Summer babies can sometimes feel a little left out. The kids who have birthdays during the school year get to celebrate at home and at school and summer babies often have to coordinate their parties around their best friend’s summer or camp plans. But summer kids have one major advantage: they can have the biggest, loudest, messiest, birthday party of them all because (lucky for parents) their birthday parties can happen outdoors.
Best Outdoor Kids Birthday Party Ideas
1. Backyard water park.
If you don’t have a swimming pool and the idea of hosting a birthday party with dozens of children at a waterpark fills you with anxiety (you’re not alone), you can create a “water park” in your backyard that is relatively inexpensive. For just the cost of a few sprinklers, a double hose splitter, slip n’ slide, kiddie pool, water balloons or squirt guns — the kids will be amused for hours on end.
If you want to go all out, there are some pretty crazy inflatable pools on the market these days, complete with slides and climbing walls. For little ones, you can also place a small slide directly into the kiddie pool to create a mini water park ride. All of these items can be reused to amuse your children throughout the summer, so nothing will go to waste.
2. Scavenger hunt.
Feeling creative? A pirate-themed birthday party with a backyard treasure hunt can be appropriate for most ages. Depending on the age of the children and how many, you can create maps and riddles and break them into teams, have them work together, or just hide “treasures” in the backyard similar to an Easter egg hunt. This independent activity will keep the kids busy for a long time with relatively little guidance from the adults. Just be sure to create a little list for yourself so you remember where you hid each stash!
3. Backyard movie night.
A projector with a screen (or a tightly stretched white sheet) and an extension cord can turn any backyard into a magical outdoor movie theater. Old blankets and beach chairs make for easy seating. Keep it easy and serve the kids pizza, popcorn, and movie theater candy like M&Ms, Milk Duds, and Sour Patch Kids for dessert. Giving them glow sticks or glow rings would also be a fun playful touch for a magical fun-filled evening.
4. Ice cream sundae bar!
Keep the party casual with your usual games of pin-the-tail on the donkey, bean bag toss, a piñata, or a sprinkler and then wow them when it’s time for cake with a full ice cream sundae bar. Buy large tubs of vanilla ice cream and go crazy with toppings made of crushed candy bars (freeze then smash for best results), fresh fruit like bananas and cherries, cookies, sprinkles of all shapes and sizes, whipped cream, and sauces like chocolate, strawberry, and caramel. It will be party your kids won’t forget.
5. Nature walk and identification.
This idea is perfect if you’d like to keep the gathering to a small group of parents and curious tots. Choose a simple local walking trail or park where partygoers will meet. Create a list of pictures of easy-to-spot animals, leaves, and flowers. Have the children work together to find them. You can even give the children inexpensive plastic magnifying glasses to keep, which they will love to use to get a closer look. Each time they spot one, give them all a little dollar-store prize or stickers. At the end of the walk, have a picnic lunch and enjoy cupcakes from the cooler.
Does your little one need a party dress? Check out this season’s easy breezy cotton dresses for the birthday girl. For more ideas for fun activities for kids, visit Angelibebe at https://www.angelibebe.com/blog/.
