How to throw a beach party at the last minute

May 27, 2009 Written by:

With the Memorial Day weekend behind us, the unofficial start of summer is here and for families lucky enough to live near a body of water, it means upcoming trips to the beach.

This may also mean party planners will have to be a little more creative when it comes to decorations and games for a beach party.

One idea for decorations is to send your partiers out on a seashell hunt, telling them to find as many unique or colorful pieces as they can. If you happen to be at a beach by a lake, you can substitute interesting-looking rocks for seashells.

Use the seashells to either spell out the guest of honor's name in the sand or as a perimeter for the party area. You may even want to have a sandcastle built at the "front" of the party area as a way to welcome people.

In terms of games, put a twist on musical chairs and play musical beach towels! Either bring along some portable iPod speakers for the music or resort to singing a silly song yourself. Embarrassing? Maybe. Memorable for the kids? Definitely.