If you have a camping loving kiddo or have entered your 'Parent Trap' phase, hosting a camp themed birthday party is a fun way to celebrate! Bonus if you learn the handshake! This party included a scavenger hunt, making binoculars and of course s'mores.
One of the fun parts of a camp birthday is you can use things you already have as a part of the party. This is a great theme for all ages, whether you're celebrating 'One Happy Camper' or have older kiddos ready for an outdoor sleepover.
More Birthday Party Ideas
- Race Car Themed Third Birthday Party
- He's FORE! A Golf Themed Birthday Party
- Bippity Boppity TWO- A Cinderella Themed Birthday Party
Camping Themed Food
When you think of camping, s'mores of course are a priority! I love this classic treat and have made it in the air fryer and love a smores dip for holidays. This might be my favorite hack though- making walking smores! Growing up at the ballpark we had walking tacos, but this dessert twist is a fun way to make it a bit more portable and potentially (ha) less sticky and messy with kiddos. We set up a tray with all the fixings ready to go over to the firepit. Make sure to have a few adults around to help/supervise depending on the age of your kiddos.
For drinks set up an old school cooler. The main course was 'pigs in a blanket' on the grill. If you have older kiddos and a fire pit you could actually roast hotdogs for dinner too.
Other treats included 'ants on a log' with celery, peanut butter and chocolate chips. You could use raisins too, but I thought kiddos would like the chips. We also set out 'forest berries' and apples with caramel dip. There's a little make your own trail mix set up with cups. How cute are the food tent tags?
For the cake, I upcycled one from Walmart. I picked up a basic grocery store bakery cake and scraped the top. Then I added teddy grahams and the roasting marshmallows along with this adorable topper and we were all set! Might be my new favorite cake hack and it was around $20 total.
Camping Decorations
The decor for this party was so fun to put together! My dad set up our old pop up tent and I added a balloon arch. It made a simple and easy party feature. The kids had fun eating snacks and crafting in it too!
For the tables, I used this black and white gingham runner, added my favorite target plates in black, and stacked these gingham and compass plates. How cute are the bear and thermos napkins?! The canteens served as party favors and cups for the kiddos.
We also used flowers from Trader Joe's and put them in a few mason jars. I keep these for various events and they add a nice touch to any party!
Favors and Activities
For favors, we sent kiddos home with the canteen cups. It's a fun way to send a little something home while at the same time not trying to figure out what to do with a stash of cups or jars you'll never use again. 🙂 We also did a binocular craft with paper toilet paper rolls that went home with the kids too!
I used insulation foam board for a backdrop and sticks to spell out 'Camp Miles' on it. I used a few skinny nails to create a space to hang the canteens on so the kids could pick them out to fill up and take home!
Tips for Throwing a Camping Themed Birthday Party
- Use a tent for kids to eat their snacks in, bonus it makes a fun feature/backdrop.
- I have a stash of these 50 cent plates from Target in a lot of different colors. It's easy to pull them out for any party/event and nice because you can wash and reuse them. I've collected nicer plates from thrift stores in white that we use for more formal events.
- Borrow what you can! I borrowed my parent's tent and used a lot of serving dishes/pieces I already had.
I hope this helps you plan your camp themed party! Let us know of any questions in the comments!
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