ideas for a "Finding Nemo" toddler party (update..pics added)

[Harmony]

My 2y/o is turing 3 at the end of the month and we decided to give him his 1st birthday party. (he spent his 1st birthday at WDW and his 2nd at SeaWorld so this will be his first actual party)

We picked Finding Nemo for a reason. Since our son was born with a diaphragmatic hernia, he does have one lung a *tiny* bit smaller than the other. When he was in the hospital, we would say "like Nemo!" Nemo has a lucky fin, well, he has a lucky lung. ^_^

Anyway...since Nemo isn't as popular as the recent Disney movies, there isn't much out there anymore. So...I need some party ideas that will keep toddlers entertained!

For the invite, I'm going to print it out on a sheet of paper...pictures of Nemo will be included in the invite though I do need help with the wording. I am going to roll up the invite and tie it with green taffeta (sea weed) and put it into a plastic bottle. I'm hoping to buy some sand and shells to complete the look.

So far, we are going to put up a toddler pool and a couple of colorful sprinklers. I plan on using his bubble blower and playing the Nemo CD for music. I also want to have a lil' movie section and play the DVD for those kiddos that don't want to get wet. For party favors, I've decided on a sand pail, goggles, floaties and other "beachy" type stuff.

I did find the Nemo plates, cups, table covers and pinata.

For games...I wanted something similar to an easter egg hunt but I don't know how to connect that with Nemo. Instead of easter eggs...what can I use? Any ideas? I definitely need more ideas for games 'cause if the weather is bad then the pool and sprinklers can not be used and we'll have to change our plans and bring the party indoors.

Oh and I also want my husband to paint up Bruce on a *huge* piece of cardboard. I want the kiddos to be able to take pictures of themselves in Bruce's mouth. Yes, like the one they have at WDW. (or leaste we can try...LOL)

The colors for the party are orange, blue, light blue. Also need ideas for the food. I'm going to have 'goldfish' in lil' bowls on the tables for the kiddos to munch on. Any other ideas for food?

Thanks for any ideas or input!

 

[tchrrx]

Check out this website. It's got a lot of ideas from other parents who have thrown similar parties. I haven't actually read any of the Nemo ones, but I have used this site for ideas in the past. Hope this helps!

http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/html/under_the_sea_party.html

 

[ntburns22]

My nephew had a Nemo party 2 years ago. One theme game I remember was a small pool filled with water and little plastic fish. The kids had to use a bug net to catch a fish and the fish was also a favor.

Does Dole Pineapple still have pineapple cut into sea shapes? If they do you could make blue jello in a fishbowl with the pineapple.

 

[barkley]

harry and davids sell both "clown fish" (nemo) and "shark" (bruce) gummy treats-they might be fun for treats. my kids also want to try making a goldfish bowl full of blue jello with these suspended in it.

with the easter egg idea-maybe instead of hiding something with something inside it you could hide something with numbers written on them and then the kids could exchange the items for a treat that corresponds with the number (like #1 is a pc of candy, #2 is a bag of fruit treats, #3 is a box of raisins)-you could get little plastic fish or seashells.

 

[noodleknitter]

Swedish fish (gummies) in blue jello. Always a winner!

I love the seashell idea!

 

[LuvTinkBell]

I love the birthdaypartyideas.com site.

My DD had a Nemo party when she turned 5. We also did sand pail treat "bags" with bubbles, shovels, stickers, etc.

We filled a small pool with blue tissue paper, and under that I'd placed cut outs of fish with paper clips though the muth area. The kids went fishing with dowels that had yarn and a magnet on them.

Wlgreens has gummy Nemo candy now, but my kids don't care for the liquid in the middle. They do still have Nemo fruit snacks at some of my local stores.

My dollar store had Nemo sidewalk chalk also.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I just wanted to say that at my local Disney Store they had Sale items 50% off and one thing I got was a little nemo light spinner. It was $1 and is perfect for todlers (smaller and no stick out things if that makes sense.)

