How to throw a beach party at the last minute

May 27, 2009

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.