The Great Adventure Birthday Party

Avoid store-bought trail mixes, which can be pricey and full of sugar. Make your own mix instead (we used dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, honey-toasted oat cereal, almonds and pecans).

When the children arrive, set out boxes of trail mix and “adventure juice” to fuel their hunt. For a healthy trail mix, create a blend of dried fruits, nuts and cereals; pack the mix into small cardboard favor boxes. “Adventure juice” can be any flavor of your choosing; simply decant it into a glass bottle and label it with a manila tag to continue the theme. Bunches of bananas can do double duty as both a decoration and snacks for hungry explorers. If you’re serving lunch, wrap up sandwiches and granola bars for the kids to eat along the “trail.”