What is a good way to celebrate a 25th wedding anniversary camping?

Question

We go camping every year--big family thing---about 60-70 people. One of my boyfriend's brothers is having a 25th wedding anniversay around that time and I offered to throw a 25th party while we are there. Informal of course, but what are some ideas for food/gifts/decorations? We're camping---so we have to keep it relatively simple/no frills. Ideas? Thoughts? He thought it was a great idea!

Answer 1

25th wedding Anniversary is BIG, it's the SILVER year!  You can decorate in anything silver.  If you can bring up a helium tank and get some silver and white balloons, you can decorate with them.  You can get some silver and white streamers and put them around where they're going to be.  Get some round, white, paper laterns, the ones with NO light in them and hang them around the party area.  

What would look really nice, if you can do it is get some clear, stringed, Christmas lights and hang them all around the party and camp area where you're all going to be.  The twinkling of the lights will add such a nice effect to the party atmosphere.  Even just having them up without the balloons would look really pretty!

You can do the lights, the streamers, and then if you can, the balloons and lanterns.  Bring up some white or greyish/silver paper tablecloths and then have white plates and white forks, knives, and spoons, etc.  You want some things to be silver/grey.  If you go to a party store or Costco you can get plastic silverware that looks like real silverware, they are silver and look metal, but they are plastic!  You can bring up a box of them and it will wow everyone!  If you don't have a Costco, check Sam's or BJ's and if you don't have a membership, ask someone who does if they can go and pick up a box.  You can even use them your entire trip, there are hundreds of them in there, or you can put the rest of the box away for another occasion.

For food, do whatever is the couple's favorite food.  Being your going to be camping I would keep it simple.  If they love bbq, do that, if they love chicken, do that.  Whatever you know of their favorite food that's doable while camping, do it!  It's their anniversary and their party, have what they like and make it about them! If they like pasta bring up a pasta dish and then reheat it there, if they like chicken cooked a certain way maybe it can be done before going to the campsite and then reheated there.  Do what they like, or you can just bbq and make it fun for them.  They know they'll be camping and I'm sure they're just going to be happy that they're with their family and they're going to be SO happy you're going through all this for them, that's going to mean SO much to them!  I'm sure they're not expecting anything and it's just going to mean a LOT to them! They're probably thinking they'll just do dinner when they return home, and that they're happy they're with their family.  You can do burgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken with some salads, and then do some sides.  Maybe another family member can do the sides and another do a pasta dish, and then rolls, etc. I would keep it simple being you won't have access to a kitchen and cooking the way you would if you were home, and I'm sure no matter what you do, they're going to LOVE!!

You can also do a cake for them. You can do a tiered cake and then a sheet cake so that there's enough for everyone.  You can ask someone else to do the tiered cake so you're not doing it all.  Or have it made somewhere.  You can do a round cake or square with 2 layers, and then do it like a wedding cake.  You can get a number 25 for the top of the cake, and then have that cake and the sheet cake which should be enough for everyone.  You can even get the sheet cake at one of the warehouse stores like Costco, or Sam's, or BJ's and then make the main cake, or order that one too.

You can even do cupcakes if that's easier and ask someone to help you, you can make the cake part of them and then ask someone to help decorate them when you get to the campgrounds.  I'm sure the teens or older kids would LOVE to do that and it would be a great way for them to pitch in and help!  You can do chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and ice them in white icing and put some silver accents on top, those  little nonperils, and then pipe some designs, the kids would love doing that, let them decorate them!

For gifts, you can go and get one of those collage frames, the one that is one frame, but has lots of openings for pictures.  You can put pictures of the two of them in the frames, from their wedding to now, but leave 2 spots blank, one to write Happy 25th Anniversary with the dates and then one to take a picture on their actual anniversary and put the up to date picture in the frame.  They would love having something where they can see pictures of just the two of them through the years, and hang it on their wall, it's a scrapbook of their lives in a way.

You can also get them something silver being it's the silver anniversary, silver candlesticks, silver picture framed engraved with their names and the date, you can get them a gift card to their favorite restuarant, etc.

They're may feel what you're doing for them is gift enough!  You're doing a lot for them putting together this party and it's going to cost you a lot to put it together, the little things are going to add up, the cost of the napkins, and paper goods, the food, the condiments, the decorations, if you do still want to do a gift you can either do something with the silver theme to go with the silver anniversary, or get them something that either you know they would want, or have talked about it, you can send them to a dinner cruise or dinner theater, you can get them something for their house or yard, you can get them a bottle of wine or champagne from the year they were married, etc.

I hope some of these ideas helped and that you and your boyfriend have a great trip and that the party goes great too!!  I'm sure they are going to LOVE the party and anything that you do for them, it's the thought and being you are putting so much thought into making this perfect for them, they are going to LOVE the party!!

Answer 2

The main thing would be a really pretty cake.  I would have hamburgers and hotdogs, regular camping food. But, then I would come out with a beautiful cake for the 25th.  With confetti and balloons. We camp also, so that's about all you could do.