Ocean Party for Adults: How to Host 'Under the Sea'

The Draw of the Ocean

There is something very alluring about the ocean. People everywhere throughout history have always been drawn to the deep blue, and for good reason! It is vast and powerful, it provides abundant life and food sources, and it soothes us like nothing else. If you don’t live near the ocean and can’t make it there any time soon, do the next best thing: host an ocean party!

Sunlight rays stream down through the water to the shallow sea floor in Greece — Christina Spiliotopoulou; Francesco Ungaro

A sea turtle glides through the water by a wall teeming with sea plants and other wildlife — Christina Spiliotopoulou; Francesco Ungaro

An ocean party is all about creating an oceanic paradise in your home where everyone feels like they’re at the beach or under the sea. And last I checked, most people love the ocean! So invite all your friends over and get ready and create that aquatic environment in your own home to celebrate our most treasured geographic feature.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means I may earn commission if you click through the link and finalize a qualifying purchase. This does not affect the price in any way.

How to Throw an Ocean Party

1. Create an Oceanic Scene with Ocean Party Decorations

A sea star rests on the ocean floor below sunlight rays streaming down and illuminating the wave formations in the sand. Sea stars are excellent decorations for an ocean party — Jakob Owens

Being a geography graduate, not much fascinates me more than bathymetry and the ocean floor. The fact that it’s the one region on earth with so much yet undiscovered makes it that much more amazing. While it’s harder to mimic deepwater environments, there are a lot of ways to create the shallower and still-mesmerizing sunlight zone and proximate ocean habitats in your home.

For colours, focus on blues and greens. Display seashells anywhere you can – in clear glass vases or glasses, strewn across a mantel or tabletop, hanging from fishing line. If you enjoy DIY projects, there are a ton of fun ways you can craft with shells to create fantastic party décor or permanent features for your space. If you don’t have as much time to DIY décor, there are a ton of premade ocean garlands from various artisans as well as seashells if you haven’t collected enough of your own!

Neon-lit aquarium scene including many colourful fish and plant life at Nagoya Aquarium in Suizokukan, Nagoya-shi, Japan — SGR

You have a plentitude of marine life to inspire decorating: sea turtles, sea stars, seashells, coral, sand dollars, octopi, sharks and other wildlife, sand, seaweed, mermaids, barnacles, fishnet, as well as nautical décor like anchors, sailing vessels, and other decorative ocean and nautical-themed relics. Find more fun finds in the list below:

A wooden sign on a blue-painted exterior wall reads 'Sea' with decorative nautical items affixed around it like a life raft, sea stars, sea turtle, and arrow pointing in the direction of the ocean - perfect decor for an ocean party! — Belinda Fewings

You know you’ve decorated successfully when someone walks in and feels they’re at the ocean. Decorating is a lot of fun, and even if you have a tighter budget, you can often find inexpensive party supplies if you know where to look. And, as mentioned above, you can DIY party decorations!

2. Prepare Coastal Refreshments

A sea turtle glides along above the surface of a reef and rocky outcropping underwater — Jeremy Bishop

Seafood, naturally, is what’s on the menu at an ocean party! But if you or any guests don’t eat seafood, you can still serve up the ocean in some yummy drinks (see list below) alongside your basic party fare like cheese platters and the like. You could also make it a potluck ocean party and request that guests bring a dish to share. People are usually happy to contribute. Just make sure you’re aware of any invited guests’ dietary restrictions and provide at least a few decent food/drink options for them as well.

3. Set the Ambience with the Perfect Playlist or Video

Bright yellow anemones at Dana Point, California — EJ Strat

Background music is a big part of a party’s vibe, and ocean vibes are usually fun and relaxing. You could opt to play music that accompanies beautiful ocean imagery, like bossa nova by the reef or a scenic ocean wildlife video with relaxing music. Or you could simply play an underwater ocean animals soundscape. Alternatively, you could play any gorgeous oceanscape/wildlife video on mute with different party music playing from a separate source. Maybe you opt for fun coastal-inspired music – whether island pop, Hawaiian ukulele, beach rock, steel drums, or any other genre. There is no one-size-fits-all – your audio choice depends on your taste. Just make sure you plan your fun playlist with some thought!

