Beach Theme Party Decorating Ideas

Home
CHOOSE THEME
Beach & Surfer
Beach Decorating Ideas

Beach Decorating Ideas

Beach & Surfer Party Theme

RELATED THEMES:

Decorating Ideas For Beach and Surfer Parties

Entrance & Outdoor Ideas
Make A Scene
Motifs & Signs
Choose Your Colors
Ceiling & Hanging Ideas
Up the Walls
Food Service Ideas
Bar & Beverage Service
Focal Points & Centerpieces
Receptions, Banquets & Dinner
Lighting Ideas
Favors & Gift Ideas

If you crave the motion of ocean waves, cherish sand between your toes, or just love beach music, recreate those magic moments and good vibrations with a metaphorical change in latitude for a fun, fun, fun beach themed escape.

And, we're here to get your creative juices flowing so you can be young, foolish, and happy, while you fashion some kind of wonderful event for you and your guests.

For inspiration, consider a day at the beach filled with high energy activity, the tranquil nature of sand & sea, or a throwback to the surfing culture of the 1960s. Here are 3 distinctive beach decorating styles:

BEACH FUN

Fun day at the beach
High energy
Bright colors
Beach activities

VINTAGE COASTAL

Nature inspired
Sea, sand, & shell colors
Weathered & worn
Vintage & natural

RETRO SURFER

Retro 60s vibe
Multi-color, pastels
Surfers & surfing
Local culture

When decorating, we like to place decorations, arrange accents & set "surprises" so guests discover them over the duration of the party. Below, we've put together some of our favorite suggestions for decorating your party scene with seaside flair.

Surf's Up! Entrance & Outdoor

START your party planning outside the box with a welcoming entrance and fun details in the backyard:

Hang bikinis, board shorts, flip flops, hats, sunglasses, beach towels and accessories on a clothesline, fence, or porch railing
Flank the front door with:

Surfboards or cutouts from bulletin board paper, plywood, or cardboard, DIY here
Beach ball & ring float columns, glued together with latex adhesive
Wood crates & nets with buoys, lobsters, crabs & shells
Giant pool floats
Floor urns with bamboo or dried sea oats
Potted palm plants
For the adventurous, make your own palm trees, DIY here

Use sidewalk chalk to draw creative designs on the driveway and paths to direct guests

Roll out a bamboo mat runner
Arrange Adirondack or beach chairs
Fill the trees with hanging starfish
Light the drive & walkways with hanging rope lanterns
Kick up the beach colors with flower or tissue pom poms hanging from tree limbs
Pose plastic pink flamingo lawn ornaments
Group arrangements of seashells and driftwood
Put out a weathered BEACH sign

Make a Scene

CREATE a laid-back surf shack scene on the front porch, at the back door, or in the party area:

Give 'em a Sign

HARMONIZE your decor by repeating one or more beach, surfing, or ocean-themed icons, symbols or motifs, such as:

BEACH

Suns
Flip flops
Lifeguard chairs
Sunglasses
Beach chairs
Suntan lotion
Beach umbrellas
Life rings
Beach towels
Sandcastles
Pail & shovel
Beach balls & floats
Exotic drinks
Drink umbrellas
Waves, ocean, water
Oars & paddles

SURFING & RETRO

Surfboards
Woody wagons
VW Buses
Tiki gods
Ukuleles
Bongo drums
Board shorts
Changing cabanas
Surf shacks

FISHING

Fishing nets
Lobster buoys & traps
Japanese glass buoys

BIRDS

Seagulls
Pelicans
Shore Birds
Parrots
Pink flamingos

SEA LIFE

Tropical Fish
Sea turtles
Crabs
Lobsters
Dolphins
Seahorses
Whales
Sharks

SEASHELLS

Starfish
Conch shells
Clams/Scallops
Sea Urchins
Sand dollars
Coral

PLANT LIFE

Palm trees
Hibiscus flowers
Driftwood
Bamboo Leaves
Sea oats

FRUIT

Pineapples
Bananas
Limes
Coconuts
Oranges
Lemons

Erect a directional signpost with beach destinations on weathered wood, mini surfboard cutouts, or arrows in bright beach colors. DIY here
Make a cute little arrow sign TO THE BEACH
Add throw pillows in beach colors to a neutral-colored (or covered) sofa
Intersperse signs and beach phrases written in rope letters, DIY here

Show Your Colors

TIE it all together by choosing a palette of colors up front to guide your decorating decisions:

Consider a full range of beach colors
Choose any 3 to 5
Lighten 1 or more colors to refine your palette
Make your colors stand out with white, ivory and neutral backgrounds
Remove competing colors and objects that distract from your selected shades
For a coastal effect, use colors inspired by nature

Ocean & sky: turquoise, teal, blue and aqua
Sand & shells: rose, sand, gold and sienna

Establish your colors with repetition

Fly High

DECORATE the ceiling and transform the room; here are some ideas to lift your thinking:

Hang surfboard cutouts & inflatable sharks, whales or dolphins
Radiate swaths of draped fabric in beach ball colors from a center point

Up the Walls

ENHANCE the background and create focal points with themed wall decorations, trimmings, and backdrops:

Hang new or vintage travel posters to beach destinations
Mount giant paper or foam flowers
Use bamboo or rattan shades to

give walls that beach hut vibe
create a themed backdrop
restrict access
hide supplies & unsightly areas

Layer bamboo fencing, raffia table skirts, thatching, or weathered-wood bulletin-board paper

Add a realistic beach vista behind the bar or dessert table with a photography backdrop or scene-printed bulletin board paper

Then, frame the view with curtains or bamboo poles
Lay out your own water & sky horizon:

