I never fully appreciated the scope of a child’s full-blown obsession until my daughter met the Octonauts. After an 18-month obsession, my daughter finally had the Octonauts birthday party of her dreams. Complete with a homemade Octonauts crew hat, a creature report and plenty of ocean-themed food, the party was a blast and Captain Barnacles would have been proud.
My daughter’s obsession with the Octonauts is so great that an episode of the Octonauts is a unit of time measurement. How long until we get there? Four Octonauts (which is approximately one hour). For the record, our party was approximately eight Octonauts, and it was perfect.
Of course, it all starts with an invitation (which I designed).
Creature Report
When I started planning the party months ago, I decided that I wanted to turn the kitchen into the Octopod – I wanted partygoers to feel like they were onboard the Octopod.
Those who have seen the Octonauts know that the Creature Report is the coolest part of the show. So the first thing I needed to achieve that was the set of computer screens used to display the Creature Report each episode. The screens made the perfect party background, and I loved the way they turned out. Plus K got a kick out of a Creature Report all about the birthday girl.
Custom Creature Reports are available by order. Email to inquire about price.
Under Water Balloon Canopy
The next most striking thing I did to emphasize the Octopod feel was to create a balloon canopy over the kitchen. The canopy of blue balloons gave the feeling of looking up at the ocean.
It was simple to create, but my husband thought I was nuts when I told him I wanted to hang balloons from our 14-foot ceiling. In the end, even he admitted that it looked really cool. And it really is a cool effect.
We used 29 balloons to create the canopy (one in the package was busted).
DIY Bling Candle
One of my favorite details was the candle for K’s cupcake. I looked everywhere for a pretty number candle for her cupcake, but was sad to find that all of the number candles are just plain ugly. Well, not ugly – but boring and with little options to match a theme. I ended up with one with red, yellow and blue stars all over it.
Then I got an idea – decorate it! So I found self-adhesive blue crystals at JoAnn’s for $1 (and I had a 40% coupon!), and I made some magic. I already had the big clear crystal in my stash, so it was just a matter of a little craft glue and ugly candle be gone. Seriously, I am going to be doing this from now on. For less than $2, K had a beautiful blinged out candle for her cupcake.
Octonauts Printables
Playing with the Octonauts colors of blue and orange and emphasizing the ocean feel, I used accents of blue and with white polka dots as the basis for all of the coordinating printables I created. I made coordinating table tents for food labels and several items for the goodie bags.
Free Octonauts Party Printables coming soon.
Octo-Food
All of the party food was ocean themed. I served:
- Captain’s Chow
- Coral Reef Salad
- Shark’s Teeth
- Sandollars
- Seaweed dip
- Pirate’s Booty
- Buncha Muncha Crunchy Carrots
- Fish Biscuits
- Giant Clam Cookies
- Octopus Puffs
Peso’s Medical Goodie Bags
When searching for ideas for an Octonauts birthday party, I fell in love with the idea of using Peso’s Medical Bag as the goodie bag / treat box. Careful thought went into these goodie bags which contained gifts from each of the eight crew members and an Official Octonauts certificate.
***Update*** Details about what is inside the Octonauts goodie bags as well as three four printables — Official Octonauts certificate, Fish Biscuits Treat Toppers, notepad covers and crew list — are now available.
Octonauts Games
To keep the party running smoothly with a gaggle of Kindergarteners in my house, we played three Octo-themed games: Octonaut Bingo, Pin the Mouth on the Octoalert and an Octopod pinata.
I designed the Bingo and Octoalert games myself, and I plan to make them available as a free printable soon.
My free Octonaut BINGO is now available.
Octonauts on DVD
Of course, not everyone at the party was as Octonauts savvy as K. So to help “educate” them on all things Octonauts, we also had the new Octonauts: To the Gup-X DVD playing in the background. Featuring some of K’s favorite episodes, it was a great birthday gift for K that was also very useful at the party!
Octonauts Birthday Party Supplies:
- Octonauts Shirt from Etsy
- Octonauts Hair Clip
- The Octonauts: Meet the Octonauts!
- Octonauts: To the Gup-X
- Octonauts Stickers (I used as game prizes)
- Octonauts Tattoos
- Octonauts Octopod Pinata
- Octonauts Party Supplies
Sue E says
My granddaughter loves Octonauts! As a matter of fact, for Christmas & her birthday, we bought her Octonaut toys. I wish I would have seen this site before May 31st, because my daughter had all 3 of her kids’ birthdays then. GREAT ideas!!
