A Buffalo Plaid Inspired Camping Birthday Party
This joint sibling camping birthday party was the perfect theme to celebrate boy-girl twins or siblings with buffalo plaid throughout the party decor. We had a rustic s’mores dessert table which includes an insanely beautiful and yummy naked caramel drip cake and fun kids party activities like a backyard tent campout and a “Do Not Feed the Bears” trail mix station (with free printable tags below!) I share some of my budget saving party tips so you can recreate this kids camping birthday party, like repurposing buffalo plaid Christmas decorations to keep the budget low, which you would never know, always my main goal! Plus, this party was even featured in Mingle Magazine! (pinch me!)
It’s no secret, parties are my thing. With a mom tribe of families whose kiddos all have summer birthdays, our summers are basically one long birthday season, so this year I decided to combine my kids parties and host a joint celebration to kick off fall. With kiddos turning 5 and 2, and running my business as a stay-at-home-mom, two big summer celebrations just didn't seem manageable this year, and I am so glad I followed my own motto "there is no wrong way to celebrate, big or small" and combined them into one celebration. Another way I kept this party season stress free and on budget was picking my theme way ahead of time which allowed me to shop the after-Christmas discount bins which were full of buffalo plaid decor that tied this camping themed party together and gave everything lumberjack vibes. I have tons of cute buffalo plaid party decor for your fall or winter themed party too!
Camping Party at A Glance
Theme: Buffalo plaid and bears camping party
Ages: 5 and 2 (joint sibling party)
Setting: Backyard
Season: Late Summer\Early Fall
Guest count: 40 kids and adults
Featured in: Mingle Magazine
Shop the Buffalo Plaid Birthday Invite
Buffalo Plaid Party Theme | Camping Birthday Invitations and Decor
One of the best party planning tips I've ever learned is from a friend and that is to stick to your theme. It may sound simple, but it's truly helpful advice for a creative with ADHD! When I had a clear vision of buffalo plaid and bears, it made the camping theme come together seamlessly. It was also fun to choose a theme that our entire family loves. I always start by designing the invitations first and this camping birthday invite came together so easily and made it simple to tie in the rest of the paper goods at the party. How cute is the little party hat on the bear? pats self on back
Buffalo Plaid Dessert Table: Rustic Log Rounds & Homemade S'mores Desserts
I decided for this party, the dessert table was going to be my focal point, and I wasn't going to do anything else "fancy" except an all-out themed dessert table (spoiler alert, I lied). But all the heart eyes for this dessert table. My favorite thing was that almost every single thing on this dessert table was repurposed, free, or in a buffalo plaid clearance bin.
We started with an old fence panel that I saved for the backdrop when it was being torn down, hung the salvaged wire rack to hold the lanterns, DIY wood mountains (from Landon's bedroom) and "You are our greatest adventure" sign that carried over the plaid theme. Then the focal point was the naked caramel drip cake, which we displayed on a log round tree stump, that was courtesy of Grandpa and his chainsaw, but would be an easy ask on marketplace where there is always free wood and built everything out from there, aiming for balance with symmetry in heights, but not an exact mirror on each side.
I did ALL the baking for this party myself, with the "help" of my kids. And funny story, the most popular dessert, the S'mores Brownies, were the one thing I made out of the box. I really do love baking, so it was fun to indulge in that hobby for the week.
Camping themed Desserts:
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Chocolate Naked Cake with Caramel Drip
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S'mores Brownies
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Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting and graham cracker crumble
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Caramel Apples
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Campfire Popcorn
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"Do Not Feed the Bears" Trail Mix
Do not feed the bears trail mix and free printable tag
The idea for the "Do Not Feed the Bears" trail mix came from a friend who had their own backyard campout, roasting baby marshmallows over a tea light and it gave me the idea for the s'mores trail mix with baby marshmallows, teddy grahams and chocolate chips. Our little campers snagged bags on the way out the door as leaving bribes!
I loved these so much, I wanted to gift them to you too! Download the free printable treat tags here 👇
The s'mores cupcakes were SO good, my mouth is watering looking at the pictures. The cupcake liners were a quick cricut project to dress those up, and Reese enjoyed crushing the graham crackers to sprinkle on top and putting the chocolate pieces in.
You would never believe me if I told you this was my first real attempt at making a naked cake. With some borrowed supplies from a friend and a half dozen youtube tutorial videos this cake turned out better than I would have ever imagined. My baking pro tip for next time: put the cake back in the freezer once the caramel is drizzled so it doesn't drip all the way to the bottom.
