Theme Parties: Nerf Battle Birthday

I just love a good themed party!  It helps bring all the pieces of a fun party together- from the invites, to the decor, games, food, favors- you name it.  In this series I'll share a look at some of the budget friendly, fun themed parties we've had for our kiddos.  

We'll kick off with the most recent- our son's 10th birthday Nerf Battle. Our son came up with the idea and I ran with it.  The concept was so simple and perfect for this age group.  After searching online for ideas here's what we came up with:

I sent out camo themed e-vites with this wording:

TOP SECRET INFORMATION:
-Your presence is requested at Camp French on Friday, August 21 at 1800 (6:00 pm civilian time).
-At destination you will demonstrate your Nerf gun abilities performing...
    -Target practice
    -Shooting Drills
    -Nerf Battles
-Bring your gun and ammo, too.  If you forget we'll have extras for you.
-If you prove to be on target dinner and cake will be served.
-If you're reporting for duty, just give us the word!

When the soldiers arrived at camp aka our backyard, they checked in at the gearing station where they received nerf ammo, an ammo holder (89¢ Home Depot aprons), and safety glasses.  They also received an orange or tan colored band to tie around their arm to break them up into teams for the big battle.  Finally, we had a camo face paint stick for the boys to really get into character.  Fun!

For party favors, the boys took home their goodies from the gearing station, and a goody bag with supplies for their next battle- a dog tag, more ammo, warheads candy, and Gatorade.

First stop: Training exercises before the big battle...

The artillery...

To create barricades in our war zone, we spray painted free boxes from local stores...

Let the battles begin!!!

The kiddos played capture the flag a number of times, and then we just had a free for all!

 In between the training exercises and battles we had pizza, cake, and gifts.  In the end, our son declared it the 'best party ever'.  Mission accomplished.

(Today I linked up with Inspire Me Wednesday-- Thanks for stopping by!)