We recently celebrated my youngest son’s birthday with an Army themed party and boy, was it a blast! With a DIY backdrop and authentic military gear (from my Uncle and Grandfather) I transformed our living and dining room into an Army Barrack for our guests.
Liam is now Five Years Old!
Sound off…1..2..Sound off…3…4 Sound Off..1..2…….3..4!
Army Party Ideas
Before I share all the wonderful photos captured by Maria Healey Photography, let me take a minute to tell you about the details and people behind this little labor of love.
Army Party Decor
Like all of my parties, a serious amount of DIY action took place to put this party together. Starting with the massive backdrop – my husband and I created an Army Barrack with large sheets of foam, a hot knife, wood trim and paint. It created the perfect background and set the stage for the party. I could not be more happy with how it turned out!
To add height to the tables, I painted and stenciled wooden crates with Rustoleum spray paint for the props and goodies. For the centerpiece I painted large toy army men I found at the Dollar Tree metallic silver to match the metal letters I purchased at Michaels. I also purchased a matching drawer set at Michaels and filled it with wrapped Ration candy bars. I scoured local Army Surplus stores for ammo boxes and a metal tray but surprisingly found the best deal on Amazon. I added some fake bullets to the ammo boxes for extra detail and covered the tables with burlap and canvas. I also made a fabric garland (see tutorial here) to hang on the table.
I also made a “Liberty” banner with my Cricut Explore and displayed medals and military gear on our mantel along with a set of personalized painted mason jars made by my friend Meghann of Always the Occasion. Meghann is such a joy to work with and her stenciled mason jars always add that extra special touch to my parties.
Army Party Desserts
First and foremost, can we talk about the AMAZING cake? Oh my gosh! I was blown away when I saw this cake made especially for Liam by Desi{gn} Cakes and Cupcakes. Desi not only made this amazing Lemon cake, she hand delivered and set it up for us. Now, that is what I call full service! Yes, the cake was gorgeous; complete with army men, marshmallow camouflage fondant, personalized dog tags and a satin bow, but it was also DELICIOUS! All the guests raved about it and we devoured every last bite!
Moving on to the cupcakes, these salted caramel cupcakes were to die for!!! Topped with multi-colored butter cream frosting, it was hard to eat just one. Desi is not only one of the best bakers I know, she is THE sweetest. Thank you Desi for everything, your generosity is unparalleled and we loved every crumb of your creations!
Because every amazing cupcake needs fantastic toppers, Jill of Morsels Party Planning created perfect army themed fondant toppers for the party. Jill made stars, personalized dog tags, grenades and Army rank insignias. Thank you Jill for the highly detailed toppers, they were just what we had in mind!
Now let’s talk cookies, not just any cookies, but amazingly delicious and detailed cookies by my dear friend Katherine of Creating Awesomnessity. Katherine made us a batch of decorated cookies – flags, dog tags, tanks, stars and grenades that matched my party stationery exactly. Katherine’s cookies are always the first desserts to disappear during the party, our guests gobble them up every time! Thank you Katherine, my dear! You rock!!!
It’s no secret that I love chocolate covered oreos and candy apples. If you look at any party I style, you are sure to see at least one of these treats showcased. And more often than not, my go-to-gal for these treats is Autumn of Sparkling Sweets Boutique (formally known as Autumn Lynn’s Chocolate Sins). Autumn never disappoints, she made mini camouflage candy covered apples and camouflage chocolate covered Oreos. They coordinated perfectly and were delicious! Thank you Autumn!
Rice Krispie treats are another “must have” for our parties. My husband absolutely loves them and his only request when we plan a party is to have Rice Krispie Treats (or as the cool kids call them, RKTs). RKTs in exchange for unlimited party craziness? What a great deal! So when Nicole of Bella Bakery and Bowtique sent us a nice batch of beautiful camouflage RKTs, the hubs was in heaven. And yes, of course all the guests and Liam loved them too!
Did someone mention Grenade and Bomb cake pops? Yes please! I am always truly amazed by Samantha of The New York Cakepopery, her jawdropping work always leaves me speechless. I can barely make a round cake pop, so when I saw the awesome grenades and bombs Samantha made for us, I was ecstatic! To showcase these little gems, I placed them in foam cubes under one of the Ammo crates I made. They were perfect! Thank you so much Samantha!
No party is complete without candy! Wynter of Sweets of Heaven, Outlets of Orange made delicious CandyBobs with a hand-painted star and the number 5. The kids devoured the CandyBobs while the adults stocked up on camouflage Jelly Belly jelly beans and Gummy Army Men and Gummy Jets.
Party Stationery and Essentials
I always design my own Stationery for my parties, everything from the Invitations to the Wall Decor. But this was the first time I had the pleasure of designing my own plates! With the help of Sandra from Create-Ur-Plate, our guests dined on personalized dinner and cake plates. (I had learned about Create-Ur-Plate from a recent conference I attended and was so excited when I had the chance to use them for Liam’s party. These aren’t your ordinary party plates! Check out the Create-Ur-Plate website to learn more!)
Paper party products are an essential party staple and paper straws and cupcake wrappers are a personal favorite. Thank you Bella Cupcake Couture for the coordinating cupcake wrappers and Celebration Lane for the paper straws!
