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The Blonde Abroad

    The Baby Abroad

    Retro Summer Camp Kid’s Birthday Party

    Woman with blue blouse and wide brimmed brown hat sitting in tent holding toddler boy with multi sized colorful balloons to the right, a lounge chair with fur and retro radio on a log slice on the ground

    Kiki & Ollie

    Tiny World Traveler & Founder, The Baby Abroad

    How has a whole year gone by since our little boy’s first birthday? As much as I loved last year’s theme, I think this year’s Summer Camp party REALLY took it to the next level. Check out all of our party deets for some inspiration!

    Theme: “Born TWO Explore”

    Birthday Age: 2

    I can’t believe I officially have a two-year-old!

    We spent a perfect sunny day celebrating surrounded by our dearest friends, splashing in the pool, and making s’mores around the campfire!

    Since Oliver was turning two, we coined the theme “Born Two Explore” summer camp!

    Everything from the decorations to the party favors to the food was tied to that nostalgic feeling of a vintage summer camp!

    Here are all of the details from the party!

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    Backyard pool with lounge chairs, a large white sun umbrella and pool toys striped with white and blue colors
    Woman with blue romper and wide brimmed brown hat sitting sitting in chair outside of tent holding little toddler boy holding up a megaphone to baby's face with multi sized colorful balloons above them, and a retro radio with faux logs decorated around it.
    Small white child's playhouse with sage green door with yellow and orange flag banner along the top roof

    Party Details & Decorations

    Planning and decorating this party was a labor of love—and we did a lot of DIY. However, we used a couple of my favorite vendors for past parties (like Ollie’s first birthday!).

    Balloons by Gather and Pop Balloons

    They create biodegradable balloon installations that make the whole setting seriously *pop*. We added a fun trail of balloons along the side of the tent and at the base of the DIY backpack wall. Keeping with the “summer camp” theme, we opted for retro orange, yellows, and blues to match the decorations and backpack wall!

    DIY Backpack Wall

    This was very much a DIY labor of love, but it turned out SO good! For the wall, we bought a sheet of plywood and used 2x4s to stand it upright. We bought the hooks here, but these branch hooks would have been cute, too!

    To make the “happy camper” letters, I used my Cricut Joy to cut out letters from chipboard, then painted them and used glue dots to adhere them to the plywood.

    FYI—You might need to use a more permanent glue, as the glue dots will only last a day or so. I just wanted to be able to use the board again!

    We used this paint color and the ‘Bright Retro’ font on Canva for the letters.

    Tent

    This was SO easy and perfect for the party—it literally inflates in 1 minute — no other setup needed. You don’t need to use the tie-downs, which was our challenge since our backyard is turf. And it’s super tall—over 6 ft’ at the peak!

    Inside the Tent

    Miscellaneous Extras

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    Forest Animal-Themed Birthday Cake

    Spoiler: This is actually a fake cake.

    My mom made it because I really love the tradition of a birthday cake, but the dessert for the party was s’mores. So, we used it as a decoration and to sing “Happy Birthday”.

    Cake Details

    Backpack Party Favors

    Last year, we gifted our little guests swim ponchos, and it’s now a tradition that Oliver’s birthday favors are something the kids can use all summer long.

    So, this year we made our own retro summer camp backpacks—and I’m obsessed with how they turned out!

    Camping Backpacks

    The backpacks are actually two sizes, but they’re both mini. I made the “small” for kids three and under and the “large” for older kids.

    Custom Patches

    You’ll need to plan a few weeks to get something like this made in time, but I love how they turned out!

    Personalized Name Tags

    I used the same Bright Retro font on Canva to design the name tags, printed them on brown chipboard, and tied them on with white string.

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    Kids’ Picnic Table

    There were SO many details that went into the picnic tables. From decor to dining to snack packs, here’s everything I sourced.

    Picnic Table and Seating

    Picnic Table Setting:

    • Baskets
    • Gingham napkins
    • Lanterns
    • Pinecones & pine branches from our own tree
    • National Parks postcards from the Target dollar section, but similar found here
    • Enamel “camp” mugs from the Target dollar section, but similar links are found here, here, and here
    • Hanging pennant flags from the Target dollar section, but similar links found here, here, and here

    Picnic Baskets

    Snacks:

    Nut-Free Kiddo Trail Mix:

    Party Decor Tip

    We used paper charcuterie cups for the fruit and trail mix, but I’ve seen small brown lunch bags rolled down to create little cups and it would look super cute!

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    Little toddler boy with wet hair wearing a white tee with green Happy Camper letters on it using two hands to eat sandwich

    Food

    We were going for a summer-camp-style feast and what screams camping quite like a big BBQ?

    Santa Maria Style BBQ

    We had the party catered by a local “Santa Maria-style BBQ” company, and it was a huge hit. Oliver’s favorite food is corn, so roasted cobbs were a must. They brought everything in, including the chuck roast wagon, which smelled amazing.

    They don’t typically cater events, but you can contact them if you live in SD and are interested in hiring them!

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    Close up of pretty garden flowers and plants woven into twig grid

    Nature Loom Craft

    My mom made “nature looms” for each kiddo using sticks and twine, adding their names to each loom with beads. You can use fresh or dried flowers, moss, feathers, etc, and the kids can weave them into the loom.

    It’s a great craft for most ages—even toddlers can make them with some help.

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    s’mores menu

    the camp out crew

    DIY S’mores Bar

    Is it even camping without s’mores?

    We had a DIY s’mores bar with different flavored marshmallows and chocolates. Not to mention espresso martinis for the adults!

    Here are all of the essentials we used for a S’mores bar:

    Person holding marshmallow on a skewer over open flame on outdoor stove with tent and balloons in the background

    Helpful Tip

    We LOVE our Yukon Solo Stove and it was the perfect addition for our s’mores campfire!

    We have a composite deck, so extreme heat is usually a “no no.” But, by using the Solo Stove Surround and spark Shield, we can have wood-burning fires! It definitely provided that “camping” ambiance and is one of our favorite features in the backyard.

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    Happy Camper

    Camp Counselor Mama

    Retro Camper Outfit Details

    When shopping for our camping apparel, I wanted to make sure these items not only fit the theme, but were comfy and cool in the SoCal sun.

    Here are the clothing details for both of our ‘fits:

    Ollie’s Happy Camper Outfit

    Mama’s “Camp Counselor” Outfit

    Woman with blue romper and wide brimmed brown hat sitting sitting in chair outside of tent holding little toddler boy holding up a megaphone with multi sized colorful balloons above them, and a retro radio with faux logs decorated around it.

    That’s a wrap on Oliver’s “Born Two Explore” summer camp birthday! It was the perfect day spent celebrating our tiny world traveler!

    Check out my Instagram reel from our special day here!

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