Head to the great outdoors with the kids for a fun summer camp backyard playdate! Invite over friends and let the fun begin! The kiddos will love creating their own bug terrarium jars, going on a backyard scavenger hunt with their adorable scavenger hunt kits, and eating lots of tasty, themed snacks. These camping ideas can also be used for a camping birthday party, as summer camp crafts, or just for fun to keep kids active this summer!
With a few activities and lots of yummy camping themed snacks, this playdate will have the kids wanting to stay outside all day!
Summer Camp Food Table
Set the playdate tone with some fun, themed food. Our summer camp food table was covered with artificial grass and accented with a darling personalized camp sign.
At the center of the table was a darling inflatable fire. This piece is great because it can be utilized long after the party for dramatic play!
Below the fire on a wood slice stand were the cutest campfire cupcakes.
These cupcakes were oh so easy to make and featured Tootsie Roll logs, chocolate rocks, and colorful frosting "flames." Rustic wood signs were made for each camping snack. I started with some unfinished wood slats, then added water to brown craft paint to create a wash. I then brushed the paint wash over the wood and wiped up any excess paint with a paper towel.
This technique allowed the wood grain to still show through the signs and made them look like they were stained, but without the hassle of actually staining them. Next, I used my vinyl cutting machine to cut out some words in white vinyl so I could label each sign with our food options.
On the left side of the table were supplies for the kids to build their own bug terrariums.
The supplies were clear plastic jars with lids, colorful bottles of craft sand, small and large plastic bugs, stones, and leaf ribbon.
The smaller supplies were all placed inside cute wood baskets, along with a small wood scoop.
On the right side of the table was more camping themed food. Next to the "Gone Fishin" sign were small, white pails filled with colored Goldfish and a small fishing rod with a fish. Our "Fishing Bait" pails were filled with bags of gummy worms that the kids absolutely loved!
A variety of fresh berries were available in napkin lined wood baskets and made for a healthy snack choice. We added another wood sign that said "Berry Picking" in front of these. Realistic looking faux acorns were scattered around the camp food table to add even more of a rustic touch to our food table.
Summer Camp Dining Table
I wanted our dining table to look like a wooden picnic table you might find at a camping site, so I set everything up on our large, rustic table in our backyard.
Large camp signs were hung behind the table and looked just like the real trail signs you see when camping! A grass table runner ran down the middle of the table and gave the table some extra color.
The centerpiece was a large wood vase that my uncle wood turned for us. It fit our playdate theme perfectly!
Inside the wood vase were adorable DIY canvas flags with camping icons and sayings added to the fronts of each one. I used my vinyl cutting machine to cut the designs onto black iron-on vinyl, then I ironed the design onto each flag.
Every child at our camping party received a scavenger hunt kit in a colorful pail that was waiting for them on the table.
Inside each pail was a camping bag (to store their scavenger hunt supplies), bug net, binoculars, bug catching jar, magnifying glass, compass, camp activity book, and a small flashlight. I also added a camping sticker to the front of each pail, and let the kids decorate their own pail with letter stickers, butterfly stickers, and camping stickers before the scavenger hunt.
A colorful camp bandana was placed at each place setting and served as a place mat. After eating, the kids were able to wear theirs any way that they wanted.
On top of the bandana was a cute camp dinner plate. A smaller dessert plate with a tent on it sat to the right. Cute camp party napkins that said "Take a Hike" were on the left of each place setting, along with a wiggly wood snake that the kids could color with Sharpies to make their own.
Plastic canteens were filled with "bug juice" for the kids to drink. Each child also received a campfire favor box, filled with trail mix to snack on.
Summer Camp Party Activities
The kids loved making their own bug terrariums! Starting with an empty plastic jar, the kids added colored sand in layers to their jar. Next, they selected some stones and their own small and large bugs to add to their jars.
For the finishing touch, they tied some leaf ribbon to the top of their jars. Camping themed stickers and butterfly stickers were available if they wanted to personalize their jars even more.
Scavenger huts are always a big hit with the kiddos, and our outdoor backyard scavenger hunt was no exception! Each child decorated their own colorful pail filled with goodies to assist in their search, and then it was time for the big hunt!
We hid plastic bugs filled with candy and plastic bugs throughout the yard. Each child also received a backyard scavenger hunt card that had a list of items they needed to find outside. Our backyard scavenger hunt was a huge hit, and the kids had so much fun racing around the yard looking for little treasures! A summer camp backyard playdate is a great way to mix things up this summer and get the kids outside.
