As a family that enjoys the outdoors, we love throwing outdoor birthday parties for our children. When planning an outdoor birthday party, the first thing that comes to mind is everyone having fun outside while eating cake.
Depending on the season and weather, this can look very different. We are always celebrating outside, at least for a part of the party, but most of the time we do everything outside.
Even if you’re not a very outdoorsy family (yet), consider an outdoor birthday party for your child next time. It’s so much fun and makes your life easier in my opinion.
We covered Winter Outdoor Birthday Parties in a previous post and will now look at organizing an Outdoor Birthday Party for Kids in spring, summer, or autumn. We have ideas for hot summer days, cooler dry days, and muddy and rainy birthday parties.
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Why Organize An Outdoor Birthday Party
Celebrating a child’s birthday outdoors has numerous advantages. It allows for greater creativity and offers more space for fun activities. Outdoor parties provide ample room for children to run around, diverse environments to play in, and the freedom to be louder than usual.
Outdoor Birthday Parties Are Fun!
Most kids love running around and playing outside. It’s easier to keep children happy and entertained outside.
Less Clean-up With Outdoor Birthday Parties
You can enjoy your outdoor party without worrying about cleaning up your house afterwards or any potential damage to your property.
More Space Outdoors For Running Wild
There is a lot of open space available outdoors, whether it be your very own backyard, a nearby park or playground, a hiking or biking trail, or the beach. This ample space offers kids the perfect opportunity to burn off their excess energy by running around and having fun.
Planning An Outdoor Birthday Party For Kids
As for any party or event, it will run smoother with a bit of preparation. Let’s look at good locations, food and drinks, and some fun themes for your next outdoor birthday party.
Great Locations For Outdoor Birthday Parties
Some of our favorite locations for an outdoor birthday party include your own backyard, the local park, the local outdoor swimming pool, the neighborhood, a local bike trail, a local hiking trail, a local rock climbing crag, or a nearby National Park.
Apart from the swimming pool and National Park, these are all free public places, accessible to everyone. An outdoor birthday party can be cheap if you bring your own food and drinks and organize fun low-cost activities.
Or, if you have the budget you could go wild on decorations and fancy food, entrance to the pool or national park, or renting bikes for everyone. But it’s not necessary for a fun and memorable outdoor birthday party.
Food And Drinks For Outdoor Birthday Parties
When planning and preparing food and drinks for an outdoor birthday party, consider the weather, temperature, and transportation to the venue if the party is away from home.
Depending on the weather you might opt for cold or warm drinks. Always bring plenty of drinking water as well for thirsty kiddos.
It’s good to keep some snacks ready to leave out at all times for hungry little ones to get a quick energy boost. Think crisps, crackers, dried fruits, breadsticks, nuts, or (homemade) granola bars.
More easy food for an outdoor birthday party could include fruit on skewers, chips with guacamole and salsa, cheese and crackers, popcorn, pretzels, or trail mix. If you’re having a campfire, think of creative s’mores or bread and sausages on a stick.
And finally, let’s not forget about the birthday cake! You can either bring a traditional birthday cake with all the decorations, or you could bake cupcakes or muffins and top them off with cupcake toppers or candles. The latter option is definitely more convenient to transport if you’re celebrating away from your home.
Think about how you’ll transport your food, drinks, and other stuff you might need. If you’re celebrating outside of your home and you can’t drive to the location, some options for hauling all your party stuff to the party venue could be a wagon, bike trailer, or a stroller. Keep in mind the terrain and how much you’ll need to haul for how long.
For a party in your backyard, you can pull out the outdoor furniture and use your regular plates and cups. If you’re away from home, things like picnic blankets with a waterproof layer, reusable plastic cups, paper plates, and tissues are good to bring.
Themes For Outdoor Birthday Parties
Just like indoor birthday parties, outdoor birthday parties become even more fun with a cool theme. Ask your child if they have wishes or ideas or pick one of these fun outdoor themes. Further on, we’ll give you ideas for organizing parties based on those themes.
Here are some quick ideas for outdoor birthday parties for kids: Water Party, Fishing-themed party, Starry Night, Summer Camp, Movie Night, Olympics, Outdoor Board Games, Bubble Blast, Archeological Dig or Dinosaurs, Outdoor Art, Gardening, Tie-Dye, Glow-in-the-Dark, Sports, Picnic, etc.
How To Adapt Your Outdoor Party To The Weather
An outdoor birthday party can be fun in any weather conditions, as long as you prepare for the weather. Remind people to dress appropriately, adapt your activities, and make sure you have some kind of shelter from rain or sun.
Reminder To Dress For The Weather
When inviting people to your birthday party, remind them it will be an (all) outdoor party and to dress for the weather.
For rainy and muddy days, mention wearing a rain bib, jacket, and boots. And ask them to bring a spare pair of clothes, just in case.
On hot sunny days it is essential to protect the kids from the harmful rays. Remind your guests to bring a sun hat, sunglasses and sun cream with a good SPF. If the kids have these, and you’ll be out for a longer time in the sun and maybe playing in, with, or by the water, good UPF clothing is highly recommended.
Different Activities For Different Weather Conditions
When you are planning an outdoor birthday party for your kids, it is important to check the weather forecast ahead of time and take it into account when planning.
On hot summer days, you will need to organize fun activities that can help the kids cool off, while on rainy or cooler days, you should plan active games and activities that will keep the children warm and entertained. We will give you plenty of ideas for all kinds of weather later on.
By being prepared and adapting your plans to the weather, you can ensure that your child’s party is a success no matter what the conditions are like on the day.
