Take advantage of the beautiful weather and enjoy a Great Outdoors Birthday Party.
It's all the fun of a campout without the commitment of an overnight, without the hassle of setting up tents and without the clean-up! Mother Nature provides the setting and the fun!
Who doesn't love…
a roaring campfire
a weinie roast
s'mores
a nature hike
and the great outdoors!
Let's get started with a diy birthday party plan that you can easily customize to your location.
Ages
Best for boys and girls ages 7 – 10
Location
If you have a State Park or National Park nearby, take advantage of it! Inquire if they have any free programs that you might be able to incorporate in your party plans. Skidaway Island State Park was the perfect setting for my son's 8th birthday party, and the Park Ranger treated the boys to a free snake show…this was a huge hit! The park also offered a guided nature hike, but it was geared to older children.
Invitations
If you can cut out a triangle, you can make the cute invitation pictured above. Simply glue the edges of the tent to blue paper, use a silver sharpie to add stars and the party details. Another option is to print the party details and hide the under the tent flaps.
Not feeling that ambitious? Print your party details and hand deliver the invitations with a bag of trail mix!
Activities
Bug Hunt – It's like an Easter Egg hunt with rubber insects instead of pretty pastel plastic eggs! Give each child a brown lunch bag with their name on it, and the critters become party favors! Set a limit of how many they can find, so each child goes home with at least a few.
Tin Can Lanterns – Start collecting your tin cans, fill them with water and freeze. At the party, the children will use a hammer and a nail to make a design. When the ice melts, add a votive candle and the children have another party favor to take home.
Ghost Stories – Even if it's not dark, ghost stories or tall tales around the campfire are a tradition!
Nature Hike – Give them some plastic magnifying glasses and bring along a big net to look for fish, frogs and other fun water creatures!
Food
Trail Mix – Put out bowls of cereal, pretzels, goldfish, m&m's, chocolate chips, raisins and mini-marshmallows. Let each child make their own trail mix in a small zip top baggie to snack on during the party.
Hot Dogs – If the children are older, let them roast their hot dogs in the fire, otherwise…fire up the grill and let dad handle this!
S'More's – Let them roast their own marshmallows! You really don't need the entire S'more since you've gotta have a birthday cake…oh my, sugar high!
Dirt Cake – There are all sorts of variations of dirt cake, but the easiest is to make your child's favorite cake and frost with chocolate frosting. Next, crush Oreos until they resemble “dirt” and sprinkle on top. The final touch…gummy worms! It's an easy homemade birthday cake that the kids will love!
Party Favors
We covered those along the way with the rubber insects and magnifying glasses, so just add some gummy worms and the party's complete!
Cost
Less than $50 unless you rent a picnic shelter from the park.
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In full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links to help support The Budget Diet girl! My advice will always be unbiased and free, but free won’t pay the bills! Thanks!
