Finding Nemo Birthday Party

I have always loved making cakes, so birthday parties are a great time for me to enjoy the art of baking. It's even more fun with having young boys. I get to be creative, use bright fun colors and create a fun environment for them to enjoy on their special day. My oldest and youngest boys have birthdays only 3 days apart, so we decided to combine their celebration this year with a Nemo inspired party.

I made two separate cakes (one for each of them). The first was a 9 x 13 inch chocolate

cake with chocolate mousse filling and buttercream icing for my 5 year old. The second was an 8 inch round rainbow chip cake with vanilla pudding filling and buttercream icing for my 2 year old.

I used little Nemo figurines on both cakes that my mom found at the dollar store (I LOVE dollar stores!). Both cakes were iced in light blue buttercream and bordered with sea blue dots. I used a leaf tip to create green seaweed, a round tip for the pink coral and of course a star tip for all of my little orange starfish. I also used the star tip for the orange fish on the round cake and finished them off with a mini chocolate chip eye and sea blue bubbles. The mound on the 9 x 13 inch cake was created by cutting two chocolate cupcakes into thirds and then arranging them in a rock type formation. I then iced it with white icing and covered it in seaweed and coral.

For the party decorations, I covered the walls of our dining room with a beach scene (found at most party supply stores or online). The tables were covered in turquoise blue tablecloths. Centerpieces were a fish placemat in bright orange, lime green and blue colors and topped off with mini tiki torches and sea shells. I also found some adorable round paper lanterns in

lime green and turquoise blue (at the dollar store of course) that I hung around the house and outside. The party supply store also had a page of fish window clings (for 99 cents!!!) that

I used on our dining room mirror to create an aquarium scene. We also had Hawaiian leis for our guests to wear, and Jack Johnson music playing in the background.

Entertainment for the kids included a kiddie pool in the backyard along with water guns and water balloons. They had a soaking wet fun time in the warm sun! I printed out a Nemo fish (colored and cut out with their name on the fin) for each child attending the party and hid them around the party area (at eye level for their size). We played "Find Your Nemo". Once each child found their Nemo, they turned it in to me and got to pick something out of the prize basket. The basket was filled with fun disney water toys from the dollar store (floating rings, water frisbees, beach balls, etc.) and took the place of a goodie bag.

We barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs. No fish sticks were served because "Fish are friends, not food." Sides included potato salad and a fruit platter with watermelon, strawberries, blackberries and pineapple along with some yummy fruit dip (marshmallow cream and cream cheese blended together). I also made little aquariums for everyone by making blue jello in clear plastic party cups and inserting a swedish fish candy when the gelatin was about halfway set. I topped them off with a wave of whipped cream and put a sand bucket filled with blueberries in the middle for everyone to top off their "wave" with a few berries. Ironically, I think the dads found these even cooler than the kids did! Baby goldfish crackers were served in a sand bucket with a shovel (like the blueberries). For drinks we kept it simple with a tropical punch (mango, orange, pineapple and ginger ale), along with fresh brewed iced tea and ice water.

Overall, the party was a success, and the kids had a blast! It was a fun celebration of my two sweet boys getting a year older!

Now I'm in the mood to spend a day at the beach with a pina colada!