Sue E says
I just pinned the page – THANKS!!
Natalie from Sewoutnumbered says
Love love love your party!!! My son is similarly OB.SESSED with the octonauts and I’m planning his party which is in 3 weeks. Don’t suppose any of your printables would be available before then??! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
jen says
I am so excited for you! Octonauts are AWESOME! Ok, you are going to be my motivation to stop slacking and get them posted. If in 1 week I don’t have any posted, email me — I will get them to you! [email protected].
Natalie from Sewoutnumbered says
Jen you are a SUPERSTAR!! Thank you sooooo much – this will make my party planning a breeze! 😀
danielle says
Do you still do the Creature reports? I am looking for one for my 4 year old. thank you!
jen says
Hi – Yes, I do. Email me directly [email protected].
Denise Zirbel says
Love your party decor and ideas. What items did you use for the goody bags?
Claire Alexander says
Hi Jen,
Thank you for the inspiration. Any update on those printables. I am behind on my organisation so would really appreciate your help.
Greetings from Oz
Claire
jen says
Hi – I am actively working on getting my Octonauts posts up. The BINGO game is now available here –> http://www.thesuburbanmom.com/2014/07/07/octonauts-birthday-party-free-printable-bingo-game/
Jennifer R says
I am super interested in your printables as well. I had midway through planning my son’s 3rd birthday party for July 12th when I found your blog! Now I am sending back a lot of what I have ordered and doing something more along the lines of what you have done here! SO CUTE, you did a fabulous job!
Jennifer R says
I am super interested in your printables as well. I was midway through planning my son’s 3rd birthday party for July 12th when I found your blog! Now I am sending back a lot of what I have ordered and doing something more along the lines of what you have done here! SO CUTE, you did a fabulous job!
jen says
Thanks so much Jennifer, I am honored to have inspired you!!! You can now find the BINGO game here –> http://www.thesuburbanmom.com/2014/07/07/octonauts-birthday-party-free-printable-bingo-game/
Jessica says
I am absolutely in LOVE with your Octonauts Birthday Theme/Ideas. It is so adorable. I am very interested in your printables. This would be saving me money for my sons 3rd birthday.
Candice says
Love your party! One question, HOW did you make the 6 door hanger? I love it and so desperately want to make one! Please please please share how you make it! So cute!!
jen says
Candice – I WISH I could take credit for it. But it was actually made by a friend of a friend (whom I don’t know). She made it for her daughter when she turned 6 and passed it on to my friend for her daughter’s 6th. Then it was the PERFECT color for my daughter… And it had one more 6th birthday to celebrate after mine 🙂 I can tell you that it is coffee filters and the back is a giant piece of poster board. But I don’t know the details on how she dipped them. Although one of these days, I might have to try my hand at making one 🙂
Heather says
My son loves The Octonauts. Thank you for ideas. His birthday is in December
lydia says
Love your party. I’m doing one for my son. Is there anway to get the personalized creature report signs? I desperately need them but it says its no longer available on etsy. Thanks in advance for your help!
Marsha says
Hi – What a wonderful Octonauts party you hosted. I am planning my son’s party for Feb 14th and was wondering if you were still doing the creature reports?
Thanks,
Marsha
jen says
Thanks! It was a lot of fun. I do still make them, email me directly [email protected].
monica says
I am very interested in creature report signs. Can I place an order?
jen says
Hello, please email me [email protected] to order.
Jen says
I love all your creative ideas! Our son is having Octonauts as his theme for his 4th birthday this month. Do you have your creature report available as a printable? If so, could you please email me with details? Thanks so much!
jen says
Hi Jen – the customized creature report printable is available for sale, please email me directly for information to order. [email protected]
Jesse says
Wonderful party! My boys want their party to be Octonaut themed. Can you tell me how you did the giant clam cookies? And what’s underneath that looks like sand? Thanks!
jen says
Sure thing! The clam cookies are Nilla Waffers filled with orange icing. The “pearl” is a yogurt covered raisin. And it is all sitting in a “sandy” ocean floor — brown sugar! Have fun creating an Octonauts party!
