Just when I thought we may have exhausted all the cute party themes for our kids… When searching for a theme for my son’s 4th birthday we knew we wanted to do an adventurous theme. Maybe it was all the recent hikes we had been doing or maybe it was our upcoming Road Trip to visit Mount Rushmore? I was inspired by the thought of creating a National Park Themed Birthday Party and I think it may be my favorite of all time (I know, I say that every time)! If you love to road trip, make sure you check out our 10 HACKS for Family Road Trips!
Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I’m always so thankful when you make purchases through links of our favorite things.
Here is how we threw the cutest National Park Theme Birthday Party for our Son’s 4th Birthday. Keep scrolling for links to all our favorite items.
Nature-Inspired Party Decorations for a National Park Themed Birthday Party
Looking for nature-inspired party decorations for a National Park Birthday? We went with a color scheme of greens and browns. I found a wonderful balloon garland kit and retro National Parks posters. I decided to hang the posters in 5 rows of 3 and add the balloons above them. It was fun to watch everyone go up and study all the pictures during the party and talk about where they had or hadn’t been to.
On top of the plaid tablecloth, I used my trusty wood crates to prop up some fun items for our little explorers. A vintage camping lantern, rabbit fur, smokey the bear and some real branches from a pine tree down the road. We had some really cute wooden party picks with hiking images on them sticking out of the charcuterie board and fruit cups.
I handmade a National Park sign out of an amazon box and a stick. I cut the sign into the iconic shape of National Forest signs. This was one of my favorite details of the party. It was perfect for pictures!
National Park Themed Food and Cake Ideas
The food is one of our favorite parts. I had Rex make a giant batch of his amazing green Chile for the parents (and adventurous little ones). We had hot dogs and chips for the kids. I made fruit cups with the darling food cups that looked like bears and mountains. But my favorite part was the “Make Your Own Trail Mix” Bar. I took large paper bags and rolled them down. Guests grabbed a mini scoop and created their own trail mix! Inside we had everything from peanuts and cashews to gummy worms and mini peanut butter cups. It was really fun picking out all the yummy items and seeing what trail mix everyone made. CLICK HERE for the cute Printable Sign I used.
For the birthday cake I made a 4-layer chocolate cake and topped it with bear figurines and a national park sign. I made trees out of pretzel rods and green candy melts so it would look like the bears were in the forest. The cake turned out really cute… and yummy! Did you spy the compass plates and the hiking signs? SO CUTE!
National Park Themed Party Game and Activities
I wanted to make sure the kids had some fun things to do so we set up a station where they could make bird feeders out of pinecones. This was a really great craft for all ages, and they got to take them home. To make these you tie a sting around the top of a pinecone. This is how the pinecone will hang when you are done and it easiest if you do this step first. Spread peanut butter around the pinecone and then roll it in bird seed.
We also set up an area with play bow and arrows and targets. We hung the targets on the fence and let the kids aim and shoot. We may or may not have lost a few “arrows” over the fence. Luckily, we have great neighbors that happily tossed them back over.
The last surprise we had was a special message from real Park Rangers from a nearby National Park. It was so nice of them to send Duncan a personalized message for his birthday!
Unique Party Favors for a National Park Themed Birthday Party
The last detail of the party were the favors. I took small craft boxes and placed a National Park sticker on the front. Inside I stuffed it with colorful paper and goodies. We included a pamphlet of local hikes, camping bracelets and key chains, and adventure pin, a pencil that looked like a tree branch, a granola bar (CLICK HERE for our personal favorites), finger flashlight and some really cool adventure stickers. I finished the favors off with a printable postcard that read “Thank you for being a wilderness explorer and visiting the National Park”. You can get these adorable printable post cards too CLICK HERE.
I love how this birthday party turned out. We are now ready to hit the road for our first Homeschool Road Trip Adventure to South Dakota where we can visit the iconic Mount Rushmore and Badlands National Park!
Love this National Park Themed Birthday. Here are some of our favorite items so you can recreate for your little explorer!
Green and Brown Balloon Garland Kit | Hiking Signs | National Park Stickers | Set of Vintage National Park Posters | Camping Party Favors | Wood Pencils | Wooden Hike Party Picks | Bear and Mountain Food Cups | Personalized National Park Cake Topper | Compass Plates | Plaid Tablecloth | Green Camping Lantern | Smokey The Bear | Hiking Sugar Cookies | Hide and Seek World Champ Tshirt | National Park Hat
Love this post on Luau Birthday Party For Kids? I know you will love reading through these other popular posts. Check out 7 Creative Ways to Gift Experiences for Kids | Farm Themed Birthday Party | 10 Hacks for Your Family Road Trip | A Hole In One First Birthday | Monster Truck Birthday Party | Keepsake Box for Kids | Mommy-Daughter Slumber Party
TAG ME on Instagram @projectwhim if you try anything from the blog! I love to see and share! For more inspiration make sure you are following along on Instagram. You can find fun video tutorials and get a sneak peek into our daily lives
I truly believe this is one of my favorite birthday party themes I have seen to date. What a fantastic idea! Love the hiking signs on the food, the nature activity of making bird feeders, and bring nature into the decor with twigs/small branches! Great job on a succesful party!