summer camp party fruit and veggies

This party was one of the more fun ones we’ve done. I was so excited when TIKI® Brand wanted to send me some torches for this party, because it was my birthday week and I really wanted to do something fun. We got a fire pit and added a few more lanterns on the tables and I had everyone bring a camp chair and dress in “camp clothes.”  We had a few scout uniforms and lots of flannel… it was awesome. And once it got dark… the ambiance was perfect.  We had lit the torches surrounding us, and a glowing fire in the middle, so it really felt like we were at camp!! I absolutely can’t wait to use them again. Of course, I didn’t tell anyone it was FOR my birthday, but this is exactly my kind of party. Easy, low-key, but well thought-out so everything runs smoothly…

 

smores brownies summer camping party tiki torch

Look how cute my TIKI® Brand Glowing Table Torch looks next to my s’mores brownies. This one was cool too-it has an LED light inside and glows when it’s dark and also changes colors! (And PS–while searching the lawn and garden section of Target, I saw all of these torches and fuel! You can totally go grab a few at Target! Or enter the giveaway first…). Being that we live in San Diego, we are entertaining outside almost year-round, but there are definitely a few things to remember when entertaining outside that will really help make it fantastic! 1. Always serve fresh fruit. I don’t know what it is about a cut up watermelon or a little pineapple, but adding in cold, sweet fruit always makes it feel like summer, and it also gives guests a sweet option that is healthier than the sweet sugary stuff I always have too! One of my friends ate some and actually said, “Ah, now it’s summer!”

fresh fruit summer party

2. Ambiance. Now that I have these torches, I’ll be even better at creating the outdoor “summer” vibes. Before I had the torches, summer evenings needed a little something, like lanterns, or large bulb lights strung up, or a few large Asian lanterns to bring in a little extra lighting to set the mood.

fire pit camping party

 

 tiki torch party summer camp

3. Don’t over-plan the activities. All week long as we planned this party and the details and what we would do, we kept thinking how much fun it would be to have scout-like activities, or silly games that guests could earn a “scout badge” for. We had campfire games, and lots of ideas, but ultimately, the food and the fire were all we needed. It was perfect to sit and chat, make lots of s’mores, and just enjoy the outdoors.

 

 

4. “Fun” food. I think there is always something fun at a party when you get to be entertained by food. In this case, we had a s’mores bar AND a trail mix bar. I had red solo cups to fill up with snack mix, and lots of options for building s’mores. everyone tried making s’mores with these granola bars dipped in chocolate {my favorite way to have a s’more} and with Reese’s, Oreos, and Andes mints. It was fun AND yummy. My parents were here for the party and my dad kept telling me all about the different trail mix combos that he liked. Loved it.

 

 

trail mix and smores bar summer camp party

5. Make-ahead meal that’s no fuss. I wanted to do a hobo dinner, cause i thought it would be perfect and something I could make beforehand and pop in the oven just 20-30 minutes before our party started. I wanted to be able to feed my people once they got here and not be trying to entertain AND finish prepping food to be served (I am notorious for that). We made these super yummy santa fe chicken foil dinners that my friends at high heels n grills posted. Everyone raved about them all night and they were so easy. Just go pin the recipe and thank me later. I have to admit, this is one of the few parties I started on time because all my food was done ahead of time.

summer camp santa fe foil dinnerSanta Fe Chicken Foil Dinners. #easy #dinner #recipe copy

6. A theme. This one is obviously optional, but it helps in the planning tremendously. Because I knew I would have the TIKI® Brand Torches, I wanted to do something outside. We had tons of ideas for how to make it fun and how to decorate to look like a camp… We gave prizes to the best dressed and the best made s’more (red solo cup tumblers filled with goodies). It was so much easier to decide what to serve and to decorate when we had a color scheme to follow. My TIKI® Brand Glowing Table Torch was that perfect blue/teal color so I used it as an accent to the red and khaki, and it brightened everything up and added some color.

summer camp party table

Going along with the theme, I also made these super yummy s’mores brownies that were a huge hit. I will be making them again and again for sure!

fudgy smores brownies 2

7. Easy set-up = easy take-down. We used lots of buckets, and easy containers, hobo dinners and paper plates. This was the fastest party to take down because the tables were so easy, and the food was contained. If we had done burgers or hotdogs there would be a separate place where we were preparing and warming food and a different place where it would be served.  If you want it easy, don’t use crockpots or warming plates, do mostly finger food. The tin foil dinner was perfect because they stayed nice and hot for the few guests that came a bit later. By the end of the night, they were still warm and I sent a few home to have later. Easy peasy.

summer camp tiki torch

When TIKI® Brand sent my torches, I didn’t know what to expect, since I hadn’t seen them before {in real life}. They are pretty large torches that are built to last for sure. And they sent a huge bottle of torch fuel, AND a snap & pour spout to make it easy to refill the torches. My husband and dad helped set these up and were raving about how nice and sturdy they were. It was pretty funny to watch {wish i snapped a picture}. By the way, they do have the bamboo ones too, and they are really nice! I just LOVE the TIKI® Brand Island King® Large Flame Torches and will use them all. the. time. {the one in the picture above} And BONUS: these help repel mosquitoes too! So I will be definitely be using these lots this summer!

· · · · giveaway!! · · · ·

 

so, the best part of this is that TIKI® Brand wants to giveaway

 

some of these amazing torches

 

to one of my readers too! By the way, you can purchase these

 

TIKI® Brand products at Target.

 

 

what you’ll receive if you win:

 

4 TIKI® Brand Glass Torches +

 

1TIKI® Brand Glowing Tabletop +

 

1 64oz Bottle TIKI® Brand Torch Fuel +

 

1 Snap & Pour

 

= Retail Value $107.93

 

to enter the giveaway answer below in a comment:

 

how do you think TIKI® Brand would help you to create the perfect outdoor entertaining experience?

This post is sponsored by TIKI® Brand, but as always, all opinions are my own. Sweepstakes Rules:  No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: 1.     Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post 2.     Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post 3.     Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post 4.     For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 5/15/2014-6/30/2014. Be sure to visit the TIKI® Brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!