Henry's Camping Party

Henry's birthday party was Saturday afternoon. This year, he requested a camping party and as always, my friend Ally came through with the perfect invitations for my little camper.

There is always a lot of work to do before a party, but we enlisted the boys to help this year and they were great. Henry helped put up the welcome sign on the front door.

Feeling sad that the party wasn't starting for 45 minutes. That is so long when you are six!

Trying hard not to grin.

Love my smiley boy.

Decor: 

Camp Concessions: 

We kept the food simple this year: campfire flames,

ants on a log,

kindling,

and campfire cupcakes (graham cracker crust, yellow cake with marshmallows and chocolate chips, chocolate ganache icing, and a roasted marshmallow on top). They are very fiddly and time-consuming but oh-so-tasty!

As I said, it was hard to wait for our friends to arrive. Henry kept busy playing in the tent, 

trying to jump up and touch the pinata,

and checking the clock every two minutes.

Will kept watch at the front door.

We had nine little boys at the party (the perfect number for an at-home party!), plus the grandparents and Katy and Jaime.

Our first activity was to make binoculars out of toilet paper tubes. The kids worked on these while waiting for all the friends to arrive.

Then Jaime took over with three fun camping activities. Jaime is a naturalist and he is amazing with children. The first game was the firefly hunt, because, if you're lucky, you might see fireflies when you're camping! The kids learned that different species of fireflies flash their lights in different patterns. The boys were given flashlights and light pattern cards and had to flash their lights and find fireflies of their species.

So excited to find a friendly firefly!

Next Jaime played a series of animal calls that you might here while on a campout.

Once the kids made their guesses, Katy showed pictures in case they needed any extra help.

We heard everything from cardinals and crickets to frogs and alligators. Henry listened hard. 

Jaime's final activity was making bug catchers! 

The kids placed two straws in small, lidded cups and tapped gauze over the end of one straw.

Then, with the lid closed, the kids found bugs on the ground, placed the open straw near the bug and sucked in on the straw with the gauze. Whoosh! The bugs flew right into those plastic cups, and the kids could get a close look at the insects without getting hurt. They mostly caught ants but we did find roly polies and slugs too.

This activity was so fun that the kids didn't want to stop hunting for insects! Jaime truly has a way with children and had so many creative ideas to teach them about nature and things they might see and hear on a camping adventure. We are so thankful he was able to share his many talents with our big boy and his friends.

Finally, the lure of sugar drew the kids away from the bugs and back to the tables.

SIX! 

After eating, it was pinata time. 

These boys are so good at destroying pinatas now that they are big.

Our final activity was the make-your-own-trail-mix buffet. We had almonds, peanuts, raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and chocolate bear crackers. 

Party favors were simple s'mores kits. 

Once all our friends left, the birthday boy broke into his pile of presents.

Henry's camping party was the perfect way to celebrate our boy's big day. Happy sixth birthday, Henry!