This Finding Dory birthday party post contains affiliate links for your convenience.
I love that my kids both have summer birthdays. It means I have an excuse to throw one, over the top, joint birthday party! Like last year’s art themed party, we celebrated at As You Wish Pottery Painting Place. Both of my kids love painting pottery there and it’s one of my favorite places to host a birthday, especially during the summer in Arizona. You can totally have a low-key party there and they’ll do all the work for you. However, if you are like me and love to party plan, they’ll let you bring in your own decor and go to town. I transformed the party area into an ocean scene from Disney’s Finding Dory and the kids had a blast painting!
Everyone asks me if picking a theme for a joint sibling party with different genders is difficult and so far it hasn’t been. We honor their differences on their actual birthdays. For their party, they decided on a Finding Dory theme. My daughter is obsessed with baby Dory and Logan is fluent in whale, thanks to the movie. Before I even heard about the theme choice, they already had a plan for their cake. My mom, baker extraordinaire, crafts their cake every year and this year she outdid herself! This was her FIRST time sculpting with fondant and she nailed Dory, Nemo and Hank!
Our cake was the centerpiece of the party. Other decor on our dessert table included an awesome ruffle tablecloth by Haute Stuff Vintage Market, matching candy in different sized jars and a coffee pot with Dory inside. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll understand why Dory is stuck in a coffee pot. For the backdrop, I hung a fishing net behind the table and filled it with balloons. Such an easy way to give the space some color. The cake stands are from World Market.
I couldn’t host a Finding Dory party without my signature goldfish marshmallow pops! They are so easy to make and you can make theme ahead of time. Plus, they are super cute and I think my 3 year old snuck a couple off the table before the party even started! My sweet friend, Erin of Printable Crush, offered to create Finding Dory printables for the party and I couldn’t get over how cute the cupcake toppers turned out! My mom used shell molds to create edible fondant shells for the cupcakes.
You can also find the Dory and Nemo masks, hats, invitations and other party printables over at Printable Crush! We had a lot of fun taking photos with the masks. I attached the masks to long wooden dowels using hot glue, but you could also attach them to paper straws. I displayed our masks in a jar filled with shells on the dessert table. Erin also created all the Star Wars printables for our movie night party, she’s so talented!
I kept the kid table simple, knowing that the kids would be painting there. My biggest mom tip for a kid table is to cover it with pretty wrapping or kraft paper. It makes for easy cleanup and you won’t be stressing if the kids spill on your nice tablecloths (because they will). I crafted up jelly fish out of paper lanterns and ribbon for the centerpieces (tutorial coming soon) and found plastic fishbowls to use as cups. The fishbowls were filled with blue colored water, using a natural blue dye. The darling Dory and Nemo favor bag printables are from Simply Made with Sam.
One party element that I splurge on are outfits. I’m a total sucker for matching party outfits and accessories! I found the cutest Dory and Nemo shirts on Etsy, along with a matching headband. My daughter has pretty much lived in her shirt since the party, so it’s getting some major use out of it. Another option is to purchase fabric and make your own outfits, if you are handy with a sewing machine. I spotted some cute Finding Dory fabric online. Happy party planning and just keep swimming!
Here’s a list of tutorials and products used in this party:
Birthday Party Venue – As You Wish Pottery Painting Place
Finding Dory Favor Bags – See Vanessa Craft
Finding Dory Favor Bag Printables – Simply Made with Sam
Ruffle Table Cloth – Haute Stuff Vintage Market
Goldfish Marshmallow Pops – See Vanessa Craft
Printable Finding Dory Hats & Masks – Printable Crush
Printable Finding Dory Cupcake Toppers – Printable Crush
Plastic Fishbowls – Amazon
Natural Blue Food Color – Amazon
Blue Polka Dot Straws – Amazon
Sea Shell Fondant Molds – Amazon
