For all of you moms and dads who grow just a few extra white hairs at the mere thought of throwing an amazing birthday party, we’ve uncovered an awesome (and one you can totally DIY) theme for your kids next bash: a camping-style birthday. We recently sat down with Kelly McLeskey Dolata, the founder of A Little Savvy Event, who dished to us about this impressive first birthday party for the lucky tyke, Greyson. Kelly was even generous enough to provide us with photos of this outdoor soiree to help all you parents get inspired.
Greyson’s first birthday was inspired partly by him and partly by his parents. Greyson is a total “boy” and according to Kelly, his Dad is a fishing fanatic so it made sense to plan an outdoorsy/sportsman-themed birthday party. We love this theme because even if your family aren’t fishing enthusiasts, throwing an outdoor/camping-style birthday can totally work, especially during the warm summer months.
We love all the thematic signage at Greyson’s party. From the “Welcome to Camp Greyson” banner to the “Happy Birthday” and “Let’s Go Fishing” signs, once you enter the birthday area you know you’re at a camping-themed party.
If you want to get crafty, you can make the banners at home with paint and markers (the kids can help too) or Kelly suggests using Andrea at Print Your Party. According to A Little Savvy Event, Print Your Party is a great source to work with for the DIY enthusiast. She will collaborate with you to create a custom design theme and create template for you to print on your own (all you need is a printer!). She does label tags, straw tags, flags, large signs and invitations.
With the warm summer months upon us, throwing an outdoor birthday party is a great idea. Greyson’s took place at a local park in Sonoma because the birthday boys’ family wanted a casual outdoor setting that provided easy access for his party guests. Another alternative is to throw the birthday party in your own backyard.
Let’s face it — for first birthday parties, the fiesta is just as much about the birthday boy as it is about the parents being able to get together. The round tables (pictured above) are great for allowing big groups to sit together and mingle. And, a table with food makes grabbing your meal easy and hassle-free.
We all know that kids have a short attention span sometimes and it is important to have interactive activities to keep everyone happy and entertained. For Greyson’s party, A Little Savvy Event set up a fishing hole to tie into the overall theme. Guests could grab a homemade fishing pole and cast it into our pool full of fish. This was a huge hit with Greyson’s friends who were elated to catch a fish!
For those DIY parents, this “fishing pond” is a kiddy swimming pool. The fish were found at Target and then all you have to do is add a magnet (the fishing pole was fastened with an opposite magnet so they would connect!).
According to Kelly, the trail mix bar is an easy and healthy party favor for guests and it also doubles as an activity station. Your guests will love to mix their own combinations of ingredients to take home.
The goodie bags are stuffed with Luna Bars, swedish fish, a mini coloring book and crayons and Fish shaped lolli-pops.
For those kiddos with a winter birthday, Kelly suggests hosting a sleep-over type party complete with tents and forts in your very own living room. Other ideas are making a make-shift s’mores station and roasting marshmallows over candlelight. What could be better than a tent, sleeping bag and a cup of hot cocoa with your friends?!
Greyson’s birthday party featured multiple sweets. Below are photos of the bundt cakes that included pancake w/maple syrup butter cream with bacon toppings & s’more flavors. There are also fish cookies. Yum!
Even Greyson’s cake featured an outdoors/camping theme. If you want to make your own, mix some green food coloring with vanilla frosting and voila, you’ve got yourself a green frosting base. You can create the makeshift tent with graham crackers, the logs with pretzels, and you can buy the trees at a crafting store.
We love this photo of Greyson devouring his cake.
What theme did you go with for your kids’ first birthday party? Is anyone planning to throw an outdoorsy or camping-style party for your little birthday tot? Don’t forget to check out A Little Savvy Event for some drool-worthy party photos!
Photos courtesy of Allyson Wiley Photography
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