For Vance’s second birthday, we turned our little piece of the woods into a Wild Frontier adventure, complete with Fort Vance, woodland animals, a handmade frontier map, and plenty of Davy Crockett-inspired details. Here’s how we brought this fun and nostalgic birthday theme to life for our little explorer.

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How I Chose a Davy Crockett Theme

When I started thinking about Vance’s second birthday, I knew I wanted to create a party that felt like him.

We live in the country, surrounded by trees, and Vance has always been our little explorer. He loves being outside, wandering around the woods, and finding his own little adventures.

Then I remembered the little coonskin cap my husband had bought for our daughter before Vance was even born. I thought it would be so cute on Vance, and suddenly a Davy Crockett and Wild Frontier birthday party seemed like the perfect fit.

I also loved that the theme had a little bit of nostalgia behind it. Davy Crockett is one of those childhood characters that our dads and grandpas grew up watching, so it felt especially fun to choose a theme that could bring back some of those memories for the older generations at the party, too.

And, of course, I couldn’t help but add a little Disney inspiration. The whole idea of the frontier, the wilderness, and adventure reminded me so much of Frontierland at Disney. I loved the idea of mixing that nostalgic Davy Crockett feeling with the outdoorsy setting we already had right here at home.

We were also planning to get a playset for our kids, so we decided this was the perfect time to finally get one and make it part of Vance’s birthday. We turned it into Fort Vance, making the new playset the centerpiece of the party and a giant adventure for all the kids to enjoy.

And just like that, our little piece of the woods became Vance’s own Wild Frontier for his second birthday.

Welcome to Fort Vance

Once we settled on the Wild Frontier theme, we knew we wanted a big centerpiece for the party—and we already had the perfect idea. We had been planning to get a playset for the kids, so we decided to have it installed in time for Vance’s birthday and turn it into Fort Vance.

My husband assembled the huge KidKraft Bear Cave Lodge playset himself, and it took him three days to put the whole thing together. If you’re curious about the playset itself, I have a whole post about it with all the details, including how long assembly took, what we love about it, our experience putting it together, and where you can buy the playset or find a similar one.

Read my full KidKraft Bear Cave Lodge Playset Review →

Once the playset was finished, I made a little Fort Vance sign to match the rest of the party decor and added it to the front. It instantly transformed the playset into the perfect Wild Frontier fort—and it ended up being one of the biggest hits of the party.

All night long, the kids were climbing, sliding, playing and exploring. It was the perfect place for them to burn off some energy, and honestly, they spent a huge portion of the evening hanging out at Fort Vance.

And, of course, Vance’s big sisters had already given him the perfect frontier nickname: Baby Crockett. 😂

Wild Frontier Decorations & Handmade Details

I wanted the decorations to make the whole party feel like we had stepped into our own little Wild Frontier. I hand-painted the main welcome sign, which was almost like a little map of the party and gave guests a glimpse of what they were about to find.

I also hand-painted the sign for the cake table and created smaller printed signs for the different favor stations.

Combined with the earthy, camouflage-inspired balloons and woodland details, all of the little touches helped bring the Wild Frontier theme together.

Party Supplies I Used

• Brown Craft Paper for Hand-Painted Signs
• Acrylic Paint & Paint Brush Set
• Balloon Arch Kits

The Wild Frontier Cake & Cupcake Table

For the cake and cupcakes, we kept things simple and ordered both from Costco. I wanted to put more of my time into the decorations and personalized details rather than making the desserts myself.

For the cupcake toppers, I had a little mini photo shoot with Vance the week before his birthday. He put on his Davy Crockett hat, and we took some cute photos that I turned into little photo cupcake toppers for the party.

I loved how they turned out! They made the cupcakes feel completely personalized without requiring a lot of time or money.

Curious how I made them? I have a whole tutorial showing you how to make these personalized photo cupcake toppers at home. They’re surprisingly easy and affordable!

Learn How to Make Personalized Photo Cupcake Toppers →

Supplies for DIY Photo Cupcake Toppers

• Cardstock paper
• Your phone and the photos you want to use
• Hot glue gun with refills
• Toothpicks
• Scissors

Davy Crockett Birthday Party Favors

I wanted the party favors to feel like part of our little Wild Frontier adventure, rather than just a bag of random toys. I found a few fun, inexpensive items that fit the theme perfectly and then added some simple DIY details to make them feel extra special.

Frontier Friends

For the kids’ main favors, I found little woodland animal toys on Amazon. They were adorable, but I wanted to make them feel a little more special and less like inexpensive little toys.

My solution was simple: I put a tiny party hat on each animal! It was such a small detail, but it completely transformed them. Each child got to choose their own little Frontier Friend to take home.

They came with a little hanging loop on their heads, which I simply cut off before adding the tiny party hats. 🎉🦊

Supplies:

• Woodland animal toys
• Mini party hats

Little Campfire Bags

I also put together little “Campfire” bags for each child. I started with simple brown paper bags and added yellow and orange tissue paper to the top to make them look like little campfires. They turned out so cute and were such an easy way to make the favor bags fit the Wild Frontier theme.

Inside each bag, I added a few fun things for the kids’ adventures, including battery-powered lanterns and little binoculars. I loved the idea of giving each child their own little adventure gear to take home after exploring Fort Vance.

Supplies:

• Brown paper bags
• Yellow & orange tissue paper
• Battery-powered lanterns
• Kids’ binoculars

These were such simple details, but together they made the favors feel like they were part of the whole Davy Crockett adventure rather than just something the kids grabbed on their way home.

Dressing the Part: Becoming a Frontier Explorer

Because what’s a Davy Crockett party without a few little frontier explorers? 😂

For Vance and his sisters, I splurged on the little coonskin caps. They were a little over $10 each, so rather than buying one for every guest, I kept those just for my kids.

For everyone else, I set out a bunch of bandanas for the party guests to wear. I also made a cute little sign showing four different ways to wear a frontier bandana, with simple directions for how to fold and tie each style.

It was such an easy and inexpensive way to get all the kids into the Wild Frontier spirit without having to buy a costume for everyone. As guests arrived, they could grab a bandana, choose their favorite style, and get ready for their adventure at Fort Vance.

Seeing all the kids running around in their little bandanas made the whole party feel even more like our own Wild Frontier adventure.

Supplies:

• Coonskin caps for the birthday kids
• Bandanas for party guests

A Perfect Fall Night in the Woods

In the end, it turned into the most perfect fall night. This was a smaller party than we usually have, but honestly, it ended up feeling really special.

We spent the evening moving between our wraparound deck and the woods, with the kids running around, playing at Fort Vance, and exploring with their little adventure toys.

As the sun went down, we lit the propane fire pit on the deck and another fire pit out in the woods, and everyone settled in for a cozy night under the stars.

More than anything, I was just so happy to have our closest friends and family there to celebrate Vance. He had the best day, and watching him run around his own little Wild Frontier made all the planning completely worth it.

It was such a sweet way to celebrate our little Baby Crockett and his second birthday. 🤎🌲

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