Honestly it's more like Jaws season rather than Jaws day and though I could probably post Jaws content weekly I will try to wrap it up in one post - for now!
I have loved the movie Jaws for as long as I can remember. I used to watch it all the time with my grandfather and I never get tired of watching it, I could easily watch it every single day. Thankfully Tamy feels the same and bestie Bob is also a huge fan and very often we have whole conversations in Jaws quotes and that's just fine with me. This year Bob and I decided to read Jaws over 4th of July weekend for our little book club, and I decided it was a good reason to host a Jaws themed party. It gave me an excuse to decorate with sharks, create a fun photo wall and buy this shower curtain, what I wouldn't do for a theme right?
Let's start with the book reading, also how cool is Bob? Of course he had this photo of himself dressed as Quint from one Halloween ready to send me when I sent him my shark drawing! We really enjoyed reading this book, possibly it was due to the fact that we just returned from Middle Earth (more on that soon) and needed something fast and fun but we enjoyed it none-the-less. You should know the book is very, very, very different from the movie. Not necessarily in a bad way though some things are a little anticlimactic and some questions are left unanswered, overall it's the perfect 4th of July weekend read. The characters are not as likeable as they are in the movie but you get to know them and you get to really know the town of Amity and all its secrets, and like the movie the shark doesn't make a lot of physical appearances but when he does its petrifying! This was a re-read for the both of us but it had been so long since either of us read it we realized quickly how much we had forgotten. Though I will always prefer the movie, largely due to sentimental reasons but also because it's a cinematic masterpiece, I had a lot of fun reading the book and definitely recommend it.
For our shark themed party I put up blue streamers to act as water and which petrified the dog, I used my Cricut to cut out a boat that looked like the Orca and barrels because he can't stay down with three barrels, not with three! I also cut a shark garland which hung from a doorway and made shark themed glasses for our shark bite cocktail and for each of my guests to take home as a souvenir!
Gabby made the cocktail which had coconut rum, vodka, lemonade, blue curacao, and grenadine in it - oh and gummy sharks of course. I made the beach closed sign with my Cricut and vinyl.
Food included shark shaped corndogs, spinach dip (to resemble sea weed) pulled pork and coleslaw and vanilla cupcakes and ice cream! It is also fun to come up with themed food and how it will tie into a book or movie and I wanted that summer time feel of a barbecue but because we live in an apartment and it rained 90% of the day it all had to be done inside, I think we managed just fine.
Of course once I get everyone fed and liquored up it's time for the photo wall photoshoot! We had a blast, got some hilarious photos and videos and this group shot which I absolutely love. Overall this theme day was a huge success and has me already gearing up for the next one.
Theme day tips and tricks:
You can always make your own decorations either with the help of a Cricut or good old fashioned templates and scissors
use what you have! Since I'm already a huge Jaws fan I used things like a movie poster, Funko Pops and dvds to decorate the house. Plan a theme day for something you already love and I bet you have stuff that you can utilize as decorations!
Let your friends help! Gabby volunteered to bring the cocktail, Bill brought Great White beer and Erinn brought loads of veggies and dip and that all helped keep me from being completely stressed.
Suggest themed attire, don't mandate it! People will be much more willing to participate if it doesn't feel like a chore, be nice to your friends! Also, giving them pre-photoshoot booze definitely helps loosen everyone up!
What theme day do you hope to see next? Leave ideas in the comments below - you just never know what we'll choose!
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