Kid’s birthday parties can be memorable without exceeding your family’s budget. I planned a Superhero-Mermaid birthday party for my 4-year-old daughter, complete with treats, a tiered birthday cake and cute mermaid paper crafts. These creative birthday ideas cost practically nothing other than 2 boxes of cake mix and some colored card stock. Our tips can help you easily host a fabulous kids party (using any theme) on a budget.
My daughter announced she wanted to have a Superhero-Mermaid party for her 4th birthday. She was very adamant about this specific theme. I’m happy my daughter inherited a decent chunk of creativity. After all, a Superhero-Mermaid party can be done! We had lots of fun coming up with Superhero-Mermaid birthday party ideas for snacks, engaging kids’ activities and party costumes.
Easy Tiered Birthday Cake
My daughter envisioned a multi-layer mermaid cake to celebrate her birthday. We made a ocean-inspired 2-tiered birthday cake for less than $15. Easily whip up 2 boxes of cake mix and bake 4 cake layers to make the tiers. You can mix white frosting with food coloring to create any color of decorative icing. A creative birthday cake is simple to make, inexpensive to bake and fun to design yourself!
Simple Kids’ Paper Crafts
We made cute paper mermaid characters using our printable template and a little creativity. You can use custom designed paper mermaid characters as party decor or as an easy kids’ party craft. You can find the printable template and learn how to make these paper mermaids below (superhero masks optional).
Healthy & Sweet Party Treats
It’s helpful to offer both healthy snacks and sweet treats at a kid’s birthday party. We paired fresh broccoli and carrot sticks with yummy ranch dip and fresh fruit with chocolate dip. A kid-friendly buffet is a fun way to provide a diverse assortment of colorful party snacks.
Simple Party Plan
I’ve planned a handful of kid’s parties now and I’ve learned that I don’t need to pack the party schedule to host a successful party. Once we’ve welcomed our guests, the kids usually like to play and then it’s time for treats! After a game or two or a simple kids’ craft, it’s time to enjoy the birthday cake and open presents. Before you know it, 2 hours have passed and it’s time to go home.
2 Hour Kid’s Party Schedule
- Welcome guests
- Play time indoors or outdoors
- Enjoy party snacks & treats
- Do a simple kids’ craft or party game
- Sing Happy Birthday and have cake & ice cream
- Open presents
- Say thank yous and goodbyes!
Interactive Party Activities
We filled several large tubs with colorful water beads to create an interactive kids sensory activity. The kids loved scooping up the water beads and playing with the colorful squishy balls. Playing with water beads is an interesting activity that a group of kids can enjoy.
We also rented a bounce house, which is another easy kid’s party activity. Kids always enjoy bouncing around with their friends and burning off some of their sugar-fueled energy. Summer birthdays are especially fun because the kids can play in the sunshine and enjoy backyard activities.
Birthday parties don’t need to be complex to make your child feel special. Kids just like to have fun with their friends. These easy kids’ party ideas can be customized to fit any party theme and they’re easy to clean up so both you and your child will enjoy the celebration.
How to Create Personalized Party Decor
We made cute little Superhero-Mermaid paper characters to use for decorations. You can easily cut these paper characters out of any colored card stock. Design your own mermaid superheros using our free printable template below.
Superhero-Mermaid Printable Templates
Click on each template to open the printable file in a new window and either “print” or “save as”.
Use these paper mermaid character printables to cut out the mermaids bodies, hair and accessories. Because my daughter wanted to make Superhero-Mermaids, I included some capes. You can just as easily make paper mermaid characters by skipping the capes and superhero masks.
First, cut the mermaid shapes out of white card stock to use as a base. Then use colored card stock to cut out the mermaid tails, hair styles and accessories. To assemble the mermaids, glue the colorful accessories onto the white card stock mermaid shapes.
Finally, you can glue the paper character mermaid onto paper sticks or wooden skewers to use them as cake toppers or party table decorations.
Our cute mermaid superhero characters were perfect for decorating the food table at my daughter’s 4th birthday party. We also used them on the birthday cake! If you just want to make paper mermaid party decorations, skip adding the mask and cape.
Happy 4th birthday little one! Overall my daughter’s birthday party was a success. Many of our little party guests arrived dressed in awesome costumes and superhero capes, ready for a party!
Birthday parties can be fun creative outlet for moms and a special way to celebrate a child. You can include your kids ideas and find ways to make a party memorable without spending a lot of money. After all, kids just want to feel special and spend a fun day with their friends.
Hi, I’m Katie! I live with my husband and 4 kids in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I love Jesus, coffee, creative projects, photography, and traveling. I’ve previously worked as a web designer, journalist, and barista. I hope you enjoy our creative projects and family adventures!
Hi there! I love your paper mermaids. I’ve been searching on your site for the download and can’t seem to find it. Would you be able to help me locate it? The one on this page keeps sending me elsewhere. I’d really appreciate it!