If you’re planning a Baby Shark-themed party, we’ve got tons of awesome food and drink ideas that you can serve at your party!
From sandwiches to desserts to drinks, these shark party food ideas will delight little kids, big kids, and adults alike!
So, let’s dive in and explore these ocean-themed foods that are sure to make your party a memorable and tasty experience!
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Shark Birthday Party Foodfish sticks.butterflied shrimp.”seaweed” spinach dip.”seashell” pasta salad.”driftwood” pretzel sticks.”shark bait” gummy worms.goldfish crackers.”ocean water” lemonade.
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fish sticks.
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butterflied shrimp.
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“seaweed” spinach dip.
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“seashell” pasta salad.
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“driftwood” pretzel sticks.
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“shark bait” gummy worms.
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goldfish crackers.
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“ocean water” lemonade.
Baby Shark Party Desserts
Time for something sweet!
For my nephew’s party, I made a plate of Baby Shark Sushi with Rice Krispies Squares and gummy sharks.
I also made some Shark Infested Jelly Cups (jelly = jello) which was really simple to do:
- Place 1-2 gummy sharks into small 2oz-5oz cups.
- Make some blue jelly (jello) according to the package instructions and pour it into the cups.
- Place in fridge to set.
- When set, top with whipped cream (from a can) and place another gummy shark on top.
Or you could make these cute Swimming With Sharks Jello Dessert Cups.
Baby Shark Popcorn Mix is another easy-to-make sweet treat.
Print and make some Baby Shark Popcorn Boxes for it, or place the popcorn into bags as party favors.
Shark Bait Trail Mix: Trail Mix is a tasty combination of sweet and savory and easy to put together, and it would also make a great party favor.
Combine a selection of these suggested elements to build your trail mix:
Goldfish crackers, Cheerios (life preserver), blue jellybeans (bubbles), gummy sharks, Chex/Shreddies (rafts), Bugles (shark teeth), pretzels, mini marshmallows (jellyfish), M&Ms, banana chips, and other dried fruit.
And speaking of party favors, these Shark Hot Cocoa Bombs would be fun too!
Watermelon Shark: Put your pumpkin carving skills to work and turn a watermelon into a shark!
Here is a great step-by-step tutorial showing you how to make a watermelon shark or do an search for other styles.
Depending on the type of shark you carve, you could fill it with fruit salad or have it as the centerpiece on a platter of chopped fruit. (Much like the bell pepper octopus on the crudités plate.)
Watermelon Shark Fins: Cut triangular slices from melon and place them onto popsicle/lolly sticks.
Shark Fruit Salad Skewers: Use shark and sea creature cookie cutters to cut shapes from different types of melon (and other fruit, depending on the size of the cutters), which you can then thread onto bamboo skewers.
Or cut fruit into triangles and call them Shark Fin Fruit Skewers!
Shark Attack Fondue: Chocolate fondue/fountain machines were all the rage a few years ago, so if you happen to have one (we still have ours), why not use red chocolate instead of regular chocolate?
Provide a variety of different dippers – fruit, marshmallows, pound cake, mini donuts, and pretzels are good choices.
Kids and adults alike love the novelty of a chocolate fountain!
For my nephew’s Baby Shark Party, I skipped making actual cakes, choosing to buy them instead from the supermarket!
Fortunately for me, at the time, there were mermaid-themed baked goods, so I was able to quickly change the theme to a Baby Shark birthday cake by using my free printable Baby Shark Cupcake Toppers!
But if you have to make your own cupcakes, simply use a boxed cake mix or your favorite recipe (here’s our best vanilla cupcake recipe), and decorate with blue frosting or a mix of blue/white or green/white frosting. Add some sprinkles and a topper, and a Baby Shark Cupcake Wrapper.
Or adapt one of these cupcake recipes to suit the Baby Shark theme!
And finally, in the Baby Shark desserts category, here are some more shark-themed dessert ideas that would be perfect for your Baby Shark dessert table!
- Shark Chocolate Bark: Melt some white chocolate and blue candy melts and swirl together on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Top with gummy sharks, mini marshmallows, sprinkles, white chocolate pretzels, and Swedish fish (or any shark or ocean-themed treats). Leave to set, then break into pieces.
- Shark Marshmallow Pops: Place a large marshmallow onto a lollipop stick. Draw a set of teeth in a curve onto the front using a black edible ink marker pen. Dip the marshmallow into melted blue candy melts around the teeth, and add a small candy eye on each side. Leave to dry, then wrap and stick a blue paper fin around the stick.
- Shark Popsicles: Tint some lemon-lime soda with blue food coloring (or you could use a blue sports drink if you prefer) and pour it into popsicle/ice lolly molds. Add a gummy shark (or two) and add the stick/lid to the mold.
- Shark Candy Kebabs: Skewer Swedish fish (or other gummy fish candies) onto a bamboo stick and top with a shark gummy. You could also skewer them onto sturdy straws for the littles.
- Baby Shark Ice Cream Floats: a mixture of beverage and dessert!
- Shark-Infested Ice Cream: Make a batch of No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream and add some blue food coloring to it as well as some shark candy. Make it into a sundae with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. You could also cut (use a warm knife) triangles from a thin bar of chocolate and make shark fins to poke into the ice cream.