Party Attire
Every birthday boy and girl needs a themed birthday outfit, right? So when Brenda of GreatStitch sent Liam a personalized camouflage hat and matching embroidered t-shirt, he was on cloud 9! When my son dresses up, he really gets into character. So he proudly wore his camouflage pants, dog tags and took charge as Captain Liam for the day. It was, after all, his Boot Camp!
Party Favors and Activities
My favorite parts of party planning is picking party favors and activities for the kiddos. My husband constructed an area which we labeled “Sarge’s Surplus Hut” (inspired by my son’s love for the Cars character) and we stocked buckets with party favors and candy for the guests to fill their “tanks”. The awning was constructed from pvc pipe and camouflage netting. We also hung up our American Flag with pride for a backdrop. The party favors included toy grenades, personalized pencils, rockets, gliders, army men, paratroopers, bouncy balls and army men erasers from Oriental Trading Company.
In addition to the small party favors in the surplus hut, each child received a handmade marshmallow shooter, helmet, binoculars, dog tag necklace, a handmade camouflage crayon roll, water grenade, CandyBob and a cookie.
We played several games; War with Marshmallow shooters, Ring Toss, Bag Toss, Pinata and even a Boot Camp obstacle course complete with inflatable tires and orange cones! We also played “Medic!” and the kids raced to wrap their fellow soldier in bandages (toilet paper). It was a blast!
The little man takes his role as CAPTAIN LIAM very seriously, lol!
Chocolate Bar Ration Stickers available in my SHOP.
Small Personalized Stickers available in my SHOP.
See my Camouflage Fabric Garland Tutorial HERE.
Army Welcome Door Sign available in my SHOP.
Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) Stickers available in my SHOP.
Activity Placemats available in my SHOP.
Personalized Party Coasters available in my SHOP.
Personalized Water Bottle Labels available in my SHOP.
Large Personalized Army Party Stickers available in my SHOP.
Personalized Party Favor Tags available in my SHOP.
Personalized MRE Favor Bag Toppers available in my SHOP.
Large Personalize Stickers available in my SHOP.
Ammo Favor Bag Toppers available in my SHOP.
Personalized Backdrop available in my SHOP.
Pin the Medal on the Soldier Party Game available in my SHOP.
Visit my Disney Side post to see more of the details behind the fun games we played, including a fun obstacle course! Complete with inflatable tires and traffic cones!
We all had a great time celebrating my little man’s birthday. We ate, laughed and played hard!
Thank you to all the family and friends that took the time to celebrate Liam’s big day!
THANK YOU to all the brave men and women who have fought for our FREEDOM, God bless you all!
PERSONALIZED PARTY STATIONERY AVAILABLE IN MY SHOP:
Pin the Medal on the Soldier Game
Vendor Credits:
Party Styling and Paper Stationery – Michelle’s Party Plan-It
Photography- Maria Healey Photography
Cake and Cupcakes – [Desi]gn Cakes & Cupcakes
Candy Apples & Camouflage Oreos – Sparkling Sweets Boutique
Army Cookies – Creating Awesomnessity
Personalized Plates – Create-Ur-Plate
Camouflage Cereal Treats – Bella Bakery and Bowtique
Grenade and Bomb Cakepops – The New York Cakepopery
CandyBobs and Bulk Candy – Sweets from Heaven, Outlets of Orange
Fondant Cupcake Toppers – Morsels Party Planning
Striped Paper Straws – Celebration Lane
Personalized Hat and Shirt – GreatStitch
Hand Painted Personalized Mason Jars – Always the Occasion
Cupcake Wrappers – Bella Cupcake Couture
Handmade Marshmallow Shooters – Backwoods Toys
Popcorn boxes, water grenades, rockets, personalized pencils, army men erasers and gliders – Oriental Trading Company
(Disclosure: I received products from Oriental Trading included in this post, however all opinions are my own.)
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13 comments
This is CRAZY awesome Michelle! I am dying over every single detail. You can see the love you put into it!
Thank you so much Brittany! We had a blast with it all! 🙂
Such an AWESOME party Michelle, you totally thought of every detail!!! 😀
Thank you so much Blanca! And thank you for joining us for Liam’s big day! xoxo
What type of paint did you use on the mason jars with the stenciled letters?
Thanks
Hi! I didn’t paint those. They are from Always An Occasion. The link is above. 🙂
Can you tell me about the bullets? are they toys, candy? thanks!!
Hi! The bullets are a costume accessory, you click the link to see the description. Thanks!
By any chance can you let me know where you got the kids canteen party favors? I can’t find them anywhere. Thank you!
Hi Angela,
Canteen party favors? I didn’t pass out any canteens. Sorry!
I LOVE the idea of the crayon roll up sleeve as a party favor! I don’t see a link, or maybe I missed it?
Loved the army-themed party ideas! The games sound like so much fun, especially the obstacle course challenge. Can’t wait to try out some of the decoration tips too! Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely loved these army-themed party ideas! The games sound like a blast and I can’t wait to try the camouflage decorations. Perfect for my son’s birthday party! Thanks for the inspiration!