Having a party inspired by the great outdoors is a perfect idea for children who love camping. Nature inspired activities and outdoor games can be part of the fun. Here's how to have a camp out style sleepover that kids will love.
Camping Party Invitations
Create an invitation for a Camping party simply by taking a 5-inch square piece of midnight blue card stock, and gluing on a triangle or tent shaped piece of colored paper to the front of it. Add gold star stickers to the upper half of the invitation for extra embellishment. On the back of the card stock, write information regarding the party using a silver metallic pen, including drop off and pick up time. Also include what items the guest should bring such as sleeping bags, pajamas, a toothbrush and a change of clothing.
Camping invitations are also available in a variety of styles and designs on many websites. Putnam offers one tent shaped invitation that is a fitting choice for a camp out party.
For paperless invitations, a good choice is Evite's Let's Go Camping design, which depicts marshmallows being roasted on an open campfire. Most types of cyber-invitations are free, and environmentally friendly.
Camp Out Activities
There is plenty of fun to be had at a Camping party, from collecting items of nature on an outdoor hunt to trying to catch a paper fish filled with party favors. Here are some outdoor activities campers will enjoy.
- Gone Fishing - First, get a fishing pole with line. Make a three-pronged hook by twisting together three paper clips, and attach it to the end. Next, make construction paper fish by cutting 8-inch fish shapes into the same pattern and decorating one side to resemble a fish. Staple two of the fish shapes together around the edges, leaving an opening big enough to fill the fish with party favors. Fill each fish with favors and staple the opening shut. Take a 4-inch piece of pipe cleaner and bend into a U-shape, then staple to the mouth of each fish. Place the fish favors on a large piece of blue butcher paper and have each guest take a turn catching their fish full of prizes.
- Rock Jar - Fill a clear glass mason jar with various rocks. Have each party guest take a guess at how many rocks are in the jar. The guest with the closest guess wins, and gets served first at breakfast the next morning.
- Shadow Puppets- Turn out the lights and have each party guest take a turn making shadow puppets on the wall using a flashlight.
- Campfire Stories - Have campers snuggle into their sleeping bags, and turn off the lights. Turn on a flashlight in order to read the campfire stories aloud. Tall tales and legends are good choices for younger groups. Ghost stories or scary tales may frighten some, so use proper judgment when choosing.
- Nature Scavenger Hunt - Divide party guests into groups of four or five, and give each group a list of nature items to find. Some ideas for this list include: a clover, a leaf, a stick, a rock and a pine cone. Whatever natural items happen to be around the location where this activity will be taking place are the best choices to have on the list. Set a time limit of no more than 20 minutes to find as many items as they can.
Finish the food preparations for dinner while guests go on the nature hunt. Make sure that there is one adult supervising each of the groups for safety. When the hunt is finished, ring a bell or triangle to signify that the game is over and it's chow time.
Cookout Grub & Dirt Cake
The menu for a camp out party generally consists of barbecued foods. Grilled hot dogs, and marinated kielbasa are good main dish choices. Ranch beans and sliced watermelon wedges are perfect accompaniments to this meal. Wash it all down with some limeade made in a clear pitcher that has plastic bugs floating in it, and call it bug juice.
For dessert, individual dirt cakes for each guest are easy to make and fun to eat. Dirt cakes, which are supposed to resemble dirt, consist of chocolate pudding topped with Oreo cookie crumbs and gummy worms. S'mores can be made later on, when campfire stories are being told.
Some additional ideas for camping party fun are to hide the bag of marshmallows outside, and have campers try to find it to make the s'mores; add silly things to the nature hunt list, like having the guests try to find Big Foot or at least one of Big Foot's footprints; and fill the fish favors full of gummy worms, plastic bug rings, mini compasses or small flashlights. Kid's will thoroughly have a blast at this fun-filled camp out.
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