Most children often have a fascination with the water. Lakes, streams and rivers are great, but oceans are really exciting! With creatures like fish, sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, octopuses and whales, what isn’t there to love? So having your next child’s birthday party with an Ocean Mania theme is sure to be a big hit!

Throughout the party, a nice touch would be to have a tape or CD playing softly with wave and ocean bird sounds. Even if you are not at the ocean, it can sound like you are!

Great books can be read at an ocean mania party. One favorite that many children adore is “The Rainbow Fish” my Marcus Pfister. Use a fish puppet to help you tell the story. Then, you can easily make a Rainbow Fish out of a paper plate! It doesn’t take much:

• Paper plates
• Scissors
• Glue
• Googly Eyes
• Crayons
• Aluminum Foil cut into Scale Shapes

Just cut a triangle out of the paper plate, glue it onto the larger portion so that it looks like a tail, add some eyes, glittery scales and color to match your favorite Rainbow Fish character! You could also make an octopus wind sock with some purple construction paper and purple streamers!

Games can be a fun part of an ocean mania party. Make some “What’s in the box” boxes (Regular shoe box with two holes cut into the side to accommodate little hands. Cover the openings with black felt or material.) and place ocean objects, like conk shells, star fish, sand dollars, and plastic sailboats, inside. The guests can reach in and see if they can guess what they are touching. You can also play 20 questions and have the guests try to figure out what ocean creature you are thinking of.

A time for free play is always appropriate at an ocean mania party. Have a big kiddie pool full of water and allow the guest to play with boats and sea creatures that squirt water.

Food at an ocean mania themed party couldn’t be easier. Goldfish are a great treat for young and old, and they come in many colors and flavors! There are also Goldfish pretzels, for those that may not be crazy about cheese. If you want something sweet, you can always make a “Bowl of Fish” for the guests to enjoy. Some blue jell-o and gummy fish all in a big bowl makes a sweet snack! The guests can make their own snack, as well. Everyone can make “Sand” (a variation on “Dirt”) out of vanilla pudding, ‘Nilla Wafer’ crumbs and gummy sea creatures.

The ocean mania theme is easy to find in many party outlet stores. You will be able to find plates, cups, napkins, decorations, invitations and thank you notes, all with ocean animal themes. If you do happen to have trouble located paper products, go to your computer and look at the many quality party stores that are located online. (Tip: when ordering online, leave plenty of time for shipping!)

For a closing activity, you can show movies like "Finding Nemo", "Sharks", and "Rainbow Fish".