They had a bit of other nemo party favor type things cheap.

Good luck with the party.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

My 2y/o is turing 3 at the end of the month and we decided to give him his 1st birthday party. (he spent his 1st birthday at WDW and his 2nd at SeaWorld so this will be his first actual party)

We picked Finding Nemo for a reason. Since our son was born with a diaphragmatic hernia, he does have one lung a *tiny* bit smaller than the other. When he was in the hospital, we would say "like Nemo!" Nemo has a lucky fin, well, he has a lucky lung. ^_^

Anyway...since Nemo isn't as popular as the recent Disney movies, there isn't much out there anymore. So...I need some party ideas that will keep toddlers entertained!

For the invite, I'm going to print it out on a sheet of paper...pictures of Nemo will be included in the invite though I do need help with the wording. I am going to roll up the invite and tie it with green taffeta (sea weed) and put it into a plastic bottle. I'm hoping to buy some sand and shells to complete the look.

So far, we are going to put up a toddler pool and a couple of colorful sprinklers. I plan on using his bubble blower and playing the Nemo CD for music. I also want to have a lil' movie section and play the DVD for those kiddos that don't want to get wet. For party favors, I've decided on a sand pail, goggles, floaties and other "beachy" type stuff.

I did find the Nemo plates, cups, table covers and pinata.

For games...I wanted something similar to an easter egg hunt but I don't know how to connect that with Nemo. Instead of easter eggs...what can I use? Any ideas? I definitely need more ideas for games 'cause if the weather is bad then the pool and sprinklers can not be used and we'll have to change our plans and bring the party indoors.

Oh and I also want my husband to paint up Bruce on a *huge* piece of cardboard. I want the kiddos to be able to take pictures of themselves in Bruce's mouth. Yes, like the one they have at WDW. (or leaste we can try...LOL)

The colors for the party are orange, blue, light blue. Also need ideas for the food. I'm going to have 'goldfish' in lil' bowls on the tables for the kiddos to munch on. Any other ideas for food?

Thanks for any ideas or input!

Sounds cute! I have some Nemo napkins and pre-made invitations, if you want them. PM me if you do.

 

[meloneyb21]

They might have some ideas or cool party stuff here http://www.birthdayexpress.com/bexpress/product.asp?sku=E55406

 

[Harmony]

I have some Nemo napkins and pre-made invitations, if you want them. PM me if you do.

That is *so* sweet of you!

Last night, I shared my ideas with my mother. This morning, she shows up with napkins, plates, cups and a Nemo pinata! Yay for mom!

Thanks again for the offer! That is so nice of you to offer that to someone you don't even know! I love the people here!

And to all who offerred advice...thanks! I think I've got a good handle on what to do now. I'll let y'all know how it goes and if I can learn how to post pics, I'll be sure to do that too.

Now I only have 3wks to prepare! Oy!

 

[Order66]

Call the eggs "Crash's turtle eggs". My kids have the Finding Nemo PC game. One of the games is called "Feed Bruce". If you're attempting a cut out anyway....maybe one of your games could be to toss bean bags or plastic balls into his mouth for prizes. You could also consider a "fish pond" like a carnival duck pond...where everyone is a winner. I've seen hundreds of old Happy Meal Toys on Ebay, including most of the Nemo Toys. Might be able to pick up some cheap. Sounds like fun. Good Luck.

 

[prplcrzy]

We had a Finding Nemo themed party a couple of years ago. As for games, we had a little wading pool with fish in it to catch with a magnetic fishing rod, pin the lucky fin on Nemo (my dd drew a large Nemo on foam board and colored it, then we used made lucky find out of construction paper with tape on the back to "pin" them on) then we played "Find Nemo", I printed out good size pictures of Nemo, laminate them and then hid them all over the yard for the kids to find. This game can be easily done inside as well.

