My son's birthday is in October and the weather is always a little roll of the dice here in Maryland. Some years it has been warm enough to play in a slip-n-slide in the yard and do water games, other years it is more crisp as Fall takes the last breaths out of our summer. So for his last birthday, we decided on a theme that could work in either scenario and we landed on the name: "Camp Jeremiah."
Campfire Party Ideas
I am so mad at myself for not getting pictures of our outdoor setup! Once the party started, we were so caught up in having fun that the camera went by the wayside. I guess that is an indicator of a good party! Since we had the party outside, I did not kill myself too much on homemade decorations, with the exception of the cupcakes. Having the party outside was a huge hit with his friends, classmates and their parents! Everyone stayed for the party and it was a wonderful time. The main elements of the party included:
- The campfire, of course. We made a bonfire in our back yard and circled it with chairs. My main advice here is to have a fire that is not too big, but within a circle with a wide enough diameter that several kids can stand around it for roasting s'mores. Think wide and low for kids.
- Lights and tiki torches. We strung white Christmas lights all around our kids' swing set and play area and we were thrilled with the amount of light - plenty for the kids to see and play safely. We also strategically placed tiki torches outside the main traffic flow areas, and finished off the lighting with some cool and very inexpensive LED spots that we set to red, orange and yellow.
- Hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill
- Campfire Cupcakes
- Treat Bags with dollar store flashlights and glow sticks/glow necklaces
Campfire Cupcakes
The campfire cupcakes were a hit! I decorated these and set them up in an afternoon, but baked them the night before. You can make it all in one day, I just like to split it up so that it feels less like work! Here is the finished product.
You Will Need
- Two dozen baked cupcakes in the flavor of your choice (for fall, how about Spice cake, Carrot cake, or a pumpkin spice recipe?)
- Frosting made up in 3 colors: Red, orange and yellow
- Disposable decorator bags
- Star decorating tips
- 72 tootsie rolls
Icing Prep
For the orange icing, empty a can of store-bought icing into your mixing bowl. For the red and yellow, a half can is more than plenty. Brand doesn't matter too much. Or, of course, you can make your own recipe. The key is that you need to add some sifted powdered sugar to it to stiffen it up. Notice I am not giving you measurements here, because this is entirely a "feel" thing. The icing should be able to form fairly stiff peaks, or your campfire flames will be more like fire puddles. Sift a few cups of powdered sugar and add in a little at a time until you have a good stiff consistency for each color. If it gets too stiff, add a little splash of milk to fix it. Add Wilton icing colors to get the shades you want; again, this is entirely a "feel" thing!
Prep the Bases
Ice a base on each cupcake with a tip of your choice. I liked the texture of the star tip. Start on the outer ring of the cupcake and work inward in a circular fashion. This does not need to be a super thick layer but I did build up the middles a bit. I used orange, but these would also look cool with chocolate icing lightened up in color a bit (and stiffened) by some sifted powdered sugar mixed in. If you go that route, make the color light enough that it contrasts with the Tootsie Roll "logs." You might also try a mix of chocolate and vanilla icing to get your lighter brown, OR you could even frost the top without a tip and dip in brown sugar to look like dirt. Lots of possibilities here!
Set the "Logs"
Unwrap 72 Tootsie rolls if you plan to have a campfire on all 24 cupcakes. For our party, I actually left some of the cupcakes "plain orange" because my gut told me that some people, especially adults, would appreciate a treat with a little less frosting and candy. Place 3 Tootsie Roll logs on each cupcake as shown, making a shape like the inside of a peace sign or a letter Y.
Prep the Campfire Icing
Prep an icing bag with a star tip. Add red icing to one side of the bag. I used a dinner knife to load the icing. Then add orange icing in a vertical layer next the red icing in the same bag. Repeat for yellow. The picture shows the bag loaded with just the red and orange to give you an idea. Your loading does not have to be perfect, in fact, you can't mess this up too much! Squeeze the bag until you have all 3 colors coming out of the star tip. Don't forget to fold down the top of the bag.
Now That's A Fire!
This is the most fun part, icing the fire on each cupcake! Start in the center and create as tall a flame as will hold -- this is why you need stiff icing. Create several flames until you have a lovely fire! To pipe each flame, squeeze to create a kind of fat base, lift up and release pressure to create a point. Start in the center where the Tootsie rolls meet, then fill in flames in between each log around the center. For taller flames, let the icing dry a little bit and then you can add layers on top. Otherwise the icing will flop under its own weight.
Display Your Creations
I used my wedding cake stand for a display, because that is what I had, but any cake stand would look great. I used an afghan with brown/beige colors to cover up the fancy base and placed firewood around it. You could also use burlap or other fabric; I think a key here is to go with a rough texture. I did wash the firewood off and give it a good inspection for bugs, since I pulled it out of our wood pile! I then covered the cake plates on the wood tiers with brown paper cut from grocery bags. You can also use craft paper.
Personalize for the Birthday Kid
I finished off the display with a Happy Birthday sign printed on card stock. The font I used is called "Logger" and can be found here on daFont.com. Note that this font only works with capital letters!
A Final Thought to Keep It Real
So, just to keep it real... this is what MY kitchen looks like after a project like this!!! Completely destroyed! My kids helped me make the cupcakes and that makes for a gigantic mess (not that it would be significantly less if it were just me, I am afraid). So enjoy, it all wipes up and they will remember these cupcakes for years to come.