Use blue fabric, paint, or cloud-printed bulletin-board paper for the sky
Create the horizon with hanging turquoise tulle or organza as the water
Simulate light reflections on the water with white mini or fairy lights underneath
Suspend an orange/white round paper lantern as the sun/moon

String a collection of lobster buoys on a rope
Brighten the room with Popsicle garland made from pool noodles, DIY here

Fill open spaces with rectangle panels of beach towels
Or, hang striped beach towels on hooks
Cascade a curtain of flower garlands
Emulate the heat from the sun and rippling water with twisted crepe streamers
Make a gallery wall of individual seashell photos framed with poster or foam board.
Alternatively, frame real seashells

Hook up a fishing net decoration and add starfish, shells, and sea life

Include plastic crabs, lobsters, tropical fish, & green streamers as seaweed
Attach photos of your guest of honor or beach travel destinations
Use bamboo or weathered wood bulletin board paper for the background
Enhance with white mini or fairy lights

Mark the spot with crossed paddles or tiki torches over a doorway, bar, or fireplace
Put up tiki masks for a surfer party

Serve 'em Right

FIRE UP your food service with unique details at food stations, appetizer spreads, self-serve buffets, raw bars, dessert tables, and hors d'oeuvre trays:

Create a fun day at the beach on your serving table with teal-colored satin overlaid with a strip of burlap along the back for the beach
Use a real surfboard or cutout as a serving table tier
Dress tables with striped stretch covers or skirts
Center salad & serving bowls in swim ring & inner tube floats
Hoist a thatch or stripe umbrella over a food station, buffet, dessert table, or bar
Decorate tables with blue & white wave bunting, raffia table skirts, or natural thatching
Label food with tents and mini signs in pineapple, beach ball, palm tree, and/or seashell card holders

Include plastic sand pails with shovels
Build a display of cascading fruit as a centerpiece
Include enamel serveware in bright colors, such as cake stands, beverage tubs, and utensil holders
Use scallop, clam, and starfish shaped serving dishes
Arrange tropical plants in woven basket planters at varying heights on a buffet or food station

Decorate with edible sand made from wafers, graham crackers & brown sugar, recipe here
Create a cupcake beach scene with flower sprinkles on PEZ-candy flip-flops under a drink umbrella
Also, festoon dips and food platters with cocktail parasols

Raise the Bar

LIFT SPIRITS with extra fun touches and embellishments in cocktails and at the bar:

Dress up fruity rum drinks in tulip glasses with

Pineapple or pink flamingo stirrers
Frilly paper drink parasols aka umbrellas
Bamboo-printed paper straws
Colorful pineapple, orange, and maraschino cherry fruit garnishes

Serve shark-infested cocktails that turn blood red, here's how
Skewer drink garnishes with shark fin or beachy pink, green, and light blue toothpick flags

Focal Points & Centerpieces

Create a scene with centerpieces, vases, focal points, and vignettes,

Vases

Use real coconuts as natural vases; optionally add a base made from a section of another coconut
Fill a conch shell with flowers for a striking display
Paint hollowed-out pineapples for a set of color-coordinated vases

Fill a glass vase with whole or cut oranges, limes or lemons
Create distressed, vintage mason jar vases in beach pastels, DIY here
Layer sections of colored sand in a glass vase

Shells

Assemble seashells, starfish, and candles on a bed of sand in a square glass terrarium
Use turquoise tulle as an emblematic base to showcase shells & flowers in a galvanize bucket
Submerge shells in a water-filled glass vase and use mini wood crates to build tiers

Scatter ocean-colored acrylic rocks to display a glass bowl of white seashells
Add glitz with a variety of seashells & starfish painted metallic gold
Create a striking display with a collection of lanterns filled with starfish & shells

Accents

Tie back poles wrapped in white or ivory fabric & turquoise organza with starfish
Embellish potted plants with brightly colored drink umbrellas
Paint starfish in beach colors

Hang palm fronds inside patio umbrellas
Enhance blue and/or green bottles with hanging seashells, DIY here
Give it a rustic feel with hanging burlap tied with jute rope

Scenes

Set up a day-at-the-beach composition, including:

Beach chair
Striped towels
Suntan lotion
Flip flops
Ukulele/guitar
Life rings
Sunglasses
Pink flamingos
Potted palms
BEACH sign

Receptions, Banquets & Dinner Table Settings

BRING your style to the table with coordinated color and details.

FESTIVE

Multiple bright, fun colors

COASTAL

Teal, aqua, or turquoise with neutrals

CASUAL

Brown paper with chalk settings

BOLD

Vibrant color stripes

Light it Up

GIVE your event that magic touch with an extra beam of brilliance.

Fill colored and frosted bottles with fairy lights and decorate with a shell on jute rope
Customize your own candle holders with coral, sand & shells in glass vases
Brighten the bar, walkways, railings and serving tables with beach and ocean themed string lights

flip-flops
pineapples
drink umbrellas
glass buoys
pink flamingos
sailboats
parrots
palm trees
seashells
sea turtles
tropical fish
whales
jellyfish
seahorses

Thankful For Small Favors

Give thanks with thoughtful tropical or Hawaiian luau themed party favors, such as:

Shaped soaps
Cheese spreaders
Bottle stoppers & openers
Coasters
Swizzle sticks
Beach-In-A-Jar
Coconut or pineapple cups
Straw fans
Mini pots with a tropical plant or bamboo

And wearables:

Flip flops
Beach hats
Sunglasses
Beach towels
Sunscreen

In addition to edibles:

Saltwater taffy
Candied pineapple
Mini rum bottles
Pina colada mix