YES Spaces Survivor Party

It’s February 1st, do you know what that means? It’s Robinson Crusoe day! We cross our hearts, it really is. In honor of this storied, brave adventurer, we’re sharing a fantastic Survivor themed birthday party Barbara created for her daughter, Weston. If your child dreams of adventures in foreign places and exotic locals, satisfy a little of their wanderlust with this tropical adventure party!

Survival is a theme that can be adapted for any age child, either boy or girl. Age appropriate activities are the key to tailoring this party to your unique child.

For Weston’s eighth birthday, we decided to test her friends’ skills my doling out survival tests at intervals throughout a slumber party.

In the front hall there was a special mailbox and they had to check it throughout the evening and morning. Every hour or two, there would be a new message with instructions. The messages were written in secret code so the girls had to decode the words first and then follow instructions.

Our Survivor Mail box!

And a decoded message!

The messages related to skills that survivors would need to make it in the “wild” (our family room!) But this whole party idea could easily be adapted to outdoor camping, backyard adventures – Weston’s birthday just happens to fall during Oregon’s rainy season (September to July).

For the first task they had to travel to the kitchen and make their own dinner out of only the ingredients they found on the center island…homemade pizza.

For the second task they were told that no one can survive the wilds alone. They must turn themselves into a tribe and learn to depend on each other. Face paints and group games built team spirit!

Then, of course, as everyone knows…you cannot survive without shelter! They were told to travel to the camp grounds and construct a shelter that could accommodate everyone for the night out of the materials they found there. A basket with sheets, string and clothes pins were there, as well as a brother or two to help with construction – sometimes the natives are friendly.

Once the shelter was constructed they were put to the ultimate test. What would you eat to survive? A spinning wheel had pictures of out of the ordinary but not unrecognizable food. We stuck with things like kumquats, baby food peas, edible flowers, dried squid, pickled onions, inexpensive caviar, dried seaweed… If you spun the wheel and did not try the food, you were out!

Weston’s friend Caroline was the bravest! She tried every food on the wheel – even though she was not always happy about it!

There were other activities like simple bead necklaces, cake and presents, a movie to wind down before bed.

And in the morning, the girls had earned the right to were t-shirts that said “I survived Weston’s 8^th Birthday!” And they had.

One of my secrets for survival…hiring our next door neighbor for the night, she is three years older than the girls and lead the activities and helped them out the whole time, even sleeping next to the one girl who was feeling a little homesick. Now that’s what I can a great survival tip!

Happy Robinson Crusoe day!