From the sounds of the sea to the feeling of sand between your toes, the beach makes for an effective place to unwind, let go of stress, and gain some fresh perspective. The beach also happens to be a fun place to celebrate turning 21 – especially when a food and drink bar is featured in the backdrop. Reserve a few seats at the beach bar like Flora Bama and create an unforgettable birthday celebration with the help of these tips and tricks:

Specify a Dress Code

A great way to put everyone in a relaxed mood and get keep them comfortable in the sand is to specify a dress code for your celebration. Ask that everyone wear bathing suits or "aloha" shirts and dresses for the occasion. Or you can come up with a fun theme that enhances the beach spirit such as:

• A Toga Party
• A Sports Costume Event
• A Tribal-Themed Celebration

The idea is for everyone to be in comfortable clothing that won't harbor sand or take forever to dry after getting wet, while at the same time positively contributing to vibe of your celebration.

Brighten Things Up

The beach bar may let you hang up streamers for the celebration, but the opportunity to customize the place just for your use is probably pretty slim. However, you can brighten things up by giving a few fun things for your guests to wear when they arrive. Consider one or more of the following:

• Homemade Hats Made of Poster Board
• Glow-in-the-Dark Colored Bracelet Ropes
• Colorful customized Pins With Nicknames for Each Guest

You can also ask your guests to make their own celebration flair to accessorize their costumes with, which will ensure a variety of incorporated colors, designs, and styles.

Make Food Easy

Get a list of available menu items that will be available at the beach bar the night of your celebration, and ask your guests to make food selections ahead of time. You can then add the price of each item up and then split the total between all party-goers to make eating affordable for everyone. Place your party's order at the beach bar a few hours ahead of time to make sure the food is ready to enjoy as soon as everyone shows up for the party. This will help make it easy for servers to tend to everyone's needs, and free up their time to serve drinks and handle things like music requests for your guests.

Plan Some Games

Playing games isn't just for kids. In fact, you'll find that planning a few games to play during your celebration helps keep things lively and maintain a controlled atmosphere. So bring along a bag or trinkets, such as keychains and shot glasses, and ask a beach bar representative to hide them in the sand so you and your friends can go on a treasure hunt. Guests can keep what they find, offering them a physical reminder of your big celebration.

You can also bring along a party-themed paper dart board to hang on a wall at the beach bar, which assigns awards and consequences depending on where the darts land. For example, someone's dart may result in the need to take a shot, while someone else's may get them a free drink from the person standing to the right of them. If you can't find a board to suit your game preferences, make your own with poster board and permanent markers!

Capture Memories

An effective way to ensure that nobody forgets your special celebration anytime soon is to provide a disposable camera to each guest as they arrive and ask them to take pictures of the festivities throughout the night. Then collect the cameras at the end of the night, have them developed, and make small collage books for yourself and your guest to keep.

You don't have to spend a bundle of money in order to create an unforgettable 21 birthday celebration that you and your friends will remember for a lifetime.