Seven Seas Island Party, 4 yr old  This party takes a little work, but if you plan in advance, you can do a little at a time and also pick things up on sale.  The total cost is less than renting a moonwalk!   We held the party in the evening to beat the July heat in Memphis. This seemed to appeal to some parents as they used the time slot (6:30-8:30 pm) to go have dinner together without the kids!  Each child received a costume when they arrived (see below). The girls were asked to wear a bathing suit and the boys a white T-shirt.  I placed a mirror against the house so the kids could see how they looked. Mermaid for girls- Leis, headbands, and wristbands from Oriental Trading and a 'tail' made from green liquid lame fabric and tied like a sarong in the back. Green glitter 'scales' were applied to their arms and backs. The shiny fabric was purchased on sale at Hobby Lobby. The fabric is 45" wide and most girls could wear one that was exactly 1/2 the width of the fabric and 32 inches wide. You can move the cut off center to make 2 tails for a shorter and taller girl. The fabric doesn't fray, but it does run in one direction, so I tacked the edges down with stitch witchery.  (Do a couple per night and it won't take too long).  Pirates for boys- red bandanas, eye patch, red sash, an  earring and ragged black pants. The sashes were cut 4 inches wide and 1.5 yards long with pinking shears (Hobby Lobby peachskin on sale). The earrings were made from Hobby Lobby jewelry making parts- using a gold key ring as the loop. I picked up black sweat pants at garage sales for a few weeks and cut them off at the knee with a zigzag pattern.  The boys also had a mustache drawn on if they wanted to.  At the close of the party the boys received a sword from the dollar store to complete the look.   We filled about 500 water balloons. After the balloons were all popped, I gave each child a cup with their name on it and told them the person who picked up the most water balloon pieces would win a prize.  In no time at all, the backyard was clean again!  There were prizes for both they boy and girl with the most pieces. Next we played 'survivor'.  I place numbered hula hoops on the ground.  We played beach music as the kids danced around the 'islands'.  When the music stopped, the kids hopped on an island. A number was drawn and the kids on that island were out of the game.  The survivor won a prize. We played this game 3 times and it tends to burn up a lot of energy! We also did the limbo and let the kids play on the swingset that had been decorated as a pirate ship (a Jolly Roger flag on the fort and paper 'waves' around the bottom. Instead of cake I made individual dirt cakes (modified using Vienna Fingers to look like sand). The dirt cakes were in clear plastic cups and topped with a parasol and round gummy 'life preserver'. I also made individual aquariums with blue Jell-O and gummy sharks and octopuses. (Place the Jell-O in individual clear cups and after about 1 hour, press the sharks down into the middle of the aquarium. I topped each with a thin layer of 'sea foam' (cool whip) and some more gummy life preservers.  (Note the kids went for the Jell-O 2 to 1 over the sand cakes). We served slushies with a cherry and orange on a fish pick to look tropical. Since the kids had costumes to take home, the goody bags were not very elaborate. I put in ring pops, fruit shaped Runts, chocolate gold coins, Mardi Gras beads, and a sand mold with a recipe for sand dough that dries permanent. The goody bags were placed in a treasure chest which they found through a series of clues. After they found the goody bags, we opened presents. I have found that the kids are much more patient while the birthday child opens presents if they have their goody bags to sort through. The kids are still dressing up in their costumes and talking about the party. Some have even said they will use them at Halloween.