That's all I can remember. I'm trying to come up with games for a Cars birthday theme this year!

Good luck with your party!

Nancy

 

[ntburns22]

I'm trying to come up with games for a Cars birthday theme this year!

Good luck with your party!

Nancy

Sorry to hijack but I thought I would share. I did a CARS party in May. Start saving your large boxes now. We had several races. We painted the boxes to look like race cars and put rope from front to back and they wore them like suspenders. I ordered the race helmets from www.birthdayexpress.com . The kids did not want to do anything else. The boys and girls drove their cars all afternoon. I also got ribbons from the dollar store to pass out after the races. Cars party is alot of fun.

 

[meloneyb21]

I'm trying to come up with games for a Cars birthday theme this year!

Some great Cars stuff here:http://www.birthdayexpress.com/bexpress/Product.asp?SKU=E2324

 

[Harmony]

Cars party is alot of fun.

We did consider a Cars party since it's more recent and also one of my son's favorites! He is collecting all of the Cars hotwheels. We might do that next year or POTC 3!

Still, since it's his 1st actual party, we figured we'd do a theme that had some significance in his life. (lucky fin=lucky lung)

I went to WalMart today and found some adorable "fish-nemo-like" fabric that I'm going to use as table covers. I think the colors will just stand out and bring alot of color to the decorations. I also bought two huge squirters at Linens and Things today. One was a clown fist "nemo" and the other a shark "bruce." Though they weren't 'official' nemo squirters, they look exactly like them so I know that they will be a perfect fit. I'm going to use the squirters to decorate 'cause they are about 3ft in length.

Thanks for all of the great ideas! It really helps get my creative thoughts flowing!

 

[ntburns22]

We did consider a Cars party since it's more recent and also one of my son's favorites! He is collecting all of the Cars hotwheels.

Still, since it's his 1st actual party, we figured we'd do a theme that had some significance in his life.

I went to WalMart today and found some adorable "fish-nemo-like" fabric that I'm going to use as table covers. I think the colors will just stand out and bring alot of color to the decorations. I also bought two huge squirters at Linens and Things today. One was a clown fist "nemo" and the other a shark "bruce." Though they weren't 'official' nemo squirters, they look exactly like them so I know that they will be a perfect fit. I'm going to use the squirters to decorate 'cause they are about 3ft in length.

Thanks for all of the great ideas! It really helps get my creative thoughts flowing!

Sounds like you are off to a great start. I think Nemo is a great fit too. Enjoy your little one's special day.

 

[solgent]

Does Dole Pineapple still have pineapple cut into sea shapes? If they do you could make blue jello in a fishbowl with the pineapple.

You can't put pineapple chunks into Jello.

Explanation from Cecil Adams (The Straight Dope)

 

[Harmony]

Well, we had his party two Saturdays ago and he had a blast! I want to thank everyone for their advice and ideas.

I also wanted to share a few pictures of his cakes and to show y'all the "Feed Bruce" game that my DH drew and painted.

Here is the Nemo Underwater cake that I ordered from our local bakery. It was lemon with buttercream frosting.


This is a picture of my son with his "cake table." We were just about to start singing "Happy Birthday" to him so he was quite excited.

 

[Harmony]

Here are a couple of pictures of the cake my cousin baked and decorated. She used a football pan for Nemo's body and "colored" in the rest using little "stars." For the fins and underwater scene she used an edible frosting.

 

[Harmony]

Here is the "Feed Bruce." My DH used a regular science project cardboard and on the outside of it, drew and painted "Bruce." We used a brand-new-never-been used "hamburger" dog toy to toss into Bruce's mouth. (remember, he doesn't eat fish..."fish are our friends, not food.") The winner of the game won a stuffed Nemo toy. (bought at Toys R Us for $2..regular price was $9.99!!!!!!!)

This picture was taken a day or two before the actual party. My son kept playing and playing with it. LOL