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Friday, April 5, 2013

Emily's Glamping Birthday Party

When Emily started planning her 9th birthday party (waaay back in January), she really wanted to go camping. Hmmm...okay, but March in Utah is definitely NOT outdoors-friendly. Sorry, sweetie!
But why not camp indoors? Glamping - or, glamour camping - was a perfect fit for an indoor, girly party! Glamping is super trendy right now, so it was amazingly easy to find ideas on Pinterest - something I'm not used to. My girls generally request themes that have me scouring the internet for crazy stuff. By far my most social child, Emily also surprised me by only wanting to invite her 4 besties (and her big sis), instead of the 2 dozen or so that usually round out the invite list for my girls' parties. And no games or planned activities - she just wanted them to bring their American Girl dolls to play with.
 ("Really, Em? Are you sure??" "Yes, I am.")
Now, we throw some elaborate parties around here (by our neighborhood's standard, not Pinterest's!), but the sheer numbers involved usually keep the party favors pretty tame. This time, I made these adorable play tents for each girl to take home after the sleepover. At $12-ish each, they were still pretty inexpensive, too! Want one of your own? Of course you do! The instructions are HERE . You're welcome. :)

 I just couldn't have a party without at least one, little craft, though! The girls made "lanterns" out of pint-sized Mason jars covered in stickers, sprayed with frosted glass spray paint, and lit with electric tea lights. (Sorry! I forgot to take pictures!)

Dinner was just grilled hot dogs, chips, fruit, and lemonade (in darling jars, of course!), but dessert was truly the main event:
S'more Cupcakes

Trail Mix Popcorn

 ....and an assortment of goodies: rock candy in her colors, licorice, and s'mores (roasted over the gas stove after it started raining). All served on my collection of vintage glass plates for that touch of glamour!

Decorations were kept simple this time to really highlight the tents: just a couple of pennant banners made from fabric left over from the tents, and a little added greenery on the mantle. Honestly, I had some tree stumps, plants and lanterns planned, but the tents took up SO much room that nothing else would really fit without being in their way. Oh, well. :)
Emily & Co. loved the party - especially the tents! - and the freedom to just play and hang-out. I guess it just goes to show that you don't need to have a gazillion guests, hyper-planned activity schedules, or a huge budget to pull off a fun party your birthday child will love.
I hope you like it, too!





6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the new ideas :)

zerry ht said...

Seems to be a lovely birthday party. It was my niece’s birthday couple of months back and I arranged it at a local venue Houston TX. She was really excited as wasn’t aware of this surprise and had a lovely party there.

Patricia Carter said...

I am loving the decor and those cupcakes. They are amazing.
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Suzan Baker said...

The food corner is definitely amazing. I love it.
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Anonymous said...

Would you sell the tents? Actually I could make the poles, but I don't know how to sew. Would you considering selling them?

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