A sailing-themed party that includes the decorations shown here, sailboat invitations, favors, a wooden-sailboat painting project and a sailboat-shaped chocolate cake decorated with candy is sure to help guests set sail.
Extend the sailing-party theme to your table setting by covering the main table with a pale blue plastic tablecloth, which protects the tabletop while the guests are eating cake and completing projects. After the tablecloth is placed on the table, some fish netting can give a seaside look to your table setting. This netting is available at party-goods stores. A slightly sturdier type of fish netting, which can be reused multiple times, can be purchased from fishing-tackle shops.
To make sailboat-shaped streamers, either create a template in the shape of a sailboat or print out our template (below) and trace it several times onto a sheet of folded paper. Cut out the sailboats and tape them together to form a garland. Repeat the process until the streamers reach the desired length. To make flags for the sailboats, cut squares from a length of red ribbon, notch one side of the squares and glue the flags above the sails. The streamers can be placed across the table or hung from the ceiling or on a wall.
Place mats can be created with craft paper by using the single sailboat template (below). Print out and enlarge the template using a photocopier. Cut the enlarged template apart, separating the sails from the hull of the boat. Cut out a 7-inch long by 1/2-inch wide rectangle from brown craft paper for the central pole of the sails and a 1-inch by 1-inch square from red craft paper for the sailboat's flag. Next, trace the template pieces onto colored pieces of craft paper, cut out the pieces and assemble the place mats with craft glue. Attach the brown pole to the backs of the sails, then glue the sails to the boat; attach the red flag on the top of the brown pole above the sails.
Paper plates, cups and napkins with nautical imagery can be purchased at party-goods stores. If you can't find plates, cups and napkins with this type of imagery, use the same anchor stamp created for the invitations to make plain paper plates, cups and napkins match. Use the same sailboat image from the invitations as name tags. Fishbowls filled with gummy fish and fish-shaped crackers can be set out on the table, and bare side tables or empty corners are great places to display decorative sailboats, seashells and other similar objects. Last but not least, fill a large serving bowl with assorted candies, place it on a base of seashells and use it as a centerpiece.
Sailboat Template
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