Turning Four Outdoors: Harrison's Father/Son Camp Out Party

For the love -- somehow, some way, my Harrison is now FOUR! Yes, I know I've mentioned that a time or two hundred 'round these parts the last two weeks - and fair warning: Bella turns 3 next week, and my hub turns 38 the day after, so the overload of birthday posts will continue for a bit longer :0 - but we just love us some birthdays 'round here!

Anywho. To celebrate Harrison's birthday, we threw the same party we did when Banks turned 4: A Father-Son Camp Out. There were quite a few differences though, one being that Banks' party involved overnight camping in our backyard. Harrison's party involved overnight camping at a Charlotte campground. And because it was a strict "No Girls (nor siblings!) Allowed" policy, I was not there to document the fun. BUT my hub and one of the other awesome dads (thank you, J4!) did take a few pics for me, and I have some photos to share of the details leading up to the party. So, off we go! We were ready to celebrate this kiddo turning 4!  

Invitations & Shirts. I think I enjoy throwing smaller parties over larger ones, as I feel more able to spoil our sweet party guests. Harrison invited three of his buddies (and their dads) to his camp out. So, I decided to purchase each of the littlest campers matching shirts to wear, and I thought they looked SO cute when they each showed up to the camp out wearing them! We hand-delivered the shirts, along with the invitations, since the guests all live in our neighborhood. For the first time, I created the invitations myself, and it was really fun and not hard at all!

Favors. Fewer party guests also means more time for personalization of favors. :) Each of the four campers was given a tackle box that I personalized thanks to my trusty Silhouette Cameo. Within each tacklebox was a personalized water bottle, flashlight, glow sticks, wipes, and a few thematic snacks: 

Additionally, I created these "Scavenger Hunt" cards for them to use for a fun campsite activity: 

 

Food. My hub was in charge of dinner and breakfast for the party guests and made "Hobo packs" for the dads (aka hotdogs and potatoes and jalapenos and more, packaged in a tinfoil pack and cooked over the fire) and hotdogs for the kids for dinner. But, the guys needed sweets, too, right? Which is this baking momma's domain. I made s'mores cupcakes and sent them with my guys to the party. :)

Party Fun. Before they headed out, I had to snap a couple quick pics of my birthday boy...

...and then they were off and the party fun began! My hub and Harrison left around 3:30 and returned the next day about 9:30 am. Once they, and the party guests, arrived to the campsite, they pitched their tents, hit up the campground playground, fished (and caught three fish!), danced, made a campfire, ran wild, ate dinner, played with their tackle box goodies, sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cupcakes, talked about poop (the little guys, not the big ones ;) ), saw a wild raccoon, and, well, just had a BLAST.

Each of these four sweet boys has an older sibling, and I know firsthand that often it's the little brothers who are tagging along with the big kids. But not this time. Nope. It was these little dudes and their daddies ONLY, and I am hoping it's a night they will each remember fondly. <3 Thank you to our sweet friends who came along for the fun! We love you guys and are so thankful for Harrison and his camping squad. :) 

Happy Birthday, sweet, sweet boy. We love you, you happy camper, you. :)