Last updated on October 15th, 2023 at 07:08 pm
Backyard Camping Party: An Adventure Awaits
Looking for adventure? Have a backyard camping party for your adventure.
When you are planning a backyard camping party, it’s easy when you consider all of the possibilities. Here you can find 17 backyard camping activities that will keep your group entertained from start to finish.
Let’s create the ultimate backyard camping experience filled with fun and laughter.
Benefits of a Backyard Camping Party
The best part about a camping party is it’s affordable, it’s in your own backyard, and you have bathroom access (unlike the wilderness lol)!
What do I need for a Backyard Camping Party?
Before we get to the activities, let’s talk about a few of the party details:
Camping Themed Signs
Signs with a camping theme can be homemade or store bought. These are usually made of wood and painted. Some sayings on the signs could be the following:
- “Trail” with an arrow
- “Registered Campers Only”
- “Welcome to [Name’s] Campground”
- “Be Alert for Bears”
- “Bear Crossing”
Best Backyard Camping Tent
Honestly, the best backyard camping tent is one that is easy to set up and take down. Here is a list of easiest tents to set up by yourself.
The last thing you want on the day of the party is to be frustrated with a complicated set up.
Sleeping Bags
Make sure to add sleeping bag to the invitation so that guests know to bring it.
Bug Spray
No one like those tiny critters. Don’t let them ruin your time. Be sure to have bug spray on hand. Maybe even some citronella candles as well as long they are monitored.
Party Food and Drinks
Of course, every party has to be the best party food and drinks. We have some great easy solutions for party food and drinks listed below.
Party Activities
Yes, you’ve hit the right place for the activities. There are 17 fun and adventurous backyard campout activities listed below.
Related Post: Check out 10 Kids Sports Birthday Party Ideas.
This blog post contains affiliate links. Click to read our disclosures.
Camping Themed Party Invitations
Start your party excitement off right with some great camping themed invitation. Here is a great example of invitations for a backyard camping birthday below of one that we found on Etsy.
Backyard Camping Party Food and DRink
The key to creating the best backyard camping party food is to create the right atmosphere.
Cooking over a fire pit can be great for the wilderness feel. However, if you need to improvise, you can prep outside and use your oven or you can use small table top types of cookery.
Here are some great ideas for food and drinks backyard camping recipes:
#1 S’mores – of course, this one is a true tradition with the combination of graham crackers, chocolate, and roasted marshmallow.
#2 Foil Wrapped Meal – a foil wrapped meal can be combination of a variety of proteins, vegetables, and sauces cooked over the fire. Here is an example of chicken and vegetables recipe foil pack.
#3 Roasted Hot Dogs – roasting the hot dog over the open fire then placing the hot dog in the bun. Be sure to have the mustard and ketchup ready as well. This would also pair nicely with a pot of chili on the side.
#4 Hot Cocoa – If it’s cool outside, a cup of hot cocoa might be nice by the fire.
Camping Theme Food and Drink Supplies
Here are a few camping themed food and drink supplies that are perfect for your camping birthday party. Additionally, the personalized cupcake picks make a great dessert decoration.
Ultimate Adventurous Backyard Camping Party Activities
Looking for great activities for your backyard camping party or a campout birthday party theme? Here are 17 camping party activities that will be great for keeping kids busy, adventurous, and having a blast.
#1 Have a Duck Hunt
Assorted Rubber Duck Toys
#2 Nature Scavenger Hunt
Part of exploring outside for an outdoor camping theme is looking for nature items. Having kids explore their surroundings will be a great adventure as they check each item off of the list.
Of course, if you have some more unique items that are in your own yard, add those. For example, certain flowers, a fruit tree, or a vegetable garden in your yard would make a nice add-on.
#3 Bury a Time Capsule
Did you ever bury a time capsule as a child? I remember growing up my friends and I buried a time capsule. We boxed up some of our favorite items like books, award ribbons, and a special note. We buried the time capsule, and then we dug it up about 5 years later.
Create a wonderful party memory by letting kids know they can bring something for the time capsule or have notes that they can write to put in it. Find a nice spot in the yard and let them bury the time capsule box. Here are tips for burying a time capsule.
Don’t spend a lot of money on this. It’s just a fun memory. Here is a time capsule airtight and waterproof container that we found on Amazon.
#4 Have a Treasure Hunt
What if you made a treasure map, and your guests had to find the treasure?!
How fun! “X” marks the spot.
Use a treasure map that is already made for your. Alternatively, get this vintage paper and design your own map of your yard. It’s kind of a pirate adventure but backyard camping style.
#5 Roast S’mores (of course)
Well, of course, this is a tradition that can’t be missed. Roasting s’mores is a must have at any camping experience. Create a s’mores station with all of the essentials – the chocolate bar, graham crackers, and marshmallows.
Tabletop S’mores makes it easy to have s’mores without a large campfire.
We found this table top s’mores maker on Amazon which is flameless and electric.
#6 Paint Hiking Sticks
So how did I think of this one? In Girl Scouts, we used to have camp-outs every year. One of the essential items that we had to bring was a homemade hiking stick made from a broom stick.
