Camp Luke comes to Wild Oak!

Back in April we had a 5th birthday bash for Luke, and I was delighted when the birthday boy requested a camping theme.

After the girly pinks of Eleanor’s butterfly party, it was fun to go all-outdoorsy in greens and oranges. My favorite piece of party décor were the hand-painted signs. Months before I’d spied a gallon of green paint on the oops markdown table at Home Depot and just knew we’d find a use for it (though Erik had his doubts). You can imagine my satisfaction when it was the perfect shade for the party! Erik cut some scrap wood pieces, Luke did a champion job coating them in green, and I did the lettering in white. There was a campfire arrow pointing up the hill to the fire ring we set up, an outhouse arrow pointing inside, and a canteen sign on the food table.

Erik skillfully cut a handsome arrow for the archery sign, plus a few more for the backyard, including a strict bear prohibition. Despite the no-nonsense signage, during the party we happened upon some pranks that we believe to have been performed by a mischievous bear. ;)

Other than the signs our decorations were pretty simple. We set up three tents around the campfire ring for the kids to play in and draped the food table in an oatmeal colored drop cloth. After that, Albuquerque’s rugged mountains set the stage pretty well on their own.

The swing set was a Craig’s List find that Erik repaired and set up just in time for the party. Somehow he managed to load the entire structure on our station wagon and carry it into the backyard with only Luke’s assistance – party adrenaline I tell you!

I bought this editable invitation/signage package on Etsy and printed the adorable tent invitations and some other tags and signs. They were easy to personalize and the immediate download was perfect for someone like me who leaves things to the last-minute. I hope to be back tomorrow with a rundown of the party activities and food, just in case baby #3 requests his own camp some day or any of you are thinking of hosting an afternoon camp-out this summer!