Crafting: Cub Scout Themed Birthday Party

Six months ago, the day after my daughter's birthday party ("Star" theme), little Abi was already planning her birthday party for next year, the ever-so-popular Lady Bug theme. Not to be left out, my sons wanted to go ahead and plan their birthdays as well. Jed was finally going to get his "Spiderman" party (which I have no picture for...the decorations were...compromised....before I could get my camera out) and J wanted a Cub Scout party. Cub Scout party?! Yes! My brain immediately started flowing with ideas. I could totally do this! At that time, my son had been in Cub Scouts for about 5 months, and I used to be camp counselor for Girl Scouts at Camp Low Country. J was getting to the age where he didn't have to invite all his friends and family anymore, and having one that was Cub Scout themed would limit it to just boys. AND he had been begging for a party where his friends camp out in the back yard. This was going to be fun!

So the planning began. About 3 months ago, I began sitting down and brainstorming what could be done at such a party, and decided the boys could work on getting "badges" for various events. The guest gifts would be easy enough (which, by the way, the list of things I wanted to give them dropped drastically as we had to make adjustments to our budget, but we what ended up doing was sufficient). The food would be simple but fun. The games would be perfect for the boys to do on a bright almost-summer day. I already gave you a brief peek at the birthday party when I talked about my schedule and the food, but now to address putting it all together. It really was a fun party, and I am happy to share it with you!

Cub Scout Birthday Party

The birthday boy! 

Location:
Joseph wanted to camp, and it made sense to have the party outside. I was going to do my backyard, but I thought having off site would be fun, too. One of Summerville's little secrets is Givhan's Ferry State Park. They have two large picnic shelters, camp sites, 3 large fields for activities (already set up for volleyball, baseball, or just activities in an open field), a 1.5 mile hiking trail, and access to the water for swimming, fishing, boating. I chose the smaller of the two shelters, and it was HUGE. For $28, I was able to get a great space, with plenty of parking (right at the shelter), it overlooked the Edisto River, and it was across the road from a huge field. And since the weather was cooperating, it was truly the best spot!

Games and Badges:
So since it was a Cub Scout party, what better way to organize it than to have them "earn badges" for playing around. The boys were all in good spirits about this, and seemed super excited to get their Gold Stars. And since I'm such a teacher (and a mother of 3), it was only natural for me to make a schedule of events. What Cub Scout camping experience is complete without one? Here's the schedule:

And the events were:

Marbles Badge: Playing a Game of Marbles

Sports Badge: Football Drills 

Game Badge: Dizzy Izzy

Archery Badge: Target Practice 

Here's a picture of the bulls eye I made for the Archery Badge

 Next badge...NO PICTURE

 (I was preparing the next badge activity and didn't get back fast enough to take a picture)

Water Badge: Water Balloon Toss 

Chef's Badge: Making Ice Cream 

If you look closely in some of the above pictures, you can see the boys have a key chain with notecards attached. That was how they got their badges recorded. I cut colorful notecards in half, punched a hole in the top, attached a key chain, and then wrote on the cards (in order) the events. Once they completed an event, they came back to me to get a gold star (that I drew on the back of the notecard with a metallic gold pen). Because it was on a key chain, they were able to carry them around to each event. When the entire party was over, each boy got to take the key chain home as part of their guest gift.

Food:
I wanted to make the food pretty simple and be a little "campy" as well. When most people camp, hotdogs are normally involved, and although there was a grill at this picnic shelter, I (wisely) didn't think there would be time to grill them for the party. So I popped them in my crockpot, and thery were ready (and perfect) for the party. All I had to do was cut up some veggies and watermelon, add some chips, and make cupcakes (see food post for details). It turned out to be the perfect amount of food and it tasted great!

Guest Gifts:
I was going to have the boys make their own survival bracelet as part of the event and as part of their guest gift, but we couldn't get a hold of the paracord in enough time, so I decided to do water balloon toss instead. J had made a survival bracelet in Cub Scouts, and I thought it would be fun, but alas, it didn't happen. I was also going to get each boy a boy and arrow, but that didn't happen either. BUT I did end up getting each boy a water bottle and a key chain. And it seemed to work out just fine. They were able to use their gifts all during the party. It worked out great!

After the party, some of the boys piled up in my car and headed to my house for some tent camping. We made s'mores, jumped on the trampoline, and really just had a blast.

Roasting Marshmallows! 

Cinnamon Rolls in the morning...and my poor husband who slept in the tent with the boys. 

 This party was a hit! The kids had a ton of fun, and I think the adults did too! I think the party cost (overall, with the price of the picnic shelter, the food, and the guest gifts) maybe $100. Not too shabby!