Maggie Mermaid Turns Five

Maggie celebrated her fifth birthday this month in underwater style. She has been really into mermaids lately, so her birthday had an aquatic theme this year. She got a mermaid sandbox playset from Mom & Dad. It's a small box full of blue sand with rocks, seashells, a mermaid, fish, and other fun stuff for digging about. She and Gunnar both really enjoyed playing with it before the afternoon birthday party.

We had a fun after-(elementary)-school party with some very well-behaved, quiet young ladies--excepting our own Adah and Maggie who were bouncing off the walls in excitement. (Seriously, some of these guests hardly said a word!) The girls--and Gunnar--began the party by making seashell and jewel crowns.

Next they had a treasure hunt through the house, looking for marine items such as swim goggles, seashells, a toy whale, and flip-flops. The final prize was a treasure chest full of bubble bath, candy, pens, and other prizes buried under pasta shells.

After that, the real excitement began as each party-goer was equipped with their own mermaid tail. We had them step into garbage bags which we cinched and duct taped around their waists. Another, not-so-tight, strip of duct tape went around their knees. Then the kids had races across the family room to retrieve their crowns. It was so fun to watch them hop, squirm, and flip their way back-and-forth, giggling and bumping into each other. After the races, some of the girls were ready to be set free, but others--Gunnar included--kept their tails on for the duration of the party. Gunnar even requested another "mermay tay" later in the evening when the party was over, coming up to me with a new trash bag and the tape.

After opening gifts, we returned to the kitchen table for mermaid cake!

I am proud of this latest birthday cake creation, although I can't take creative credit for it. It was courtesy of Family Fun magazine. We did exercise some artistic license to cover the mermaid's top with Necco wafers, instead of strictly using them as tail scales. (For me, the frosting was a real hit. I get bored with plain old buttercream, but can't use yummy chocolate when colors are required. This frosting was a basic buttercream with cinnamon added. On top of chocolate cake: yummo! And it resulted in a nice skin tone for our mermaid, along with being easily dyed for the tail.) There is one warning that comes with this cake: it is HUGE!! It took me 2 trips to the shed to find a piece of wood large enough for laying out the entire cake.

It was all worth it, though. As you can see, Maggie Mermaid had a great time at her party: