12 “Outside-The-Box” Park Birthday Party Ideas

Hoping to throw an incredible outdoor event and need a few park birthday party ideas? At Peerspace, we get it! Anyone who enjoys spending time outdoors in the sun and fresh air will love hosting their birthday party outdoors at their favorite local park. Not only is it an appealing location for a party, but it’s also great for those on a budget!

Read on for 12 awesome park birthday party ideas that’ll get you inspired when it comes to food, decor, and other important elements of party planning. As the largest online marketplace for hourly venue rentals, count on Peerspace to hook you up with party ideas as well as the most fabulous birthday party venues! Along with our park birthday party ideas ahead, we’ll also share sensational spaces that you can book through our platform to bring your party to life. Let’s get started!

1. Have a raincheck plan to keep you and your guests comfortable

We’re starting off our list with one of our less fun but definitely important park birthday party ideas: make sure that you have a plan if it rains on the day of your party! A plan B will ensure the party doesn’t have to stop no matter what Mother Nature has in store for you.

We’d recommend renting an indoor/outdoor venue through Peerspace so that you can enjoy the outdoors when the weather cooperates and still be able to retreat indoors if it doesn’t. One of our favorite spots is perfect for our New York City partiers. This indoor and outdoor event space in Brooklyn, NYC is super fun indoors and out, offering you access to a spacious outdoor private courtyard and an indoor blank slate venue. It’s also steps away from both Red Hook Park and Coffey Park!

Here’s what a Peerspace reviewer shared after hosting their party here. “Alex was an amazing host – she was so easy to work with, such a nice person, and was so professional. The space was beautiful and worked out perfectly. We used both the indoor and outdoor spaces and it worked really well for my son’s Bar Mitzvah. I would love to use Alex’s space again in the future.”

2. Put up tents to provide shelter from rain, wind, and sunshine

There’s probably a local company in your area that rents attractive tents for events by the hour or day, which could provide a useful solution to the issue of inclement weather by offering your guests much-needed shelter. And even if it doesn’t end up raining, tents are an equally great way to shield your guests from the sun and make an outdoor party a whole lot more comfortable.

You can also skip all the work and simply host your birthday party in a park-like venue that has tents on the premises. For instance, check out this metro DC private outdoor event space in Berwyn Heights, MD. Along with its private and spacious green expanse, the host also offers tents as an add-on service!

According to Peerspace reviewers, the host sounds as amazing as the space itself: “The space was perfect for my event! Had a lovely outdoor graduation picnic, and all my guests were very impressed by the space. It looks even prettier in person. The host was very communicative as I booked the space and let me tour it a few weeks before, and sprung directly into action as soon as she knew I’d arrived, and even had some lovely balloons leftover from a previous event.”

3. Choose a park that isn’t too busy

For your park venue, make sure you choose a park that won’t be overrun by lots of strangers. Our Family World suggests “either choosing a park off the beaten path or finding a huge one that has different sections. State and national parks are ideal for that.”

You can always opt to book a completely private park-like venue through Peerspace if you prefer! One of our favorites is this beautiful private outdoor garden space in Long Beach, CA. It provides seating for up to 20 guests and the host provides amazing optional add-on services like baked goods, tabletop floral decor, a succulent and cactus planting workshop, and tarot card readings!

Stuck in your yard this birthday? No worries, you just need to read our fun backyard birthday party ideas for adults to make it incredible!

4. Tempt guests by serving some barbecue favorites

What’s more delicious than eating a freshly grilled meal al fresco? Lots of public parks have charcoal grills where visitors can cook their own food. You might also be allowed to bring your own gas grill if you’d prefer, so check the rules for the park of your choice.

5. Include a charcuterie board that looks good enough to eat

There’s a reason charcuterie boards have been so popular lately. They’re easy to create and allow foodies to enjoy a wide assortment of delicious cheeses, cured meats, fruits and veggies, preserves, etc., customizing their flavor combos to their heart’s content. Done right, they can also be extremely visually appealing.

If you’d like to include this park birthday party idea in your own gathering, here’s a guide to making a simple charcuterie board for a picnic from Nosh and Nourish.

6. Do some yoga and enjoy a wellness-focused birthday

Not sure what to plan when it comes to activities for your park birthday party? If you and your guests are the kinds of people who enjoy doing yoga, ask guests to bring their yoga mats and have a quick yoga session before you get to relaxing, eating snacks, and drinking delicious beverages. You might even want to hire a yoga teacher to lead the group through some poses.

Peerspace makes booking an outdoor yoga studio complete with an on-site instructor a breeze! For instance, you can book this outdoor yoga studio in Beverly Hills, CA. Its park-like outdoor setting is truly inspirational. And if the weather refuses to cooperate, you’ll be protected by the yoga deck’s rooftop.

7. Enjoy a childhood throwback with relay races

Another activity that’s super fun and active: relay races! My Domaine points out that “organized activities like the water balloon toss, tug of war, and potato sack race can be so much fun”. They also note that this is a great activity not only for adult guests but also for any kids who might be in attendance.

8. Bring plenty of games to enjoy outdoors

Maybe yoga or relay races aren’t quite your speed, but you love to hang out and play games with your buds. Board and card games are an ideal choice for an outdoor party because they typically require no technology to work. Bring your favorite games or try something new, and don’t be afraid to get a little competitive – you’ll have a blast.

9. Use outdoor lighting to continue your party into the evening

With the addition of some battery-powered string lights and/or globe lights hung from nearby trees, your party doesn’t have to end at sunset, especially if it’s a warm summer night. As a bonus, these kinds of lights also happen to do a great job of adding a warm ambiance and dreamy atmosphere to your party. Just be sure to check the official visiting hours of the park where you’re hosting your party, so you don’t end up getting kicked out early.

Make your park setting even more gorgeous by utilizing our outdoor party decoration ideas!

10. Set up your party near a body of water

If your local park has a pretty pond or lake near a space that would work for a gathering, we’d suggest this as the setting for your birthday party. The addition of a water feature is guaranteed to elevate the overall look of your party, which is why this party hack is one of our favorite park birthday party ideas.

Use Peerspace to book a venue like this rural home with a 1.5-acre pond and a park-like setting in McKean, PA. The yard itself is four acres, and the host provides yard activities, a gazebo, a hot tub, and more places to dine, explore, and enjoy.

11. Host a fancy picnic birthday party

What’s more classic than a picnic in the park? But for this park birthday idea, we’re suggesting an elevated picnic rather than a run-of-the-mill rustic one. Check out this guide to luxury picnics for more suggestions as to how you might execute this idea. 

When you host your lux outdoor picnic at a Peerspace venue like this indoor and outdoor bohemian-style urban oasis in Atlanta, GA, you’re guaranteeing you and your guests can enjoy a private, bespoke experience in a park-like setting.

12. Rent a park to have it all to yourself

If you’ve got the budget to spend on your venue, renting a small park to ensure your party will be private without any interruptions from strangers might be the right choice.

For instance, this urban farm garden and outdoor park venue in Seattle, WA, has “25,000sf of photo fabulous PNW backdrops, multiple staging areas, practical-use spaces, and a massive lawn all at a single location.” The space also provides you and your guests with seating and lawn games, which we are all about when it comes to outdoor party spaces!

Just like with every other Peerspace on this list, if you’re not located near Seattle, don’t fret. Just check out all of the outdoor party spaces on Peerspace to find a similar rental in your area.

Park birthday party ideas: conclusion

As you can see, when you use a resource like Peerspace, you can have a park birthday party anywhere you want. You’re not limited to hosting it in the park you walk your dog every day! As great as that space may be for you and your beloved pooch, you can book a thrilling park-like outdoor event space for your birthday with ease using Peerspace. Once you do, all the pieces of your birthday planning will fall into place, we promise!

Find unique birthday party venues on Peerspace