FINALLY! i have been SO excited about sharing this post and life has been a little crazy behind the scenes over here..but now 1.5 weeks after the party, we’re all still talking about how much fun we had!!
as i wrap up this post, i actually have two little girls sitting in my lap trying to help me ‘work’ aka trying to touch my screen with each picture they see to give me a play by play of their favorite moments…you know it’s a a good time when.. 🙂

i was SO excited to partner with goldfish swim school for the girls’ birthday and while i wasn’t sure anything could top their 2nd donut + jammie birthday party..i gotta say, this one was 100% the best party yet! i will be going into full detail next week all about birthday parties at goldfish swim school and all the in depth info you want to know because guys, it’s the best place EVER to have a birthday party!! just know that the great thing about goldfish is they take care of EVERYTHING for a perfect party. i’m a little crazy in that i LOVE to plan parties, decorate, and i’m super into all the details…all of that is FUN for me, so truly, i enjoy it.
goldfish was so great about helping me make everything come together and they’re totally used to the ‘pinterest-worthy’ parties…but if you’re not?? then trust me, goldfish is the right place for you. they do everything from providing the invitations to running the party and best of all, cleanup {literally my least favorite part of parties}.
ok. more on that to come…let’s get to it!

lila + piper’s 3rd birthday party!

let’s be mermaids

i had mentioned that amazing crew at goldfish {and my mom and sister} really helped me pull all of this off..and no joke ,we set everything up in 30 minutes before guests arrived! i had made a few things before the party, but really, aside from my mom stuffing goody bags and christine blowing up balloons and putting them on tape, this was all pulled together in the 30 minutes from the party before ours and when guests started arriving.

if you’ve never been to a goldfish swim school, first, you need to go check it out…but secondly, it fits so perfectly into an underwater/beach themed party making it a no brainer for me. we were at a family swim a couple months ago and the girls overheard some older kids pretending to be mermaids, which slightly changed my focus and we were going all out mermaid theme!

goldfish typically provides cupcakes + juice for the party, but because the party was falling during when my crew typically eats dinner, i wanted to have a little something in their bellies so we didn’t have some hangry little toddlers on our hands.
i did decide to keep the menu SUPER simple mainly because i didn’t want to be prepping and i knew we’d only have a short time to set up. i stopped by sam’s club and snagged virtually everything below…even the pre-made chicken salad!

the menu:

seashell sandwiches {chicken salad on croissants}
fish food {goldfish crackers}
seaweed {grape skewers}
peanut butter jellyfish {uncrustables}
pirate booty {found this brand..little puffs!}
seaweed dip + crackers {spinach + artichoke dip}

drinks + dessert table

ok this was SO much fun! i found julia at gem city jules cakes + confections and had this idea in my head of what i wanted and y’all. she like way kicked it outta the park!!! originally i had planned to make these and after zach basically gave me a big fat, ‘no WAY’, i was giving him huge hugs for the idea to hire this one out… seriously, julia is like, c r a z y talented! and even better was that everything was edible and tasted SO YUMMY!!!

mermaid juice {hawaiian punch + lemonade}
ocean water {blue hawaiian punch}
coral reef {rock candy}
mermaid cake
mermaid tail cupcakes
sea salt caramels

this balloon garland actually turned out way easier than i was anticipating and my sister actually got stuck making it while i blew up the balloons. i decided last minute to get a little helium tank and why i’ve never done that before is beyond me. i had a coupon for party city so i essentially got it for free. of course it takes time to blow up the balloons, but when i asked party city how much it was to blow up a handful of balloons and they told me $1 per balloon i about pooped my pants. so the garland: i got a variety of different sizes/colors of balloons, blew them up and then christine shoved the knot through this balloon tape. then we taped a handful of balloons in an arch shape above the table! easy peasy!
for the backdrop, we hung a few lines of table cloth {i snagged a few different colored rolls from party city}…then i took 3 different colored {pink, purple + teal} rectangle table cloths and followed these directions…SO easy!

party time!

when all the kids arrived to goldfish there were the most gorgeous, fun and kind mermaids swimming in the pool!! everyone was seriously mesmerized {even the adults!} and it truly brought all the magic to the party. i have to say…if there was one thing that just made this party, it was them.
after all the kids arrived, we had a quick meeting about safety rules for the pool and then all the kids put on life vests/puddle jumpers {provided by goldfish!} and we headed in to their 90 degree pool!!
quick note…for the girls 1st birthday party {although MAY}, it hailed and was like 33 degrees…and even last year it was in the upper 40s if i remember correctly…so it was SO nice knowing that regardless of what the weather was like, we would be safe in a 90 degree pool area!

the mermaids {also lifeguards + swim instructors} stayed in the pool and swam with us the whole time…the kids got to touch the mermaid tails, swim with them and talk all things under sea!

there was so much jumping, splashing, laughing…it was so. much. fun!

they have floats, airplane rafts, diving rings, virtually anything you could want for your pool so everyone had something to play with, and they all could play together!

while the kids all swam for 45-60 minutes, the grandparents, aunts and uncles all were able to watch the fun through the glass!

and of course, a real mermaid photo shoot! lila was SO mesmerized by these mermaids… she couldn’t stop staring!

our birthday girls!

group shot of all the little fishies!

after swimming, we all took a super quick shower, changed and got dressed to eat + have cake!

we sang happy birthday, the girls blew out their candles and then all the kids found a seat to eat.

it was truly the BEST time in the world… the girls are still talking about all the fun they had, the mermaids they got to swim with and their friends and family that made it so special. i also decided to ask my dear friend, lauren, to come snap some pics of the party and i couldn’t be happier i did! i didn’t pick up my phone once and 100% got to just enjoy our time celebrating the big girls!
we received SO many compliments and as we were leaving, about half the party was wanting to book their own birthday party with goldfish!
it was a magical day and the girls had a blast!

happy birthday, lila + piper…we love you girls SO much!

the biggest THANK YOU to goldfish swim school for putting on the best party EVER and ivory lamb photography for capturing these precious moments!

food cards | your main event prints
mermaid cake + cupcakes | gem city jules cakes + confections
mason jar dispensers | walmart {old}
plastic milk jugs | amazon
mermaid theme straws | target
seashell plates | target
mermaid table cloths | target

mermaids this way sign| hobby lobby
happy birthday mermaid banner | target
balloon decorative strip | amazon

lila + piper bathing suits | target
lindsey’s bathing suit | cupshe
lila + piper ‘s dress | target