Backyard Boardwalk Birthday Bash

Madison is 9! How in the world did that happen? She wanted a Beach Party for her birthday but since I wasn’t about to fill my backyard with sand, I thought a Backyard Boardwalk Party would be a fun compromise.

I found these great Cedar Garden Walkways on Amazon and thought they’d make the perfect boardwalk to set the scene. I used one at the entrance to the party as well as a large sign to welcome the guests as they entered the backyard.

As you can see, our Boardwalk had many fun things to explore. Water World, boardwalk games, a snack shack, beachy crafts, and a souvenir shop made this a party to remember.

Let’s start at the Snack Shack…

All of the snacks had a beachy theme and included pretzels (starfish), goldfish crackers, cheese balls (beach balls), twizzlers (pool noodles), lifesavers, gummy rings (inner tubes), and blue gatorade (salty sea water).

A little further down the boardwalk was a craft shop, “Crafty Creations” where the girls decorated flip flops, decked themselves out with metallic tattoos, and colored beach balls.

Another fun thing to do at our boardwalk was to play carnival-style games. We had a fish bowl ping pong toss, bean bag toss, and ring toss.

The hit of the whole party was Water World. I purchased a large inflatable water slide and the girls had a blast sliding and splashing. We also had water guns and water balloons for a water fight.

I also set up a “Boardwalk Boutique,” where I stocked the party favors. Each guest chose a beach towel and a pair of sunglasses with interchangeable frames from the shop.

After lots of fun in the sun and visiting all of the things our boardwalk had to offer it was time for lunch. We grilled hot dogs and had mac and cheese.

Madison chose cupcakes over a cake for her birthday this year. I found this really fun Ferris Wheel cupcake stand that made the perfect centerpiece for our dessert table. We also had old-fashioned lemonade that I served in glass bottles, along with salt water taffy, and swirly cotton candy flavored lollipops.

Madison and her friends had a blast at our Backyard Boardwalk. It was such a fun theme and I really enjoyed putting it all together and loved the way it turned out.