In turn, you can go the broom stick route, or any type of stick. All you need is spray paint and you can decorate with colored masking tape. I didn’t make a professional hiking stick, it was just for the fun of it.
If you want a step by step instructions, you can find directions on making your own hiking stick here.
#7 Have a Duffle Bag Packing Contest
This is an easy game to play. The object of the game is to fill the duffle bag the fastest with the items.
All you need is a duffle bag and lots of t-shirts and a timer.
Make to have a lot of items so that they are challenged to make these thing fit.
Whoever gets the duffle bag filled and can carry it across the room without dropping anything out of it the fastest is the winner.
#8 Guess How Many Bugs are in the Jar
I’m thinking plastic bugs but if you want to do real bugs, that’s totally up to you! So let’s take a big clear jar and fill it with plastic bugs. Here’s a link that I found on Amazon for the plastic bugs and the clear jar. This is a fun party game that everyone can play.
Have the kids guess how many they think are in the jar. Write down all of the guesses. After all of the guesses have been submitted, the winner with the correct guess gets the prize!
Plastic bugs for the jar.
#9 Look for the World’s Smallest Creatures with Magnifying Glasses
Discover the tiny creatures of the backyard. Give each guest a small magnifying glass to see what they find. This can also be used to coincide with the nature scavenger hunt as well.
Pack of 24 Colorful Magnifying Glasses
#10 Learn How to Build a Tent
Ahh, an old fashioned learning experience! Grab your tent and let’s get started. You might need the directions for setting it up. It all depends on which kind of tent you choose.
No matter what kind of tent you get, you and your guests will have a blast working together as a team to get the job done.
Building a tent can be a great team building experience.
#11 Host a Reptile Petting Zoo
Check to see if there is a mobile petting zoo in your area. Maybe they might have some reptiles or turtles that kids can look at or pet.
#12 Watch an Outdoor Camping Themed Movie
An outdoor movie is a fan favorite of most adventurers. Taking the luxuries of the movies from inside into the wild outdoors is great fun.
Pick a camping themed movie to go along with the backyard camping party theme.
Examples of camping kids movies might be:
- “The Parent Trap” (an older favorite)
- “Ernest Goes to Camp” (oldie but goodie comedy)
- “Camp Rock” (Disney)
- “Open Season” (one of our favorites)
#13 Go on a Nerf Hunt
Nerf blasters are a fun way to run around and get some energy out while having a blast. The blasters have small foam pieces that shoot out so they don’t hurt each other with them.
I found this great set of blasters for a group to play together. It is a set of 10 blasters along with 20 foam darts.
This is a great set for a group to play.
#14 Laser Tag Games
Laser tag is a great game to play in the backyard especially after sunset. Kids can have fun tagging each other with their laser beams for a playful camping game.
Depending on the number of guests and laser tag equipment you have, they might have to rotate teams. However, kids will be glad for a mid-game break.
The inflatable walls will be a fun addition for more backyard play games.
Set of 4 lasers and vests for backyard battle games.
Inflatable wall for laser tag.
#15 Flashlight Games
Flashlights are fun and can be great for making up games. Flashlights can be used for exploring creatures at night. Additionally, they can be used to set up a lighted stage where kids can put on a performance.
Another idea is to get a Morse code table and use a flashlight to project Morse code.
Here is a video tutorial below on flashlight Morse code.
#16 Prepare Roasted Corn
Let’s shuck the corn!
Preparing roasted corn is a great way to get the kids involved in cooking a campfire dinner. Kids can learn about shucking corn husks. Additionally, they can also rub the corn with butter and wrap with foil.
Even if you don’t have a campfire, kids can still prepare the corn, and it can be baked in the oven.
For all of the moms out there that are looking for a hack to shuck corn, check out this video below.
Let the kids try their own way for themselves, then show them this genius easy way to shuck corn.
#17 Campfire Stories
Do you have some great camping stories to tell?
Gather everyone around in a circle and take turns telling stories around a campfire. If you don’t have a story, grab a book to read an exerpt from the book.
In addition, if you can’t think of any stories, you can grab a copy of a “Mad Libs” style game. This is where each person names a part of speech such as a noun or verb. Once all of the words are filled in, the story is read and is usually very funny because it doesn’t make sense.
Camping Themed Decorations - Too Good to Pass up!
Don’t forget to grab a few party decorations along the way. Here are a few fun options that I found on Amazon and Etsy that you might like.
Red Lantern String Lights
Camping Triangle Banner
Camping Tassel Banner
In Conclusion
TEachers Use these Ideas for Your Camping Theme Classroom
As I wrote this post I couldn’t help but think about how fun these camping ideas are for a kids classroom theme. Moreover, take a look at these adorable bulletin board with a camping theme.
S’mores Bulletin Board Decoration: Perfect for a fun classroom theme.
The s’mores board and the camp out theme are just adorable. The creativity you can take with this theme is timeless.
Thanks for visiting Cooking Party Mom! See you soon!