My kids love a party which is no surprise because I am their mother and I would go to the opening of an envelope if I was invited. Parties are just fun and can be a great opportunity to get together with friends or just hang with your own family. If last year taught me anything it’s that we have to find the fun and Backyard parties is where it’s at!
This summer we are all still trying to navigate our new normal. The big boys birthdays are in July and I am trying to think of ideas that would allow us to have a small party outside at our home rather than in some of the big birthday party facilities that we will be avoiding. Last summer I wrote this post as a fun and easy way to have get togethers at your house but all of these parties could easily be transformed into end of the year class parties or birthday parties.
These are a few ideas I have for the summer…
BBQ
Just your typical backyard BBQ. This can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. Burgers and Hotdogs or pulled pork and baked beans. No one is going to be sad if you ask them to come over for a cookout!
Fireworks
Fourth of July will be here before you know it. Last year we camped out at the Light Up the Lake fireworks display and invited friends to meet us. I brought a few blankets, a small cheese tray, fruit, juice boxes, cans of Simpler wine and cookies. We all met up and the kids played under the trees until the fireworks started. Easiest party I have ever thrown because there was no messy house to clean up afterward.
Homemade Splash Pad
This is my go to playdate idea in the summer. We keep several small baby pools in the garage as well as buckets and sprinklers. Now that the boys are older I let them set it all up like they want it to be. They run, jump and ride their bikes through all of the water stations they set up. Every now and then I let them add a little soap and the party just grows.
or you can buy this…
Chalk Party
Our children’s museum gave me this idea when they invited us to attend chalk fest. In the driveway draw 4×4 squares. Assign each child a square and allow them to create what they want in their square. Chalk is fun and you can add sponges and spray bottles to make the chalk more fun! There are also some wonderful recipes for sidewalk chalk paint on Pinterest.
Hotdog
This is one of our silly, made up parties that Paxton used to love when he was about 2 or 3. He would always ask if we could have a hot dog party like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and of course we said yes. Our hot dog parties are easy and fun. We just make all sorts of fun toppings for our hotdogs and sometimes special fries on the side. The party ends with a movie night and everyone goes to bed full and happy.
At Home Music Fest
This is totally inspired by my friend Erin Martin who threw her kids a ‘Kidchella’ birthday party this year. I totally want to host one of these soon…
Summer Egg Hunt
I always have the intention of saving the kids Easter Eggs to use again and I always end up throwing them away which seems wasteful but keeping them around for a year also seems ridiculous. It feels like I may be more inclined to keep them if I had another time to use them. This idea is making me wish I hadn’t thrown them all out!
Movie Night
We installed a tv outside and it is great for watching football in the fall and movies in the summer. It’s a great excuse to sit out under the stars and relax with a bowl of popcorn. I love making fun toppings for our popcorn so it’s a real treat. My favorite is black pepper and parmesan but here are some other toppings you could make.
Last year for the boys birthday we had an outdoor movie night party in the backyard. It was a blast and although we had to wait to past 8:00pm to start the party everyone has a lot of fun. You can check it out here.
Birthday Parade
The new easy birthday party is a birthday parade brought to you by the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. Gather your friends and family. Pick a starting location and time and get the party started. Guests can stop and greet the birthday boy or girl and hand them their gift. It is easy to make a prepackaged favor to hand back through the window in return. Basically the epitome of having your cake and eating it too.
XO,
Tiffany
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