An Army Boot Camp Party

We celebrated Luke and Lila’s sixth birthday this weekend.  This year’s theme was a pink and green camouflage army boot camp party, an idea Luke and Lila came up with.

We sent invitations with personalized dog tags …

… and gave directions to our military base.  I was so excited to have this party outside.  I pictured the kids racing through the trees to complete the obstacle course, and the pictures all having an awesome wooded backdrop.  Unfortunately, a torrential downpour thwarted my plans and we ended up holding the party in our gameroom.  Still fun but not quite what I had envisioned.

Before the party started, I set up a mess hall where we provided some rations for the partygoers.  The mess hall sign was made from an old drawer front and some vinyl cut with my Silhouette.  A simple fabric banner added a little color.

I served water out of a pink camo trunk …

… and wrapped the bottles in paper and knotted fabric.

A variety of snacks were served in camo buckets found at the dollar store {Easter baskets, actually} …

… and army men {also found at the dollar store} were strategically placed around the table.  I spray painted some of the army men pink. Pink army men make me smile.

Camo cupcakes with army men toppers were displayed next to the snack table …

… and army tank candles were ready to be placed on Luke and Lila’s cupcakes.

I had a stack of army helmets for the kids {with pink duct tape bows on the girls’ helmets}.

Luke and Lila couldn’t wait for their party.  They put on their birthday shirts and camo pants/shorts and got in full army mode.

Eli even helped out, dressing up and taking on the part of a drill sergeant.

When the kids arrived, Eli ran them through a little basic training and a few simple commands …

… and then we set them loose on the obstacle course.  They had to climb through ropes …

… do five jumping jacks, army crawl under a table, step through rings, run through a curtain of streamers, grab a huge teddy bear wounded soldier and run him to safety, jumping over landmines to the finish line.

The obstacle course was followed up with a tug-of-war …

… and some target practice.  I had a free printable target {found online} blown up to poster size …

… and the kids threw grenade balloons at it.  Before we had to move the party indoors, the plan was to fill the grenades with water and throw them at the target.

The kids had a great time at the army boot camp party and the physical activities were a hit with the crowd of energetic boys.

Luke and Lila opened gifts and then the kids sat down for snacks, cake, and ice cream.

Everyone went home with a box of goodies, including some army men {pink for the girls, of course}.

This army boot camp party was a big hit with all of the kids and a lot of fun to plan!

For more fun party ideas, be sure to check out this color fight party …

… a shooting range birthday party for kids …

… and a bowling party with lots of DIY details!