Summertime means simple parties—particularly birthday parties! You can have a lot of fun in the sun if you have good weather, water, and a little imagination. From messy art parties to water play twists, we’ve compiled the greatest outdoor birthday party themes for your summer.
Take a seat, grab a popsicle, and get ready to take your party to the next level with ideas from us.
Outdoor Birthday Party Ideas
Despite the fact that restaurants, movie theaters, and museums are reopening, outdoor areas such as city parks remain a popular venue to have a party this summer, particularly for children.
Outdoor parties are safer, and running about outside is a nice change of pace from a school year dominated by screen time. The difficulty with throwing a kids party at a public park is that you must be able to transport all of the necessary goods in one trip.
Party Decorations
For a park party, it’s best to keep the décor simple. Allow the birthday boy or girl to pick out a few banners of their favorite characters or colors to hang up if you have space beneath a pavilion. Then get some tablecloths, paper plates, utensils, and cups that match.
Balloons and garlands are the only exceptions to the less-is-more rule: they’re not only fantastic party decor, but they also help your visitors find you in the park! Hang bright garlands or banners from a tree branch or assemble a large bouquet of balloons in various shapes, sizes, and colors to display near your setup.
Picnic Blankets
When it comes to your park party, picnic blankets will be your best buddy. Spread out a few blankets in the area, even if you have benches to sit on. You’ll have ample room for everyone to hang out and won’t have to worry about running out of seats.
If your party has a theme, pick up a couple picnic blankets to go with it. If you don’t have a theme in mind, use any picnic blankets you have on hand — even an old top sheet will suffice!
Sunscreen Stations
Hopefully, your guests will enjoy themselves and leave with a useful goody bag! A sunburn is one thing your guests will not want to take home with them. Set up a sunscreen station, with some insect spray thrown in for good measure!
Keep the station visible so that guests can reapply at any time during the celebration, especially if it’s a really hot day.
Birthday Cakes
A birthday party in the park is the ideal opportunity to replace the traditional birthday cake with birthday cupcakes! Cupcakes are essentially cake finger food, making them considerably easier to consume outside.
You won’t need a plate or fork, which makes cleanup a breeze. Fill them with chocolate or cookie dough and cover them with sprinkles and Oreos to make them look like a whole cake. It’s a birthday celebration, after all, so bring a variety of foods!
Party Games & Activities
Set up a game and activity station when you’ve exhausted the playground and need a break from the monkey bars to keep the party going all afternoon.
Set out a picnic blanket and some board games, such as Guesstures or What Do You Meme, as well as Spot It! and a deck of cards. Add a ball or frisbee for a game of catch or a game of kickball on the fly.
Play the Music!
Is a party truly complete without music? Wear your DJ hat and bring a Bluetooth speaker with you. Have no idea what to play? You won’t have to think about it thanks to Spotify.
A list of guaranteed hits can be found on their summer playlist. Allow some of the children to take up the DJing chores and create their own playlist. Prepare to hear Olivia Rodrigo over and over again!
Party Foods and Drinks
Forget about five-star cuisine; for a park gathering, the food should be modest and straightforward. Plus, your visitors will be too preoccupied with running around and playing games to consume a complete lunch.
Stick to easy-to-pack items, foods that stay well in the sun, and portable snacks. Wraps or maybe a few pizzas delivered for the main course. Keep the delicious birthday dinner for a special night at home!
Your party goers will be extremely thirsty after all of the rushing around. A well-stocked drink arrangement will keep everyone hydrated during the event. Fill a cooler with ice and water bottles, juice boxes, soda bottles, or iced tea. Bring a few small coolers to spread around for easy access.
Party Invitations
We simply used Facebook to invite our friends, but I came across some incredibly charming fill-in invites that would be perfect for outdoor birthday parties. These adorable outdoor party park invitations for kids and adults might be of interest to you.
FYI, every template in our site is coming for free and can be customized using your laptop, desktop and even through your smartphone.
How to Download
- What you need to do is click (left-click) the preview image.
- You should see a new page popped-up in your display, then you need to “right-click” the image and select “Save image as”
- Locate the destination folder, or just leave it as it is. Then “Enter” to start the download process.
Please note this, all files/materials have been included in that package, so once it’s finished, you are able to customize it right away.
Even if you’re a regular at the park where your party will be held, make a special journey there specifically to look for a setup for the event.
Take note of the number of tables available, the state of the restrooms, and whether or not you’ll need to bring picnic blankets. This way, you may plan ahead of time and arrive at the celebration prepared.
A park birthday party is a timeless tradition for a reason. There’s plenty of area to run around and play countless games on the playground, which comes with built-in entertainment. Bring the best setup to your park party this year!