Ellie’s Camping Party

We celebrated Ellie’s 5th Birthday… with a camping party!

Once we decided on a theme, per usual, I created an inspiration board to make sure I had enough for the party and that everything went well together. Here’s the Camping Party mood board I used:

Ellie’s Camping Birthday Party Sources:

• Fringe Backdrop: Glam Fete by Bri
• Tent: Amazon
• “Camp Ellie” sign: Etsy
• “Camp Ellie” Cake Topper: Etsy
• Yellow Gingham Tablecloth: Walmart
• Pink Lanterns: Amazon
• Pink Picnic Basket: Olli Ella
• Flags: Thread Mama
• Hello from Camp Letters: Etsy
• Fishing Rod Sticks: Amazon
• Fishing Rod Magnets: Amazon
• Fishing Rod Yarn: Hobby Lobby
• Pink Gingham Cake Topper: Etsy
• Wooden Pencils: Amazon
• Honey Bear Cups: Amazon
• Honey Bear Straws: Amazon
• Pink Backpack: Nordstrom
• Burlap Pennant Banner: Amazon
• Campfire “Stamps”: Amazon
• Pastel Envelopes: Amazon
• Bugs: Amazon
• Bug Nets: Five Below
• Pink Silverware: Amazon
• Wrapping Paper: Home Goods & Dollar Tree
• Chunky Yarn: Hobby Lobby
• Wooden Place Holders/Cards: Amazon
• Kraft Brown Scallop Cocktail Napkins: Amazon
• Pastel Swirly Candles: Meri Meri on Amazon
• Flashlights: Amazon
• Wooden Plates/Food: Amazon
• Gingham Cake Plates: Amazon
• “5” Sparkler Candle: Ellie & Piper
• Pastel Pennant Banner: Amazon
• Gingham Pennant Banner: Heather Taylor Home
• Boho Florals: Home Goods & Hobby Lobby
• Balloons: Amazon (exact ones here & here)
• Plates/Napkins: Ellie & Piper
• Cake Stands: Target & Home Goods
• Cake & Cupcakes: Giant Eagle & Kroger
• Pink Napkins: Dollar Tree
• Stuffed Doll: c/o Cuddle + Kind
• Silver Star Garland: Amazon
• “5” Balloon: Amazon
• Sideboard/Buffet: Wayfair
• Dining Room Chairs: Wayfair

For the display table, I went to my go-to place for party backdrops, Glam Fete. I find that starting with a colorful backdrop always adds a wash of color, texture, and fun to the table! Then, I used the gold glittery “Camp Ellie” sign I found on Etsy.

I leaned more into the boho/glamping type of camping as you can tell vs. traditional camping! I added some neutral florals I had around the house, some pastel balloons, lemonade cupcakes from Kroger, our Olli Ella picnic basket, the sheet cake (more about that later in this post), a Cuddle + Kind doll for some fun, a “Camp Ellie” flag cake topper, and a pink lantern from Amazon.

I used a yellow gingham tablecloth (total Walmart score) and strung a pennant flag banner in our dining room for a little more whimsy and festivity.

For Ellie’s presents, I used wrapping paper from Dollar Tree and Home Goods. I topped the presents with chunky yarn from Hobby Lobby and used Thread Mama’s printables for gift tags.

I had so much fun with the food for Ellie’s camping party! I’ve been seeing a lot of beautiful grazing tables on Pinterest lately and felt that one would be the perfect addition to this theme! I adore their casual but beautiful and how nature-inspired they are.

I prepped our kitchen table with a tablecloth and kraft paper. Then, I laid out all of the vessels, boards, and dishes I was going to be using. Then, I filled in the spaces with meats, cheeses, crackers, fruit, veggies, and salty snacks such as popcorn, chips, and nuts.

Pro tip: Popcorn fills in a lot of blank spaces, adds texture, and is always a party hit! I put out little signs to label some of the food, like “Forest Berries” (raspberries/blueberries/strawberries), “Rainbow Trout” (Goldfish), “Mini Trees,” (broccoli) and “Wood Chips” (potato chips). I also cut some fresh lilacs from our yard the morning of the party to add to the table.

For drinks, we had a mimosa bar, lemonade, pop, and “creek water.” I found the most beautifully-colored, elevated solo cup-like cups from Home Goods that effortlessly fit the camping party theme.

I picked up the sheet cake with neon pink and yellow icing from Giant Eagle. I added a DIY tent made from card stock and a “fire” made with birthday candles and pretzels. If I would’ve had more time, I would’ve found some mini bottle brush trees to add on top as well.

The Amazon tent was definitely a highlight and I was sooo impressed with the size and the quality. It’s also obviously super aesthetically pleasing, so I have happily left this up in the playroom after the party for the girls to play in.

I filled up the tent with a lot of comfy pillows to make it cozy and I made a fake fire out of tying tissue paper together with a rubber band. I also strung a couple of pennant flag banners up – a colorful Amazon one, a burlap Amazon one, and one from Heather Taylor Home.

For games, I set up a few stations in the playroom for the kids to entertain themselves while the adults chatted. 🙂 We had a magnetic fishing station, bug games station, write a letter to home station, cooking supplies, and, of course, the actual tent with a tissue paper fire.

I made magnetic fishing poles with hot glue. I used dowel rods from Amazon, fun yarn from Hobby Lobby, and lil’ magnets. For the paper fish, I googled “free fish cutouts”, put googly eyes on them, as well as a paper clip.

For the bug games station, Ava came up with the game names – “Catch a Bug”, which was basically just tossing the bugs back and forth and trying to catch them with the nets and “Spot the Bug” which was using the mini flashlights to “spot” where the hidden bugs were.

The “Write a Letter to Home” station was fun! I laid out wooden pencils, colorful envelopes, “stamps” (which were tiny lil’ stickers from Amazon), and a cute printable I found on Etsy that was fill-in-the-blank. I addressed an envelope so the older kids could have an example and that worked really well.

For party favors, I set up a “Take a Mystery Bug” station – we put lil’ bugs into tiny pink pouches so it was a surprise what they got! I also gave each of the kids a honey bear with a straw. These were an absolute HIT and Ellie is still playing with hers.

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