Chad Camp: a summer camp birthday party

My husband, Chad, turned 30 (not sure how that’s possible!!). To celebrate, I decided to throw him a summer camp birthday party. Chad Camp was a weekend well-spent in Wautoma, Wisconsin, celebrating a milestone year in the woods.

It was so, so fun.

Since this has been the year (or so) where I’ve been getting into throwing theme parties, Chad Camp was no exception. I knew that I wanted to make Chad’s birthday a fun one this year, and boy did that come to fruition.

Here are the details on how I threw my wonderful husband a summer camp birthday party.

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Chad Camp details

Planning

As someone who absolutely loooooves a good theme party (our recent Bridgerton soiree, Barbie Party, or Denim Night come to mind), I was practically salivating for a chance for a fun outdoorsy summer camp birthday party.

My husband Chad is an outdoorsy guy, so this was a perfect match. Plus, I wanted to make it extra special after he knocked my golden birthday out of the park with a surprise trip! I think we did him justice.

Along with the Camp Chad theme, I also opted for a fun tagline: “turning dirty 30 in the woods.” Summed it up nicely!

Here are a few details that went into Camp Chad.

Invite + email registration

First of all, I planned out the Camp Chad details in secret. I waited until a couple weeks prior to tell him what exactly we were doing for his birthday—he only knew the length and to request a day off of work.

I created an invitation for our friends (along with a few sign up sheets and forms to gather information) using Canva, embracing the summer camp birthday party theme.

When I was finally ready to let Chad know the full details, I sent him a Camp Chad registration email. Lol, this was SO extra. I created a fake Camp Chad email and Mailchimp account in order to send him something that looked absolutely professional. He was excited when he got it, and his own Camp Chad t-shirt!

Itinerary

The week-of, I also sent out a Camp Chad itinerary to each of our guests. I had a fun graphic version with a summary of activities and times, plus a more in-depth version via Google Doc that had links.

Building an itinerary is always the hardest part, but it was great to be organized with set activities heading into the weekend! I made sure to include:

• The address
• Meals and restaurants, with links to addresses and menus
• A loose schedule for bar-hopping
• Time set aside for activities, such as smore-making, lake time, a water fight, and a pontoon rental

At camp

Once we got to camp, I was SO excited to give all of our guests Camp Chad gift bags! This was probably my favorite detail of the party.

Here’s what into each summer camp birthday party gift bag:

• Matching sun hats (Chad loves his!)
• Custom Camp Chad t-shirt, from Custom Ink
• Custom Camp crew neck sweater, from Custom Ink
• Camp Chad sticker (made using vinyl sticker paper)
• Field notes journal
• Number 2 pencil
• Camp-themed temporary tattoos
• Liquid IV

Decorations

Because our lakefront Airbnb captured the spirit of summer camp pretty nicely, we didn’t need a ton of decorations. But here’s what I did end up using to add a few Camp Chad touches:

• Inflatable baby pool for a “drink salad.” Everyone was asked to BYOB, and we mixed all the drinks together to grab and go while we played in the lake
• A “thirtylicious” banner sign
• “Welcome Campers” sign banners
• Pennant banner flags

Disposable cameras

Nothing says summer camp quite like disposable cameras! I bought two for the weekend (one standard, one underwater camera) to take pictures throughout the weekend.

We also used the Lapse app when we inevitably forgot to bring the cameras with us around Wautoma. This is a fun camera app that gives that grainy, trendy, film feel!

Activities

First of all, location was everything! I found the PERFECT lakefront Airbnb, situated on Irogami Lake. It was pretty standard and dated, and exactly what we needed to spend most of our time on the water.

The house came with a fire pit, several chairs, and complimentary kayak use. (Chad loved the kayaks!) I brought a water volleyball and a 5-pack of roasting tongs to use.

My favorite part was the incredible view of the lake, from the deck, living room, and our bedroom. It was the kind of view that makes you want to win the lottery and buy a lake house, immediately.

If planning a summer camp birthday party, a solid home base is so important!

Campfire

Is any summer camp birthday party complete without a campfire? Likely not! We took full advantage of the fire pit on our property—our first night featured lots of chatting, plus roasting marshmallows and making s’mores.

Pro-tip: if you know your rental has a fire pit, consider picking up some firewood in case it doesn’t come with logs to use!

Bracelet making

In true summer camp fashion, I made sure to have a tactile activity for anyone who was interested. We had a bracelet making kit, and it was a hit! Our friend Amanda busted out two bracelets like a pro, seemingly unlocking a core memory skill. Iconic.

Pontoon rental

We had the option to rent a pontoon boat through our Airbnb owner, so we took it! It only cost $75/hour, and included a driver. We had a blast for two hours, as Danny took us around the lake and parked us at a sand bar area to chill, swim, and enjoy ourselves.

This was a highlight of Camp Chad and my favorite part.

Aqua Mat rental

To get the most out of the lake, I also rented us an Aqua Mat for Camp Chad. This was another favorite part! The mat was huge and was a ton of fun to lounge on and use to jump into the water from.

We rented from Loon Paddle Rentals in Waupaca, Wisconsin (about half an hour away from Wautoma). We were able to strap the mat down to the top of our car (we have a tiny little Tracks), though they deliver to closer launches in the Chain O’Lakes area. I highly recommend Loon Paddle! They were incredible to work with, and so accommodating.

Water fight

Though we did not actually have time to fit in a water fight (thanks to a rainy morning that kept us inside), I had all the supplies ready to go! Here’s what I brought:

• Water guns
• Reusable water balloons
• Sunscreen!
• Beach towels

Theme night out

On our bar-hopping night, we decided to dress according to a theme! We did “dress like Chad” night, and the results were fun. I just borrowed his clothes, while everyone else got creative with their closets.

It was pretty easy, since he has a pretty strict summertime uniform of shorts, sandals, a hat, and either plaid or a button-up shirt! 🙂

Chad trivia

Throughout the weekend, I sprinkled in Chad Trivia, which is exactly what it sounds like: questions about Chad!

First, I wrote out probably 50 questions, and printed them out. They ran a range from easy to difficult (I tried to keep in mind that all of the people attending Camp Chad had known him for less than two years, and to really know my audience here). Examples included where he went to grad school, the year he got married, his favorite brewery, his job title, etc.

I purchased buzzers off of Amazon and gave them to the players, which was a fun element! There was an option to record your own sound, so our guests definitely took advantage of that. (Note: you’ll have to buy batteries separately!)

I printed out a graphic in Canva to keep track of all the players at Camp Chad (I used photo paper to give it a glossy sheen and preserve it), which included their names and boxes to keep a running tally. I used a sharpie marker to give each person a point as they answered correctly.

Successful time at camp

All in all, Camp Chad was a rousing success! We had so much fun, and it was a wholesome way to celebrate Chad turning 30.

What’s one detail you’d bring to your own summer camp birthday party?

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