Shark Tank First Birthday Party

July 11, 2022 Carolina Villarreal

Photography by Laura Morsman

With Shark Week coming up in a couple weeks, I thought it’d be a good time to share a recent Shark-themed party I styled for an adorable little one-year-old, Isaac. However, this shark party has a fun twist - Isaac’s parents requested a Shark TANK theme! The TV show where guests pitch their entrepreneurial ideas to the “sharks” in the hopes of getting a business investment turned out to be a really fun, unique and creative first birthday party theme. Read on to see how I set it all up!

Welcome

The first thing we set up was a Welcome area to greet guests. Because it was Isaac’s first, we thought Mr. ONE-derful (a.k.a. Kevin O’Leary, one of the Sharks they call “Mr. Wonderful”) would be an appropriate greeter. The life-sized cardboard cutout of the Shark stood next to a welcome sign with a play on one of the quotes often said by the Sharks on Shark Tank (“…and for that reason…I’m out.”) and a balloon garland with some serious ocean vibes.

Decor

Balloons were huge in making this party feel like the bubbly ocean. I used them surrounding Isaac’s name in giant marquee letters by the pool, to which I also added some giant hundred-dollar bills and shark pool floats.

I also used smaller balloon garlands on the tables around the party, with shark fins coming out of the balloon “water”.

Party guests also enjoyed bouncing shark-shaped balloons around the room, and posing with two of the other life-sized Shark cutouts, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner (and flashing lots of fake money I stashed around the room as decor!).

Food & Drink

I covered the main food table with a blue table cover to make it feel like a deep ocean and added some faux seagrass and shark fins to the center of the table. A solid blue balloon bunch added a bit of a splash.

For this Shark Tank party we created a special drink we called “Shark Punch”. I served it in a clear drink dispenser and dyed it blue to match the theme. Guests loved adding gummy-shark garnishes to their drinks!

Desserts

The dessert area sat in front of a wall of projected images of the Guest of Honor. I used two black grid panels with shelves to hold cupcakes with shark-fin toppers. On top of the furniture we used for the dessert area, I added a variety of stands and trays of cookies, more cupcakes, the main cake, and the smash cake. Stacks of play money and blue coral stands completed the look. I had a cardboard cutout of Shark Barbara Corcoran keep watch over the desserts.

Cakes

The main cake for party guests featured a simple blue wave pattern on the sides, and a large shark-fin topper.

Of course, we also had to have a special smaller smash cake for Isaac, which we served him on a high chair decorated with a Shark Tank “ONE” tassel banner. I think he approved.

Activity

The invitations to this Shark Tank party invited guests to prepare their own business ideas for “Mr. One-der-ful” Isaac to judge. This is a really fun and silly activity idea, and guests really got into it. I’m impressed by the creativity!

It looks like this little Shark is ready to make an offer!

Favors

Before guests left at the end of the party, we made sure they stopped by the favor station. We filled black and white favor bags with goodies and items from the actual show - including one of Shark Tank’s most popular products, the Scrub Daddy.

We added play money and tags that included a Mark Cuban Shark Tank quote to the favor bags for an extra themed detail.

This party was such a blast to plan and execute because of its unique theme, and the best part is always seeing how happy the clients are in the end.

If you live in or around Austin and would like us to help you create the no-stress party of your dreams, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

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