Fishing Fest

We fell hook, line and sinker for this party, which reader Amy Diaz threw for her five-year-old son, Christopher.

THE HIT OF THE PARTY:
Guests deemed the grown-up-looking tackle boxes reel cool. Before the party, Amy spray-painted Styrofoam egg cartons, then glued a cardboard handle on top. At the party, she set out bowls of rubber fish and tiny toys and let each kid select a handful to go in his box.

DECOR:
Turn paper plates into fish by adding paper fins, tails and heads.

FUN & GAMES:
Magnet fishing, "pin the hook on the fish" and other classics work for this theme, but for Amy's crew, the most popular game was the following: a chance to land a real fish.

•Go fish. Amy put a few live goldfish in the kiddie pool, and the boys were mesmerized by watching them swim around. Toward the end of the party, each boy got to fish one out with a net. She supervised carefully and put each one in a ziploc bag to take home.

FAVORS:
The tackle box will be plenty, but the partygoers' parents will probably appreciate a bag of fish food for the goldfish.

EATS:
Serve chowder and Goldfish crackers, blue Jell-O with gummy fish suspended inside, and slices of this Fish Cake.

Don't miss our Fishing Party Checklist