- Shark Oreos: Dip some Oreo cookies into melted blue candy melts. Cut small triangles from some matching blue fondant, and attach them to the top and sides of the cookie. Add candy eyeballs, and use red and white icing tubes to pipe on the shark’s mouth and teeth.
- Baby Shark Cookies: Use our decorated sugar cookie recipe and guide to make shark-shaped cookies. Plate them up as dessert, or bag them up for a party favor. Or use Baby Shark cookie cutters on some store-bought dough!
It’s pretty easy to top any ready-made dessert (pudding cups, jello, cheesecakes) with a shark or shark fin – either gummy candies or ones you make using a mold and fondant or candy melts.
Similarly, you could use the printable cupcake toppers – they don’t have to just be used in cupcakes.
How To Make A Bell Pepper Octopus
- Hollow out two red bell peppers (or the color of your choice)
- Slice one of the peppers into strips for the tentacles.
- Slice a sliver from the bottom of the other pepper so that it can stand upright.
- Cut an olive in half (I used a black olive, but pimento-stuffed green olives would work great here).
- Use a cocktail stick (snapped down to size) to skewer the olives onto the front of the whole bell pepper for eyes. For safety around kids, you could use uncooked spaghetti in place of a cocktail stick.
- You could fill the cephalopod’s body with dip or sit him inside a bowl of dip.
- Place the pepper “tentacles” around the body of the octopus/squid and serve!
- You could use this technique to make a crab too. Cut thicker strips and cut notches for claws.
To pair with the crudités (and crisps/chips – see below), you will need some dip.
I mixed some blue food coloring into a bowl of hummus and swirled it about to create the ocean, and stuck a few triangular tortilla chips to mimic shark fins poking out of the water. I named it Shark Island Atoll.
It’s so much fun to come up with themed names, so how about Shark Attack Salsa (just a bowl of your favorite store-bought or homemade tomato salsa, it’s up to you.)
Guacamole could become Seaweed Dip, and Ranch could become Ocean Spray Dip!
Here are some great party dips you could also make:
As I said earlier, I am in the UK, so the crisps/potato chips/snacks we have available may be different from what is available in your part of the world.
I served the crisps in small beach buckets, which added an extra layer of fun to the party spread!
You could also use small plastic fishbowls too (they’re also great for serving drinks!).
Of course, I tried to come up with names for all the snacks:
- Clam Shells – KP Prawn Cocktail Skips (UK), but in the US Tostito’s Scoops would work well.
- Spiral Seashells – Salt & Vinegar Twirls (UK) or Fritos Flavor Twists (US)
- Shark Fins – Tortilla Chips – Blue Tortilla Chips would be even better than regular ones!
- Pipe Coral Ends – Onion Rings (UK) or Funyuns (US)
- Sea Slugs – Wotsits (UK) or Cheeto Puffs (US)
- Driftwood – Twiglets (UK)
- Fish Food – Burton’s Fish & Chips (UK) or Goldfish Crackers (US)
- Shark Teeth – Walker’s Bugles (UK) or Bugles (US)
- Shark Bait – Gummy Worms. I know these are not savory snacks, but I included them here because I served them in a bucket too!
Create a tray of shark-bite-sized snacks – food on sticks is always fun!
You can keep it simple with a cube of cheese with ham and a cherry tomato or cucumber, or get fancy with Caprese Skewers.
If you’re in the UK, you can’t forget the 70s and 80s classic – cheese and pineapple cubes on sticks.
Check the further down of a cucumber carved to make an alligator (it’s with the watermelon sharks) – use that as inspiration to make a Cucumber Shark!
Cucumber Feta Watermelon Skewers are a refreshing summer choice, and while not served on sticks, these Mozzarella Stuffed Grape Tomatoes are always a hit.
Meatballs on sticks are a fun option, as are mini hamburgers, chicken satay, or mini corn dogs!
Or use this shark bites mold to make some pigs in blankets with a twist!
Seafood, of course, would be perfect (it depends on how fussy the kids are, but grown-ups are likely to appreciate a fish appetizer). Any of these will go down well and stay on theme:
Shark Week party for kids with cute beach-themed food | Ocean birthday party ideas
What to serve at a Baby Shark Party?
Just mix and match to create your perfect Baby Shark Party menu! Fish and Chips: Serve crispy fish fingers (fish sticks) or fish nuggets with chips (French fries). I was able to find fish-shaped nuggets, which were perfect! I served fish and chips inside my free printable Baby Shark Popcorn Cones.
What do you need for a shark party?
You could make them as decorations for your shark party or make it an activity for the kids! All you’ll need are mason jars, water, blue food coloring, plastic sharks, and decorative rocks. Let their imagination run wild and let them take their fun little aquariums home!
What can I make for a Shark Week party?
A fin-tastic jello shot for adults to enjoy for shark week parties, the pool or the beach! Purchase plane cupcakes and decorate – so easy to make these shark cupcakes! These shark applesauce cups are great crafts for kids or use them at a shark party favor! Rich and creamy this shark attack cheesecake is so good.
What is a good snack for a shark party?
Baby Shark Popcorn Mix is another easy-to-make sweet treat. Print and make some Baby Shark Popcorn Boxes for it, or place the popcorn into bags as party favors. Shark Bait Trail Mix: Trail Mix is a tasty combination of sweet and savory and easy to put together, and it would also make a great party favor.