How to Make Indoor Beach Party Decorations

You have decided to host an indoor beach party, and you are looking for creative ideas for decorating this tropical, carefree theme. You are a do-it-yourselfer who enjoys putting together decorations that really enhance a party's theme and make it come alive for guests. Well, your indoor beach party will be no exception, especially since there are so many ways to decorate based on this theme. Here are a few DIY decorating ideas to get your party started.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Heavy rope Beach-inspired clothing (such as tropical-printed shorts, bathing suits and tank tops) Scissors Clothespins Plastic or tin beach buckets (without handles) Play sand Narrow candles Brightly colored poster board sheets Duct tape Beach towels Fishing nets Sea shells Grass skirts

How to Make Indoor Beach Party Decorations

1. Make a beach-inspired banner.
   Cut a piece of heavy rope long enough to span one of the walls (or more) in your party space. Fasten several types of beach-inspired clothing, such as tropical-printed shorts, bathing suits and tank tops, to the rope using clothespins. Continue fastening clothes along the rope as if you were hanging laundry on a clothesline. Secure the beach-inspired garland to the wall using duct tape or another fastening method of your choice.

2. Design your own beach bucket luminaries.
   Create beach-inspired luminaries to serve as table centerpieces. Prepare a luminary for each table by filling a plastic or tin beach bucket (without handles) about three-fourths full of play sand. Place a narrow candle in the center of each bucket so that the candle is safely embedded in the play sand. Light the candles just before the party starts to create a soft, warm glow.

3. Make sea life decals for party walls.
   Purchase brightly colored poster board sheets from your local discount store. Then trace or draw giant fish, seaweed plants, kelp, starfish and other sea creatures on the poster board sheets. Cut them out and post them on party walls using duct tape to create an ocean-inspired environment.

4. Create your own beach towel tablecloths.
   Borrow or purchase an eclectic mix of beach towels to use as quirky, beach-inspired tablecloths. Choose beach towel patterns that are bright and bold, and use a different style for each guest table. To add a final touch to your DIY tablecloths, place fishing nets on top of each beach towel and scatter some sea shells on top of the ensembles.

5. Purchase several grass skirts from your local discount store. Secure the tops of the grass skirts to the outer edges of all serving tables using duct tape to create beach-inspired table skirts. (You will need at least eight grass skirts to cover all four sides of a standard, 8-inch rectangular table.)

Tips & Warnings

• Do not leave lit luminaries unattended.