With the overwhelming success of the Disney movie Finding Nemo, there are bound to be a lot of Finding Nemo party theme birthdays planned in the future. Although a huge success with younger children, even older kids are getting in on the action. Even if you're planning a party for a child that just loves the whole under the sea kind of theme, a Finding Nemo party theme is sure to be a success.

But, is it a difficult theme to work with?

Absolutely not! In fact, it's just the kind of theme that you can really get into and have a lot of fun. Below you'll find our idea of a Finding Nemo party theme and how to carry it out so that you can enjoy the party along with the kids.

Setting The Stage

The fun begins as soon as the kids arrive at the party location (most likely your house). You can start setting the stage for a tropical Finding Nemo party by decorating your entrance with inexpensive palm trees, grass garlands, fish, shells, etc. around your front door. Stringing a lighted garland around the entrance also makes for a nice affect during both day and evening parties.

You don't need to hog wild here, just a couple of well-placed decorations at the entrance to let the kids know that something special is on the other side. It goes a long way toward building their anticipation.

Now that you've set the stage for the children as they enter, it's time to set up your inside decorations. If your party is for Preschoolers, be sure to keep your decorations simpley, disposable, and safe. If you're planning a party for older children, you can use more decorations.

The first thing you'll want to do is cover your furniture and tables with a Finding Nemo or tropical themed cloth. You can use any kind of tropical color you want for this -- aqua, green, orange and sand colors all work well. Covering everything will protect your furniture and go a long way toward you decorating.

After you get everything covered, you'll probably want to put up some Finding Nemo themed lighting. Simple twinkle lights twisted together with aqua, green, and yellow streamers provides a simple way to get a dazzling affect. Add a few well-placed fish and Finding Nemo balloons along with your lights and streamers and the effect will be magic.

Once you have your lights, streamers, and balloons up, you'll be able to see any areas that need a little extra attention. You can fill big gaps with paper fish, plastic shells, fish toys, balloons, etc.

One great way to make the kids feel like they are really under the sea with Nemo is to use a bubble machine. It works great to fill in any decorating gaps you may have and keeps the kids engaged in the party. Kids LOVE bubbles!

A Special Memory Making Opportunity

This wall mural does double duty... It serves as a great party decoration to really capture the Finding Nemo party theme, and it's also an outstanding place to take pictures of all the kids at the party.

You can have each child pose for a picture in front of this beautiful underwater scene. Then when you send out your thank you cards, you can send the picture to the parents. The other parents will love that you were able to capture such a precious memory for them.

If you have a digital camera, you can instantly print out the pictures and send them home with the kids in an inexpensive frame as a party favor that they will treasure. There are more memory making ideas here.

One final note on setting the stage, don't forget to put on age-appropriate music before the guests arrive. For Finding Nemo, what could be more perfect than the Finding Nemo Soundtrack or Finding Nemo Ocean Favorites?

Finding Nemo Party Activities

Clown Fish Piñata - Piñatas are always a hit at children's parties and Finding Nemo is no acceptions.

Fish for Your Name - Create a bunch of fish nametags out of heavy cardstock or paper and put a safety pin through each one (make sure it's closed). Put all the 'fish' into an empty baby swimming pool or a large box. Make a fishing pole with a magnet at the end of the fishing line. Let each guest fish for their nametag. When they catch one, write their name on it and use the safety pin to pin it on them.

Pin the Fins on the Fish - Play the game exactly like pin the tail on the donkey, only you're trying to get the fins where they belong on the fish.

Gill Says - Just like Simon Says, only it's Gill. Younger children have a lot of fun with this if you do 'fishy' directions like making fish faces, wiggling arms like octopus, and showing your teeth like a shark.

Gummy Worm Guess - This is an old standby game for many different kinds of parties. Fill a jar with gummy worms and have guests guess how many are in the jar. (Don't forget to count as you put them in the jar!) Place the jar near the door and hand each guest a 3x5 card to put their name and their guess. Halfway through the party read them all off and announce the winner. You won't be able to do this game if the children are too young to understand the concept.

Bruce - This is a game that I recently saw at one of my children's parties. The birthday child starts the game as Bruce the Shark, and he stands in the middle of the room. The other children are the 'fish' who have to run past 'Bruce' to the other side of the room. If 'Bruce' tags one of the fish, then the fish must hold hands with Bruce to make a bigger shark. Keep doing this until there is only one fish left. The last fish is the winner. NOTE: you'll need a pretty big play area for this game.

Who's Got Nemo - Place everyone is a circle. Start a some music and toss a Nemo figure to one person, they throw it to the next, and so on until the music stops. The person who is caught holding Nemo has to leave the circle. The last one left is the winner.

Underwater Hunt - Using the same idea as an Easter Egg Hunt hide little bags of gummy worms, fish, or other fun candy around the room, outside, or in a basement. Set the kids loose and let them find the candy. Be sure to keep back several extra in case someone does poorly.

Fish, Fish, Shark - This game is just like “Duck, Duck, Goose,” except that you use a shark chasing the fish instead of a goose chasing a duck.

Nemo Memory Game - Place a few themed items such as a shells, plastic fish, sharks, seaweed, etc. on a tray. Show the tray to the guests for a few seconds, then have them call out as many items as they can remember.

