This past weekend was Thing 1 and Thing 2’s combined camping birthday party. We’d been planning it for over a month. I was so excited because I thought I had planned a pretty stress-free party. Then the weather that weekend took a turn for the worse. With rain on the forecast we had to change the venue from our backyard to a covered pavilion at another building. Having a party about 20 minutes away when we’d originally planned to have it at home definitely threw a wrench in the works. However, things still came together really nicely. The rain even stopped as we arrived to set up, and other than the extreme cold, everything was perfect!

planning a camping birthday party

A week before the party we had checked the weather forecast yet again. That’s when we saw that there was a pretty good chance of rain. It’s hard to have an outdoor camping party in the rain. At least, it’s not very enjoyable. That night we brainstormed where else we could have it and hopefully still be able to do what we had planned. Luckily, our first choice for a back-up location was available! This venue really was as perfect as a person could hope for and we feel so blessed we had access to such an ideal, and free, location!

food fit for a campout

We had three fire pits going to help keep people warm. They were also used them for roasting our hot dogs and s’mores. We kept the food fairly simple. Just normal camping food–hot dogs, grapes, pretzels, and a s’mores bar. For beverages we had water and hot chocolate. But I also wanted to do something extra fun and I think the highlight for the kids was when Mike made homemade root beer. Have you ever made homemade root beer? It is so fun, and easier than you might think!

| Read: How to Make Easy Homemade Root Beer |

I was so busy with party things I didn’t even get a single s’more! Which is a shame because I had all sorts of yummy combinations you could try. There were three different kinds of marshmallows and three different kinds of chocolate. I also had traditional honey graham crackers, as well as chocolate ones. I was a little worried that kids would just stand there and eat the chocolate and marshmallows. However, everyone seemed pretty good about only using it for making s’mores.

crafts for a camping birthday party

I wanted to keep it casual and didn’t have any scheduled activities. We set up some outdoor games that we had borrowed from friends, like giant Jenga and Kerplunk. We also had a little Arts and Crafts table. Other than that I knew the kids would just have a fun time running around and playing with each other. I don’t think anyone was ever bored. Cold, but not bored.

| Read: Simple Camping-themed Felt Banner |

The painting was something I added kind of last minute. I asked my dad who cut 40 small rounds for me so the kids could have some fun painting. This craft was super simple to put together and very budget-friendly. I made sure to have baby wipes on the table for easy clean-up.

make your own trail mix bar

Mike and I debated if we even wanted to do party favors or not. In the end we went with a “make your own trail mix bar.” It was pretty simple to put together and I think it was the perfect ending to the camping birthday party! We just bought a bunch of different trail mix ingredients from bulk bins at Win-Co. I made sure to bring little bags to fill up and labels with a thank you note on them to seal them.

When the time came to cut the cake, I think most people were full of hot dogs and s’mores and we ended up with a lot leftover. But you won’t hear me complaining about it! All in all it was a fun party and if the weather had just cooperated a little more it would have been absolutely perfect. The birthday boy and girl had a great time and all the kids conked out on the way home, so it was a successful afternoon all around!

Have you thrown any parties lately? What did you do if things didn’t go exactly as planned?

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