a CLASSIC BOY Campout Party

After trading my bed for a tent and 200 mosquito bites later, I am home sweet home from a camping trip. Camping was the IDEAL theme for Dakotah's birthday! He is our little outdoorsman. Last summer I wrote about Kotah's love of camping.

I asked him if he would rather do a big campout party at the house with a lot of friends OR if he would prefer to go on a REAL campout BUT only invite one friend. He chose the real deal with one friend and I asked myself ten million times what I got myself into! Camping isn't really "my thing". I'd rather be sitting cozy in a 5 star resort getting a pedicure...BUT the reality is I spent the weekend in the dirt with 4 little boys....

Setting the Scene

The best part of using God's breathtaking creation for a party canvas, is most of the decor is naturally taken care of! Colorado boasts clear blue skies, lush green trees, and plenty of peaceful water.

I {freaking} love this state!

(I set 3 different party scenes at our campsite:
the main table,the gift and banner area,and the s'more buffet.)

Scene One: Banner and Gifts

We sent Dakotah off on a mountain walk and briskly set up his surprise gift area. He would return to exclamations of "SURPRISE" and a view of his best birthday gift: a handmade teepee. His other gifts were arranged under his banner too.

As Dakotah skipped around the corner,
he spotted his surprise!....

Look closely to spot his gifts,

because they're wrapped in camouflage!

The handmade teepee from etsy
was a gift from my parents.

The banner read:
A D V E N T U R E ,
the perfect WORD for a boy's summer campout!
I ordered it from PEASANDTHANKYOU on etsy
and was extremely happy with this seller.

I used my chalkboard placemats that I made this spring for banners throughout the party.
I used chalk ink and wrapped the board with twine.

Scene two: The Main Table and Food

The centerpiece was a bear with a birthday sign.
Our campground was called "Little Bear Campground".
I sent the boys to the fields to pick some wildflowers for the centerpiece while we set up camp.
And Kotah's favorite book was added to the middle of the table as well.

Little hot dog boys in sleeping bags and mustard smiles

No drink could be more appropriate than BUG JUICE on a campout in the woods...

Hot Chocolate, yes please

Homemade trail mix on every plate
(and beef jerky for the guys)

You can't have a camping trip without trail mix. I made custom bags to mock something you would pull off the rack of a convenience store! I used festive scrapbook paper to seal the deal.

I wanted classic camping food for our menu:
baked beans in a can,
corn muffins,
chicken and veggie foil packs
cooked over hot coals of course!

The cake was A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. I used my favorite local cake shop and placed a VERY specific order and they created it better than I had imagined.

The cake "table"

I added the roasting marshmallows to the fire with toothpicks and some micro mini marshmallows I had. (I've used these in my hot chocolate bar before too). I was very excited about this little touch!

Scene three: S'More Dessert Bar

This was EXTRA fun to create! However, this post is already as long as the Bible, so I'm sharing a few sneak peeks and will post the more details in another post SOON!

Party Games and Activities with Party FAVORS

I am all about decorating and making magic out of parties SO it was a BIG surprise to me that my FAVORITE part of this birthday party ended up being the activities and games instead of the treats and decor. It satisfied my Mama heart to see the boys get out and run outside with no worries in the world and just being CLASSIC LITTLE BOYS!

I had a few rules, but the rest of the campout was all fun...

My Dad made my day as he taught the boys all the classic things that little boys can create using only their imaginations and the tools of nature rather than a keyboard and tv screen.

He taught them to make:
a homemade bow and arrow
slingshots
a wooden sailboat
and more

Watching the handmade sailboat sail away was SUPER FUN.

One of the games was a NATURE HUNT.

After each boy gathered their nature treasures
they were rewarded with a fishing hat with markers to color it with.

Before the next game we had a lesson about "explorers" and what tools explorers needed to embark on an expedition.
All the boys eagerly shared their ideas on what tools were needed for an adventure! I then told them that ONE PARTICULAR explorer tool was hidden in the forest and they were little explorers who needed to find that tool before they set out on adventures. They took off to find their treasures (which was also a party favor).

And one by one, they each discovered their own pair of new binoculars.
And they wore them the REST of the trip!

Another activity was a trail walk by the lake with their hobo sticks. I made hobo sticks INSTEAD of treat favor bags. I was on a mission to make camouflage CUTE instead of TACKY. Mission Accomplished. {wink}

And this is what was wrapped in the camo bandanas....
I oredered specialty shaped camping crayons from etsy!

These were the custom camping crayons I ordered from etsy.

More activities for BOYS! I've mentioned how important it is for my boys to learn all the "macho manly skills" in a previous post. Every boy got a piece of rope and Chris taught them 3 different knots to tie.

The last fun activity was fishing the NEXT morning after tossing and turning sleeping under the moon in a tent.

This CAMPING THEMED party made me so dirty happy as I watched my boys and their friend explore the outdoor world while running and smiling. It was the best party theme for a group of curious little boys.

Visit PART TWO, the S'More Dessert Buffet.







This post is linked to: All About the Boy, Tuesdays Unwrapped, Friday Favorites, Tablescape Thursday, Wednesday Gratitude, LambAround Party, Spotlight Yourself, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Motivate me Mondays, Inspired By, I'm Lovin It Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff Thursday, Be Inspired, Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Making the World Cuter, Its so Very Creative, Tasty Tuesday,Get Your Craft On, Toot Your Horn Tuesday, Market Yourself Monday, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday