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10 Steps to the Perfect (and Super Simple) Party in the Park – A Fun Birthday Party Idea!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

My oldest daughter’s birthday is in October, which happens to be a great month for an outdoor party here in Texas.  My youngest daughter was born in August of this year, just two months prior, so I was looking for a fun yet simple way to celebrate my oldest’s 2nd birthday.  Of course, we could have had it at our house like her first birthday, but with a 2-month-old at home, I was trying to avoid the crazy prep and cleanup that comes along with a house party.

I started thinking about her favorite things to do, and one of her favorite things to do is play at the park.  We have a wonderful little park down the street from us that we love.  There are some tables and a covered pavilion, so I thought it would be a perfect spot for her party.

Party in the Park Birthday Ideas Toddler Second

And it was!  We had our close friends and family there, and everyone had a blast.  The best part of it all – it was so simple!  Easy planning, easy setup, and easy cleanup!

Here are 10 steps to an easy, fun, and memorable 2nd birthday party at the park:

park party

Party in the Park

1.  Find a park of choice and reserve a pavilion (if possible).  This was easy for us because we knew we wanted to have it at the one in our neighborhood.

2.  Create an invitation list and collect e-mail addresses.  When you have a party at the park, you don’t really have to worry about space and the number of people.  There is plenty of room for everyone.

mom shirt

3.  Send the invitation by e-mail.  You can either create your own or order one online from a website like Etsy.  (Edit: Here is the cute invitation I purchased for our daughter’s third birthday party at the park.)  You can usually get it back electronically fairly quickly.  Send the invitation by e-mail to save time and save money on printing and stamps.  Your guests can simply reply back whether or not they will be able to come.

park party

4.  Visit the park and develop a plan for decorations and seating.  The park had plenty of seating with eight small tables with benches under a pavilion along with some park benches around the play area.  We did not need to bring any additional tables or chairs… Yay!  There were two trash cans nearby, and we planned on bringing an extra trash bag.  Because we weren’t able to reserve the pavilion and because I wanted to keep it super simple, I decided not to use tablecloths in case there were others who wanted to use the tables at the same time.

5.  Order balloons ahead of time.  This was the only decoration we had.  We ordered five balloons a few days before the party, and they were ready to go the day of the party without us having to wait.  Super easy.

6.  Pick up plates, plastic ware, and napkins.  We picked these up at the same place where we ordered the balloons.

7.  Develop a menu and prepare food.  We ordered pizzas the morning of the party and had them delivered to the park.  This was great because we didn’t have to worry about keeping prepared food warm or sandwiches cool.  We made cupcakes the day before and refrigerated them and then made icing and iced the cupcakes the morning of the party.  We purchased bottled water, soft drinks, and juice boxes from the grocery store and had them iced down in a cooler.

The only thing I would change for next time would be the ice cream we brought.  We brought individual Blue Bell ice cream cups, cups, and cute paper straws and planned to serve Root Beer and Coke floats.  However, the ice cream melted in the ice so it didn’t really work out.  Nobody seemed to mind though because the pizza and cupcakes provided plenty of food for everyone.

8.  Arrive 20 minutes early to the park.  We arrived a little early to set up the balloons, plates, plastic ware, and napkins.

park party

9.  Party time!  The pizza was delivered 15 minutes after the party started.  We brought a Wiffle Bat and Ball set, a soccer ball, and a football in case anyone wanted to play.  She got a Cozy Coupe as a gift, and she had a blast riding that around the park.  Some of the older kids brought their scooters and bikes and rode around on the sidewalks.  We thought about bringing a cornhole set for the adults and our bubble machine for the little ones, but we figured there was plenty to do. After pizza, we enjoyed cupcakes and opened gifts.  There was plenty of shaded seating for everyone.  For party favors, we gave the kids a container of Play-Doh.  There were a couple of families who came to the park while we were there…  We offered them pizza, cupcakes, and drinks, and they didn’t seem to mind our taking over the pavilion for that hour and a half.

10.  Clean up.  We used the trash cans that were at the park along with the trash bag we brought with us.  We loaded up the leftover food and drinks and packed the gifts, and we were on our way back home to enjoy the rest of the day.

park party

Everyone had a great time, and it really was so simple.

P.S. Here is the adorable 2nd birthday outfit I bought on Etsy for our daughter to wear during the party.  We also bought the matching little sister outfit for our newborn.  So cute!

Helpful Resources

Below are my top recommendations for saving money, making money, and more!

Ebates – Ebates is a free and easy way to earn cash back when shopping online.  Some of my favorite places to shop through Ebates include: Amazon, Target, Etsy, Old Navy, Lowe’s, Walmart, and more!  Ebates earns a commission on referrals, and they share that commission with you.  I talk about it in depth in my post here: How To Earn Cash with Ebates.  It’s super easy (and free) to join.  You just provide your email address, and choose a password.  You can get a $10 cash bonus after your first $25 purchase by signing up through my link here.

Ibotta – Ibotta is another free way to earn cash back. It’s like using coupons without the hassle of clipping coupons. You simply sign up for a free account and then after you shop, scan your products that have coupons in the app, scan your receipt, and watch the cash fall into your Ibotta account. I use the app when I shop at Target and Kroger, but there are a lot of places you can use the service.  You can receive a $10 welcome bonus by signing up through my link here.

Airbnb – Airbnb is a great way to travel.  Instead of staying at hotels, you can rent someone’s house, apartment, or room.  I have even seen people list their Airstream trailers for rent.  How cool is that?!  We used Airbnb on our last trip to Washington, D.C., and it was awesome.  We stayed in a cute little neighborhood near Dupont Circle and were able to walk to the grocery store, local bookstore, and local restaurants nearby.  There were four of us total, and we rented the whole apartment and had everything we needed for a great stay.  If you’re looking for a fun, cost effective way to travel, check out Airbnb.  This referral link will give you $40 toward your first trip.

Free Blogging Resources – There are so many amazing free blogging resources available that I listed all of my favorites in one place.  From learning how to start a blog to learning how to increase page views… even a free Pinterest course!  You can access the full list in this blog post here.

More from my site

  • 10 Steps to a Cute and Simple Donut Party – A Fun First Birthday Party Idea!10 Steps to a Cute and Simple Donut Party – A Fun First Birthday Party Idea!
  • 75+ Gift Ideas for Babies, Toddlers, New Moms & New Dads75+ Gift Ideas for Babies, Toddlers, New Moms & New Dads
  • 10 Fun Gift Ideas for 1-2 Year Olds10 Fun Gift Ideas for 1-2 Year Olds
  • 15 Fun Gift Ideas for a 2 Year Old15 Fun Gift Ideas for a 2 Year Old
  • 12 Daddy-Daughter Activities – Toddler Edition12 Daddy-Daughter Activities – Toddler Edition
  • 5 Best Baby Teethers5 Best Baby Teethers

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Hi! I’m Christina.

Hi!  I’m Christina.

Wife. Mama of three. Blogger.
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