I made the buffalo plaid cake topper with strips of fabric I cut off the bar cart bunting banner, and printed the bear cake toppers on my cricut as an easy DIY way to dress up the homemade cake.
Camping Party Bar Cart and Spiked Apple Cider
Remember when I told my husband I was *only* going to make a cute dessert table and not do anything else fancy for this party....oops. In my defense, it was a solid promise, until I saw the most adorable potting shelf on a walk through our neighborhood and HAD to recreate it. I instantly pictured the mason jar glasses (a dollar store snag that I have more than gotten my moneys worth) lining the top shelf. We salvaged the same fence wood I used for the dessert table backdrop and I drew up a blue print of the shelf then my husband and Dad got to building. With our team effort we made this adorable bar cart in an hour!
Batch Cocktail for a Fall Party
The rustic "spiked apple cider" was a fun play on words for the camping-lumberjack theme and was super easy to make. This recipe makes about 10 servings and can be adjusted to taste. Combine everythign in a drink dispenser and serve over ice, or warm the cider, juice and cinnamon sticks and stir in the rum at the end.
2 cups apple juice
4 cups apple cider
2 whole apples, sliced in rings
4 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups spiced rum
With the help of my cricut, I cut the bear silhouette and hand wrote the adults names on the cups. The kids got juice boxes and water, just keeping it real around here.
Making shirts for the birthday boy and myself didn't count towards my "not getting fancy" allotment. That was happening either way :)
Camping Party Activities for Kids: Backyard Tent, Fishing Hole and Piñata Bags
As far as activities go for the party, I pitched a tent in the back yard that the kids loved playing in and created a fishing hole using a swimming pool filled with small fish squirt guns and tied jute to sticks for the poles. I can't believe we didn't get any pictures :(
We also had a unicorn piñata! Usually Reese's party requests come and go so I get to pick and choose which ones I honor, but she asked for the unicorn piñata for months, so it was a non-negotiable. I think we've only ever been to 2 birthdays with them, and the last one she got stepped on and cried, but apparently she doesn't remember that.
I set up the piñata bag decorating station for a perfect activity if a kiddo wanted a little quiet time, or they could take the craft home once the sugar wore off. I used my cricut and some clipart I found online to make the camping themed stickers.
All in all, this party was a smashing success (piñata pun intended) and I am so glad I honored myself to do a joint party for them instead of overdoing my mom hustle with two parties. I figure we won't be able to get away with it for long, so we should take advantage of it while we can. This last photo perfectly sums up the magic of the kids birthday party. The most gigantic thank you to my wonderful friend Aleks, for capturing these photos and giving me such a gift with them. I hope you always know how thankful I am for you.
Pssst...I'm so honored to share this joint siblings camping birthday party was featured in the beautiful pages of Mingle Magazine! What a pinch me moment!
Pin this Buffalo Plaid Party for Later
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Buffalo plaid Camping Party FAQs
What is a buffalo plaid party theme?
Buffalo plaid is a bold checked pattern that works great for camping, lumberjack and fall or winter themed parties, most often seen in red and black, buffalo plaid works well to have cohesive party decorations when paired with details like bears, camping or lumberjack. It is perfect for birthdays and baby showers too.
How do you throw a camping birthday party on a budget?
Pick your theme early and shop after-Christmas clearance for buffalo plaid. Repurpose items you already have or can salvage, like an old fence panel for the backdrop, and look for free wood on Marketplace for display pieces like a log round cake stand. Combining two birthdays into one party helps too.
What desserts are best for a camping birthday party?
Camping immediately reminded me of s'mores, so we wanted to bring that tasting element into the desserts with the S'mores brownies, and deconstruct it for the cupcakes with marshmallow buttercream, graham cracker crumble and chocolate cake. Caramel was also perfect for a fall party theme and we used it for the naked drip cake and caramel dipped apples. Lastly, the "do not feed the bears" trail mix was a perfect play on both the camping theme, and s'mores with mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and teddy graham bears.
What activities work best for a backyard camping birthday?
We wanted to bring camping to life for the kids, so we pitched a tent right in the backyard and the kids loved it! We also set out small lawn chairs, and created a "fishing hole" with a kiddie pool and jute tied to sticks, a totally free party activity!
How do you plan a joint birthday party for boy-girl siblings?
Choosing a theme the whole family loves like camping, movie night or carnival or combining two related themes like sharks and mermaids, pirates and mermaids or mystical creatures like dinosaurs and unicorns allows you to lean in on what each kid loves, while still having an overall theme to make decorating easy. I have a whole line of joint sibling birthday banners here!
