A camping-themed birthday party is a perfect chance to give kids who love the outdoors a taste of all their favorite activities, even from home. A camping birthday party brings all the fun of staying outdoors and allows you to celebrate regardless of season, weather or location. Here are a few camping birthday party ideas for your child.
1. Do a Tent Sleepover
Kids love the chance to sleep in a tent or camper. With enough outdoor space, you can add the camping experience to your child’s birthday party. Borrow several tents or use an RV as a sleepover spot in your yard or driveway. Stock up on glow sticks and flashlights to keep the party going even as the sun goes down.
Parents who want to limit the party to the daytime can set up a tent for kids to hang out in during the party. Set up games or an outdoorsy movie for kids to watch inside the tent.
2. Make S’mores Treats
Roasting marshmallows is an integral part of the camping experience. Add this sweet treat to a birthday party with a firepit and a make-your-own s’mores bar. Include fun additions like salted caramel, rice crispy treats, Oreos or peanut butter cups. Kids will love experimenting with different flavors to find their favorites.
For an indoor camping party, you can still add the tastiness of s’mores without the fire. Try s’mores bars, cupcakes or cookies.
3. Add Campground-Themed Decor
Make your home feel like a campground by adding some outdoorsy flourishes. Construct a camp sign with your little one’s name. Add other camping-themed decor items, like a picnic or swimming area sign. Also include miniature trees, a pinecone garland and plaid tablecloths to complete the look. Create a campfire with cardboard logs and orange tissue paper for an indoor party. These birthday party camping ideas bring the outdoors to life, even inside your home.
4. Make a Build-Your-Own Trail Mix Bar
Trail mix is a popular campground food. It is excellent for packing along on hikes or grabbing a quick bite between trips to the lake or playground. Incorporate it into your party by buying many popular trail mix ingredients like pretzels, dried fruit, candies, nuts, Cheerios, mini marshmallows, Chex and corn chips. Give each child a bag and let them make a mix to take home as a party favor.
5. Set up a Scavenger Hunt
Encourage your little ones to explore the outdoors with an outdoor-themed hunt. Hide items like binoculars and flashlights around your home for kids to find. Also, add a stuffed bear or a picture of a tent.
Use the space around you as inspiration at an outdoor party. Give guests a list of nature items like rocks, seashells, leaves or wildflowers. Let them explore their surroundings and draw each item as they locate it.
6. Make Campfire Foods
One of the best parts of camping is all the fun campfire foods. Roast hotdogs on a stick over the fire. Make a table full of bread, meats, cheeses and pizza sauce so kids can make mountain pies or pizzas in pie irons. During an indoor party, try camping foods like walking tacos, pasta salad or barbecue sandwiches.
7. Add Outdoorsy Table Settings
To make it more like you are camping, eat foods served in disposable metal pans. Grab some small buckets to place plastic silverware in. Add decorations like miniature trees or camping lanterns to the tables. The best part of using decor like this is frequent campers may already have many of these supplies stored away with their camping gear.
8. Create Tin Lanterns
Lanterns and flashlights are an essential part of your camping gear. Let kids make their own by collecting tin cans. During the party, guests can paint the cans with fun colors and create a pattern.
Adults can use a hammer and nails or a drill to create holes in the can and make the drawn pattern come to life. Add a miniature candle, and each child has a unique and fun lantern they can take home after the party.
9. Get a Camping Cake
Match your dessert to the party’s theme with a specially decorated cake. You might use a chocolate cake with wafer cookies and melted orange candies to make a campfire. A camping-themed cake might also look like a campsite with a tent, small trees and a river or pond. Create a woodland theme with bear or deer figurines placed on top of the cake.
10. Set up Lawn Games
Lawn games are an excellent way to have fun during a camping trip or a themed birthday celebration. You may already own classics like cornhole and ladder ball. Also, create entertainment like capture the flag, lawn checkers, water balloons or an obstacle course. With a large party, set up multiple games simultaneously so every child can play.
11. Make S’mores Party Favors
Let party guests take the camping fun home with s’mores kits. Add graham crackers, marshmallows and a miniature chocolate bar to give guests a camping treat they can eat from home or during their next camping trip. Complete the look with a loop of twine and a camping-themed gift tag.
12. Serve Fun Themed Snacks
Make your snacks fit the camping theme with some creative labeling. Grab some gummy worms and bobbers to create a box of fish bait. Serve a mound of cheese puffs as a campfire. Pretzel rods become fire kindling, and malted milk balls or Milk Duds become bear poop. Place a sign near your snack table reminding guests not to feed the animals. Include a stuffed bear or squirrel to complete the look.
About the Author: Kampgrounds of America
Kampgrounds of America is the largest system of open-to-the-public campgrounds in the world, with over 500 locations across the United States and Canada. Founded in Billings, MT in 1962, KOA’s family of campground brands – KOA Journey, KOA Holiday and KOA Resort – today serve more than a million camping families each year. KOA is dedicated to “connecting people to the outdoors and each other” by providing people with a variety of camping experiences and the information they need to make the most of their camping trip. Read more of their camping and travel resources by visiting KOA.com/blog.