Shelter From The Elements
No matter the weather it’s good to have some kind of shelter as a backup. This could be trees for shade, a party tent for sun or rain protection, or an open stable or garage if you have one.
Even if it’s just to keep your food dry or protected from the sun. Or to provide some shade or a dry place to eat the cake.
Activities For Outdoor Birthday Parties
Each kind of weather requires its own fun birthday activities. We’ll give you some great ideas for hot summer days, cooler dry days and for rainy or muddy birthday parties.
Fun Activities For Hot Summer Days
A water party is always a hit on warmer days. Get out the splash pad or pool and organize fun water relay games. Or turn it into a fishing-themed party with toy fish in the splash pool and fishing rods for all kids.
Here you’ll find many great water games, fun guaranteed for everyone! From water races to sponge tossing over water gun and sprinkler play.
If your kid is into sports you can do whatever sport he loves together with his friends, or you could try out something new together. On hot summer days and with safe swimmers, you could go stand-up paddling, kayaking, surfing, or sailing. If you have no experience with this yourself, you can find guides and companies offering all these activities with equipment rental included. Have a look at our gift ideas for water lovers as well.
Some other fun outdoor activities for hot summer days include playing at the local creek or lake, a birthday party at the beach (also in winter), or beach camping with other families together.
Camping is always a fun experience if you go together with another family. Why not celebrate your kid’s birthday on a camping trip? We’ve put together a list of lots of fun activities to do while camping.
For the real summer camp-themed birthday party, sing songs by the campfire, play campfire games, enjoy some delicious s’mores, and make your own macrame friends bracelets. Maybe you could even have all the kids camp in your backyard.
If your child loves watching movies, organize a backyard movie night with his favorite movie on a big screen (or white sheet) and a (borrowed or rented) beamer, popcorn, and cold drinks. Bring out blankets and pillows to make yourself comfortable.
A starry-night-themed party for children interested in space, the moon, and the stars is a great idea for warm summer nights. You could bake star-shaped cookies and borrow or rent a telescope from the local planetarium.
Another classic is a bubble blast party with giant bubble wands. Prepare a bubble bath in a splash pool as well, so much fun!
You can keep it very low budget with lots of fun, by having a picnic party at the local park or playground. You only need some cozy picnic blankets or old sheets and your kid’s favorite food and drinks. Then play a few fun (water) games and everyone will be happy!
Activities For Cooler Dry Days
On cooler dry days, so much is possible, a lot of the summer activities are great for cooler days as well. But you can also get much more active without being overheated.
Giant outdoor board games are lots of fun for slightly older kids who are into board games. Twister is a great classic, just like Chess or Checkers, Bowling, a giant Jenga, Ladder Ball, or a large Dart Board Game.
Cooler weather provides an excellent opportunity for sporty activities such as biking, hiking, or any sports that your child enjoys. Make it fun for everyone with a Biking Scavenger Hunt or a hiking nature treasure hunt. Here you’ll find more games for a great hiking party.
Your very own Backyard Olympic Games (including your kid’s favorite sports), complete with snacks and drinks for the participants and a medal at the end will bring a smile to all children’s faces. Just like a classic outdoor obstacle course.
It’s important to consider the skills and experience level of all children invited, to ensure that the activities are enjoyable for everyone.
For cooler weather birthdays, try outdoor art activities such as rock painting, giant chalk drawings, tie-dyeing shirts, and creating nature mandalas.
If you’re child loves gardening, invite all kids to join you in the garden or plant seeds in a self-painted little flower pot. This makes a great party favor to take home and they’ll remember the birthday party a long time after, watching the little seed sprouting and growing over the coming months.
For the younger ones, we’ve collected lots of fun outdoor activities for preschoolers in this post.
Birthday Fun In The Rain And Mud
If you’re planning an outdoor birthday party and the weather forecast shows rain or mud, don’t worry! These conditions can bring a touch of extra fun to your games.
For example, you can try playing outdoor bowling using half-filled water bottles and a water balloon, or use a store-bought outdoor bowling set, you can have back-to-back races with water balloons (since you’re already going to get wet anyway), play wet basketball with water-soaked sponges, and much more. Check out this post for more fun ideas for rainy and muddy days.
If you don’t mind getting dirty, you can enjoy any sport regardless of the weather. Whether it’s a rainy mountain bike ride or a hike on your favorite trail in the mud, just make sure to prioritize safety. Let’s see who will be the first to get fully covered in mud!
Some more examples of fun outdoor birthday party ideas for wet or muddy days are an archeological dig or dinosaur party, puddle jumping, mud painting, an outdoor obstacle course in wet or muddy conditions, water fights (since you’re already going to get wet anyway), making mud pies, or building boats and letting them flow on the puddles or streams formed by the rain.
Keeping The Adults Happy And Entertained
Most important for keeping adults happy and entertained will be some form of shelter from the sun or rain and some drinks and snacks. Maybe a place to sit (around a fire) and they’ll be happy chatting with each other or watching the kids having a good time.
Outdoor Birthday Parties Are Fun!
We hope we have inspired you to celebrate your child’s next birthday party outdoors, no matter the weather. Almost everything is more enjoyable outdoors, as you have more freedom, less stress about your home, and plenty of space to have fun.
Related Articles:
- Biking Scavenger Hunt Birthday Party
- 100+ Fun Outdoor Activities For Preschoolers
- 5 Tips For Surviving Mud Season
- Best Outdoor Toys For Kids
- Playing In The Rain And Mud
Fun Outdoor Birthday Party Ideas
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