Brenda says
I LOVE all the ideas and creativity! We are using a lot of your inspiration for my son’s 3rd birthday party, this Saturday at our local aquarium. He is SO excited! One of the last things we are having difficulty with is figuring out either A) how to do the Tweak keychains. (already found a cute keychain, just need the printable and instruction) OR B) an alternative option for the “Goody” (medical) bag. I saw a tutorial was coming soon, and figured I just hadn’t clicked on it. Any advice you can offer, or alternative ideas p.would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thank you so much!
Brenda
P.S. LOVING the blog. Have shared it with all my girlfriends, and they are all fans now, too. : D
Tiffany says
What are the Octopus Puffs made out of?
jen says
They were Pirates Booty! Easy Peasy.
PnkMomma1029 says
Hello! I am currently planning my daughter’s 3rd birthday party. She has requested an Octonauts-themed party and I am loving the Creature Report based on the child herself that you have shown in this post. How can I go about having one made for me for a party that is scheduled for early October 2015? Any assistance you are able to offer is greatly appreciated. Thank you !
jen says
HI! happy birthday to you daughter. Please email me directly at [email protected].
Bri says
Hi! My daughter’s birthday is in January and I’m planning on making it octonauts, she loves octonauts, she’d watch it all day if I let her. But I have a question, did having it blue and orange ever make it feel too boyish since the party was for your daughter, I’m planning on making it teal and orange for my daughter since it felt too boyish to me lol but besides that, I love all your ideas! Where do I find the peso medic printable? Gonna make the medic bags as goodie/thank you bags 🙂
jen says
Hi Bri – I didn’t feel as if my daughter’s party was “boyish” at all. You can see from the pictures, it was light and colorful and my daughter loved everything about it. She even had bling on her candle. You can get all of the details for the goodie bags, including the printable, here -> http://www.thesuburbanmom.com/2014/09/09/octonauts-birthday-party-goodie-bag-ideas-free-printables. Happy party planning.
kavya says
How did you make the number six which is hung in the front door, can u shares the process, I am planning my daughters 4 th octonauts themed birthday party
jen says
Unfortunately, that is probably the only project I don’t have any pictures of, so I don’t have a tutorial to share. However, this YouTube video does a fantastic job. It looks like she used foam board, I used cardboard from a large shipping box I had lying around (free!). Hope this helps! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsQpHPuUVc8
Melissa says
I’m planning my son 3rd Birthday Bash and I really can use your help……
Sandie Cruz says
How big did you make the creature report? I am working on one for my lo 3rd birthday but I feel like it is too small to be seen from far away.
jen says
The printed portion of the screen was an 8×10, and the orange frame was about 2 inches bigger. Hope this helps!
Nicola Waterlow says
This is fab. Sadly I’ve run out of time to make my daughters October party quite so fabulous.
Do you have any food printables to share? I would be so grateful 🙂
Celeste says
Cute party! My son wants an Octonaut party this year and would love the ‘Creature Report’ of himself! How did you do this? Thanks!
jen says
Hi Celeste – I designed the Creature Reports myself. I sell custom ones, if you are interested. Feel free to email me.
Jenni says
Hi Jen,
The link to the octonaut medical bag plaster printable doesn’t work. Is there any way you can fix this or get it to me? Your party looked amazing, I can’t match it but nicking a few of your great ideas!
jen says
Hi Jenni – Looks like the blog that originally posted the bandages is no longer online. Luckily I still have them in my files, so I have added a link to download them in the post here – http://www.thesuburbanmom.com/2014/09/09/octonauts-birthday-party-goodie-bag-ideas-free-printables/
Melissa says
Hi there. I am planning my son’s Octonauts birthday party for this coming Saturday, Feb. 4 2016. I created the medical bag party favor using your ideas (but I swapped out some of the favors for other items. Any chance you would be able to create a modified version of the Octonauts Gift List for me? I would so appreciate it! Thank you 🙂
Melissa says
Oops I meant Feb. 4, 2017
Sherry A says
I have been trying to print the food label for Tunips Fish Food with no success. It prints out very large and off to the right. I can’t get one label to print in whole. I’ve messed around with the sizes trying to get it on one page and no luck. Any ideas? Thanks and appreciate any help you can provide.
jen says
Hi – make sure you are downloading the file to your computer. Don’t just save the image on the blog, download the image from the link. Then print the file from your computer. This should help.
kimberlyn mccraney says
i would really love your help with planning this theme for my son jayce 1st birthday party on august 16 2017
Amanda says
Hi love your creature report! My son is having an Octonauts themed birthday as well and I love to have the creature report! Thanks!