4. Add Enticing Scents

Sunlight pours through the shallow surface of the water to the rocky sea bed in Crete — Yannis Papanastasopoulos

Don’t let your friends walk into your ocean party without being greeted by the amazing, fresh aromas of the sea! Here are some delightfully scented candles that will truly immerse your friends in an oceanscape:

Checklist of Items You Need

A beautiful coral/red-coloured sea star with white dots/bumps on it is nestled in a colourful bed of plant life underwater - a gorgeous scene to inspire ocean party decor — Geoff Trodd

Now that we’ve covered what you’ll need to do for an ocean party, here is what you’ll need to acquire for it:

Ocean party decorations
Seafood and/or ocean-inspired refreshments
Ocean-inspired music and/or soundscape
Ocean-scented candles

Preparation Checklist for Your Ocean Party

A sea turtle swims upward from a colourful bed of corals — Milos Prelevic

Most of these steps for party preparation apply to any type of party you host. So while we covered ocean-specific details above, below are basic party planning guidelines to neatly order each step of the process (you can find more thorough details in the Best Party Practices posts):

1. First, confirm that people can come on any chosen date

Choose party date/time, and preferably alternative date(s) as well
Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort)
Six weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability on chosen party date(s). The only details you’ll need to share at this time include what type of party it will be (ocean-themed); any requested participation (such as bringing a dish to share or BYOB); party date and general time of day; and your address (or other location if elsewhere)
This first step is just to get people to confirm that, barring unforeseen circumstances, they are able and willing to attend and will save the date to do so. If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them secure the calendar date for your awesome ocean party!

2. Then, proceed with the fun planning

An orange sea star nestled in aquatic plantlife at Cala Calitja cove in Costa Brava, Spain — Viatour Cathy

Once you have your party date established, get out your calendar and map out when you plan to do every step of preparation. This means you schedule time for each preparation activity that you’ll need to do leading up to the party:

First, sit down and schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep as listed below
Create invitations with all the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party
Order any party supplies and decorations 3 weeks out (so they arrive in time to set up)
Shop for any party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
DIY any party decorations
Acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
Set up decorations
Prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)

3. Day of Party

Close-up photo of a sunlit coral reef with many different textures and shapes as well as some fish swimming through it, at Dahab, Egypt — Raimond Klavins

It’s very important to get as much party prep done far enough in advance that you have some time to yourself to relax come party day, especially if you’ve been busy. So be sure to plan your day-of-party preparations early enough to have that time and space to yourself as well. Within those amply planned/set-aside time slots, you can expect to do these preparations during the day of your party:

Complete any last-minute food/drink prep that are too fresh to do any earlier
Set up any quick/easy last-minute supplies and decorations (if not up already)
Prepare ambience (audio/visual, candles)
Get dressed in your favourite sea breezy blue party outfit
Once everything’s ready, take some time for any preferred self-care activities that get you in a good head space so you can be a centered, refreshed, and happy host!

All Set to Host a Splendid Ocean Party

A dreamy blue ocean photography featuring a coral reef and seaweed — NOAA

Like other environment themes, an ocean party is all about creating an atmosphere that immerses people in another world. You want to make your home as oceanic as possible. Beyond that, there isn’t a strict blueprint for this party so simply do whatever you and your friends most enjoy! And, equally important, you should enjoy the party planning process – which will mainly entail decorating and/or DIYing decorations as well as planning and preparing the menu. As long as you give yourself ample time as emphasized above, you will be able to take your time and enjoy the process. See you at the sea!

Ocean Party for Adults: How to Host ‘Under the Sea’