Loading ...
I hear the roar off in the distance … football season is almost upon us again and baseball season is still in full swing. If you are interested in a sporty birthday party, or just plain old party to celebrate the season, here are some ideas for you:
Hang bunches of balloons in the colors of your favorite sports team all over the party area. You can also make “ball” balloons by drawing on them, i.e. red pen on a white balloon for a baseball and a black marker on orange balloons for a basketball, etc.
Put up signs all over the party area in sports theme language, i.e. Locker Room, Bleachers, etc. A concession stand is also a good bet to serve party food from.
Blow up a picture of a famous player and take pics with the kids beside the player, or cut out the face of the sports player and have the kids stick their heads in that spot for a funny picture. This could be used in the thank you notes.
Use sports trophies or other sports “stuff” like a baseball mitt and tie balloons to these props for additional table decoration. Tape different sport penants on the party chairs. Also, have sports trading cards spread all over the party table for fun.
As kids arrive, provide face paint in the favorite team colors, and have the kids make up their faces. Also, hand out headbands, caps, or wrist bands as they arrive to wear during the party. Other ideas include, providing water bottles filled with Gatorade that the kids can drink during the party. All of these items can be sent home with the kids as the goody.
As kids arrive, if you are going to play team sports, have kids draw a team name from a sports hat to designate which team the kids will be on.
Have a Ball Signing. Designate a particular ball for everyone to sign at the party.
Have the kids make a sports collage using sport magazines, newspapers, etc. This can be a craft that commemorates the event for the party kid.
Hand out a little stash of goodies, etc in a cup. This selection, below, is from Birthday in a Box.
Throughout the party, tell the kids certain sports related words are off limits, i.e. ball, Steelers, hit, home run, etc. If the kids end up saying one of those words, the person must give up one of their candies to the kid who overhears. This can be played for a limited amount of time as well.
Hang a hula hoop, and have a ball toss as a game.
If you have the party outdoors, have a series of relay races, such as Pass The Ball where the kids must pass a ball from the front to the end of the line using any part of their bodies, except their hands. If the ball touches the ground, the team must begin again.
Have a Kangaroo Hop. Place a big ball between the kids’ legs and they must hop to the other end of the relay line with the ball not falling to the ground. Once back at the line, they must pass the ball to the other kids legs without letting it touch the ground.
Play sports! Basketball, soccer, volleyball, football, baseball, etc. Whatever the birthday kid is interested in.
Before starting the sports, have a big piece of paper hanging up, perhaps between two trees. Have a “Star Lineup” and introduce each of the players on the team, and then have them break through the hanging paper. Play music to kick up the fun!
For the food, serve all of those things you would find at a concession stand, hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, cracker jacks, energy bars, chicken wings, nacho platter, etc. Birthday in a Box has GREAT sports themed patterns that I just love. Check out the plate, below, shaped like a football jersey. Too cute!
Birthday in a Box even has party plans on their website for this theme.
Drinks can be gatorade, flavored waters, power shakes, and smoothies.
| Check out FamilyFun.com’s FoosBall Fun Cake (right)…it may be just the one for your party. You can also bake sports-ball shaped cakes. |  Familyfun.com foosball cake |
