is my go-go!
Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and Party City all have extensive selections of mermaid-themed party supplies.
I do most of my shopping at Target and Amazon and have laid out my Target shopping guide for you below. Enjoy getting you ready for your Gluten-Free Mermaid Birthday party without leaving your house!
