9Th Birthday Party - Outdoor Theme

the parent trap the original with haley mills. it starts out with the girls at summer camp and then they go camping again later on in the movie.
I would totally skip the rock climbing thing. maybe the nighttime walk. but with a sleepover girls usually come about 7. so supper, movie and walk and then bed. the next morning donuts and girls go home.

If you google "camp games" or "scavenger hunts" you'll find lots of great ideas you can gear to the kids. I'd skip the rock climbing thing - it can be expensive, not everyone loves it (unless you're positive about every guest), and it kind of defeats the purpose to being outdoors.

My kid loved treasure hunts - we used those plastic Easter eggs (but you can find them in party stores year round) and also used little baggies. We put little candies or other treats/prizes in them, and hid them around the yard. You can assign each kid a color (if you have too many kids, put a sticker on some of the eggs of the same color - so Kid A gets purple eggs, Kid B gets purple eggs with a sticker.). That way everyone kind of works together to help each other get their designated prizes. You can just hide them randomly, or you can write clues. We put them in potted plants, stuck inside shrubs, in the bottom of downspouts, perched on the hose reel, in the V of a tree branch, under the deck, etc. etc. Here's just one web site.
http://www.camping-field-guide.com/camping-treasure-hunt....

It's good outdoor fun and they run around. You can also do a scavenger hunt where they have to find items in nature. Here's one sample list but you can find many others on line http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/kids/scavengerhunt...

I love the idea of tents inside - no bugs! Give them flashlights and let them turn off the lights.

Hot dogs are fun, so are s'mores. You can use skewers but remember the kids don't have much experience and the metal ones get hot. You can find extra long wooden ones in most grill and picnic sections. A lot of times people soak the wood ahead of time so they don't catch fire. Be sure to supervise the marshmallow part - there's a dangerous challenge that's been going around for a few years where kids see how many marshmallows they can stuff into their mouths. They soften and form a big glob, and kids have suffocated/choked. So get on top of them from the get go!

Another movie that people don't always think of but which stars a young girl is "Fly Away Home" with Jeff Daniels as a divorced father whose daughter come to live with him. (I think her mother might have died but that's really soft-pedaled.) They wind up raising some Canada geese that have to fly south for the winter, but there's no adult goose to lead, plus there's one that's injured. So they wind up flying those small craft that are kind of like hang-gliders with engines (Sorry, I'm blanking on the name). It's a moving about bonding daughter/dad, about conquering fears, about doing the right thing with nature.There's a subplot at the end about some big company doing damage to the environment where the geese have to get to in order to meet up with the rest of the flock. I haven't seen it in a long time but our kids loved it. You might want to check it out ahead of time. It's often available on demand or through the library DVD rental (free!).

You can just serve popcorn at night, and if you feel you really need to give out goody bag stuff, consider a canteen or some binoculars or other nature items.

Definitely a S'mores bar! You can find different recipes for s'mores using different kinds of candy bars and cookies. Put out all different kinds of ingredients and let them create their own s'mores recipes.

You can also do a trail mix bar. Put out lots of different ingredients and they can create their own trail mix to eat while watching the movie. I think the original Parent Trap movie with Haley Mills would be the perfect movie to watch. My kids love it! (They hated the newer remake after seeing the original.)

Do a search on Pinterest for camping party ideas. There are some adorable cake/cupcake ideas and other food ideas and activity ideas.

Instead of just a hike, do a nature scavenger hunt. There was one on Pinterest that I saw that had things like a twig, a heart shaped leaf, a red rock, a bird feather, etc.

You could do a traditional camp art/craft activity like paint a pet rock, make a lanyard, make God's eyes. Find some kid friendly ghost stories to tell around the fire pit. Play flashlight tag or ghosts in the graveyard. Have a water fight. I think there are so many things to do just at your home that you could skip the rock climbing. There were tons of ideas on Pinteret. Do you have lightening bugs/fireflies? They are so fun to catch. Does it get dark enough to see stars? There are some cool apps for the iPad that can help you find constellations.

If you are into treat bags, we gave our kids' preschool teachers s'mores in a bag. A ziploc bag with graham crackers, a marshmallow, and a chocolate bar. There was a note that said "you do s'more for us than we ever expected" and had directions for how to make the s'more in the microwave. I had found it on Pinterest. You could just change the wording a little bit to fit the occasion.

What a fun party idea! I'm going to maybe suggest it for my daughter and my son next year! If we hadn't already planned a gymnastics party for my son and an archery party for my daughter I'd do it this year.

How about a treasure hunt? Make up clues that lead to other clues in the house, outside, and maybe a friendly neighbor or two...... they read the clue and figure out where the next one is located, and eventually, that leads to some big surprise, like a goody bag for everyone, or a special treat.

Scavenger hunts as someone else suggested is also a lot of fun.

love this idea and the suggestions below - I am going to remember this for next year :) thanks ladies!

I too think you could skip the indoor rock climbing. My kids have been to sleepovers in tents with friends (not parties exactly but nights with buds) and they have done the scavenger hunt in the dusk (give them flashlights) and tag with flashlights .. not super dark but dark enough. And then campfire - smores for sure.

Great idea!! They will have fun! Camping indoors is great too - my kids often go to parties with tents inside and love it.

Sounds like fun. The only sort of camping I'd enjoy for sure...