Finnegan requested a camping party theme for his 4th birthday. Which would be completely awesome if it were summer. We could light up the fire pit and roast marshmallows. February in New England is not the best for such activities. However, the boy wanted a camping party so we gave him one.

We had a ton of fun browsing Pinterest and also coming up with our own ideas. We pitched Finn’s little log cabin tent in the living room and the boys made a faux fire. We had chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow frosting, topped with graham crackers and Hershey chocolate! They were a BIG hit, we didn’t have any left over. One fabulous little trick I tried was hot dogs in the slow cooker. No need to add water. I threw in 48 hot dogs and cooked them on low for 4 hours. They came out perfect! For party favors: glow sticks, a mini flashlight (dollar store!), little compass rings, gummie worms and fish, and of course a little s’mores kit. Happy kiddos!

The cake is where we had a problem. No one had outdoor themed cakes!! So my husband took the boys to Bass Pro and they picked out a little camping set which we used to decorate the cake with. I had one very happy 4 year old; a new toy to play with and a cake!

Now if I were up for the challenge I would have had the kids make bird feeders, but we didn’t. They all played campout with the tent and various other toys. But I’m thinking a camping party for the nieces and nephews “just because” will be a real fun thing to do this summer. We’ll see.