Fishing - I bought a fishing pole that comes with fish of different colours. (dollar store) The fish float in water and the have a hole on them to "hook" on to. I put all the fish in a swimming pool and had the children fish one out. The prizes were all unisex and wrapped in the same colour as the fish. If the child caught a yellow fish they got a prize wrapped in yellow. -- Visitor Submission

Scavenger Hunt - I cut out fish that were either orange or blue and hid them around the yard. The boys had to find blue fish and the girls had to find orange fish. This would correspond to a girl or boy prize. The prizes were also wrapped according to colour and the child chose one from the pile. -- Visitor Submission

Musical Spongebeds - This works the same as musical cushions except you call them spongebeds. Put on some nautical music like the theme tune to Finding Nemo by Robbie Williams and get the kids to walk round the cushions. When the music stops, the kids have to sit on a spongebed, then the next time you remove a spongebed. Keep doing this until there is one kid left. -- Visitor Submission

What To Serve

You can have a lot of fun with the Finding Nemo party theme when it comes to preparing food for your guests. Don't go overboard making complicated dishes for your party. Keep things simple and creative.

When you set up your serving table, you'll want to think of it like kind of a buffet. Cover your table, and then set out your food, plates, napkins, plastic ware, etc. I usually put drinks at one end with cups, finger foods at the opposite end, and 'real' food in the middle. After I get all the food placed, then I put some little decorations out to dress up the table. Remember, the food is part of your overall presentation.

I usually make a big deal out of bringing the cake into the party. If it's a birthday party, I'll light the candles first, then bring the cake into the room and sing happy birthday. The lights dimmed, the candles lit, and the singing, all help to make the birthday child feel special.

Shark Punch - Create any kind of punch you want. Freeze some gummy sharks inside ice cubes and then add them to the punch.

Shark Bait - You will need: peanut butter, jelly or jam, a package of gummy worms, and one apple for each guest. Remove the core from each apple, while leaving the bottom of each apple intact. If you accidentally puncture an apple all the way through and do not have extras, carefully plug the hole with a small piece of core. Combine 1 cup of peanut butter and 1 cup of jam in a bowl. Fill the center of each apple with the mixture. Place apples in a cupcake or muffin tin, and set the tin in a pan half full of water. Bake the apples at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until apples are tender. When cool, insert a gummy worm halfway into the hole, leaving half to dangle over the edge. Serve on individual plates.

Fish Bowl - For this fun snack, you will need a large, clear bowl, one package of blue or green Jell-O®, gummy fish, and a cup of low-fat whipped topping. Make Jell-O® according to package instructions. Pour into the bowl and set in the refrigerator. As Jell-O® thickens, (check after about an hour) insert the gummy fish into the "sea." When it is time to serve, spread whipped topping over the top to create the illusion of surf. Serve in cups or small bowls.

Fish Shaped Sandwiches - make tuna or chicken salad sandwiches. Use a fish shaped cookie cutter to cut out fish shapes. Lay them out on a bed of lettuce for a fun effect.

Peanut Butter and Jellyfish Sandwiches - simple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Make sure that none of your guests have peanut allergies before serving.

Sandy Beaches - Tint some frosting light blue and spread on a sugar cookie. Dip half the cookie into sugar. Cookies look like an ocean with a sandy beach.

Hotdog Octopus - Slice a hotdog in half long way about ¾ of the way up the hotdog. Slice each of those slices in half, making 4 legs. Now slice each of the 4 legs in half to make 8 legs. Boil the hotdog to make the legs curl up like an octopus.

Marshmallow Octopus - Place a large marshmallow on a plate. Use licorice pieces to make 8 legs by poking them into the side of the marshmallow.

Ocean Water recipe (just like Sonic drive-in!) - Visitor Submission

You'll Need:

3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon imitation coconut extract
2 drops blue food coloring
2 12-ounce cans cold Sprite
ice

Directions:

1. Combine the water and the sugar in a small bowl. Microwave for 30-45 seconds, then stir to dissolve all of the sugar. Allow this syrup to cool.

2. Add coconut extract and food coloring to the cooled syrup. Stir well.

3. Combine the syrup with two 12-ounce cans of cold Sprite. Divide and pour over ice. Add straws and serve.

Makes 2 12 oz. servings. Adjust quanity of ingredients to the amount needed.

Other Snacks

You'll want to add some other muchies to the party table to make sure that everyone has something to eat. Chips, popcorn, pretzels, trail mix, m & m's, rice krispie treats, etc. all work well. In addition, you'll want to provide other drinks besides the punch... especially water, but you may also want to include soda or drink boxes. Don't forget the Goldfish crackers!

Don't Let Them Leave Empty Handed

Party favors and prizes are sometimes the most difficult things to come up with. With a Finding Nemo theme party, there are endless possibilities. Here are a few that we've come up with:

Birthday Express has several great Finding Nemo party favors you can choose from including straws, quirting fish, gummies, and lollipops. I'm sure you can find some great favors for your Finding Nemo party there.

Goldfish - As a party favor, we presented each guest with their own "gold fish"!! The children loved it and now there are 15 more "Nemo's" in Georgia!!! -- Submitted by a visitor

Give Away the Decorations - Another way to get double duty out of your decorations is to give them away as party favors or prizes. I don't know any preschooler who wouldn't love to take home a balloon or other object you've used to decorate for the party.

Finding Nemo Party Decorations

Get transparant clear or white latex balloons and tape a ring of streamers or ribbons around them to make jellyfish balloons. Hang them from the ceiling amid arcs of crepe streamers in different shades of blue. And send one of those jellyfish balloons home with each child. -- Submitted by a visitor

You could save yourself a lot of time and money on your favors by buying a Finding Nemo party pack.

When you purchase party favors and prizes, Oriental Trading Company can be a life saver.

Do you have a great idea for an under the sea party? Share it!