We often let our kids suggest a theme for their birthday because we as parents love the creative role of making it work. We love the costumes and signs and decorations as much as them! But also want to scale down on the mess, cost and fuss parties can accrue. Kids don’t need it. What do they really want over my party planning pride?
Well, this year, my son, with a birthday in mid-winter, wanted a camping theme. How do you do this without actually camping out?
Let me tell you this was one of our easiest parties ever!
The Squirrel Scavenger Hunt
We started the party at dusk and lit a campfire in our backyard. When they all arrived we set the stage for a scavenger hunt (which we planned in an hour) by my husband explaining that we had been set up for the party but squirrels had stolen our supplies and hidden them!
The kids had to dress up from a pile of costume pieces we had assembled, including squirrel tails (strips of faux-fur fabric), in order to not be detected by the squirrels, and follow the clues to the missing items. Really, the costumes were just for our entertainment!
We did not buy prizes for the hunt but used the dinner elements, put in plastic bags: the graham crackers, chocolate bars, marshmallows, ketchup, mustard, dispersed around the yard. The hunt ended with them having to ring the neighbor’s doorbell, squeak trick-or-treat like a squirrel and get their picture taken. Our neighbor’s are good sports!
After the food had been “rescued” they cooked over the campfire while I assembled plates for them. Naturally, they began to tell stories. We had “campfire” cupcakes and my husband lit a few leftover July 4th small fireworks. Then they played flashlight tag until they were picked up.
Simple. Quick. Inexpensive. It was dark outside so no decorations were needed.
It was outdoors so the house didn’t get messy. And was not over-planned to let the boys be boys.
What did we use for a Rustic look?
- Leaf napkins and cups
- Tan, recycled plates
- Little disposable metal pans for food
- Candles and light up balloons
- Old-fashioned water canteen dispenser
- Guests came dressed in camo and boots
Classic camping fare and my son’s favorites:
- “Healthy” hot dogs
- Beans
- Fruit
- Popcorn
- Hot chocolate
- Smore’s
- Cupcakes
I asked my son whom he’d like to invite and was surprised that he said he wanted less guests so he could spend more time with each one. He even chose to invite some kids he hadn’t seen in a while, seeing this as a good opportunity to re-connect with them. I’m proud of how mature this 11 year old can be.
“Campfire” Cupcakes
My cupcakes were part-Pinterest inspiration, part-improvisation but were cute if you can get past the disgust of Doritos and chocolate touching each other. Birthday boy requested Angel Food Cake which is not a good cake mix for cupcakes- lesson learned!
I used camouflage muffin cups, frosted the Angel Food cupcakes and decorated the top with Dorito shards, pretzels sticks for firewood and a few sprinkles. We arranged them on a cake stand in rows as an 11 and birthday boy was very happy with the evening! Best of all, we doused the fire and carried in a little leftover food and clean-up was done!
What have you successfully done to cut back on full-scale parties?
Have any ideas for an off-season birthday party?
Other Simple Party ideas you might like to share:
How fun! Definitely saving this for future reference.