Sports Birthday Party

Do you have a child that is crazy about every sport known to man? These birthday party ideas are sure to please the sports lover in your child.

Invitation

• For a younger child, the wording for the invitation might say:

We're gonna have a ball

'Cause _________ is turning 2!

Throw, kick, shoot, hit!

He wants to play with you!

(day)

(time)

(place)

• For an older child, design the invitation to look like a ticket to a sporting event. The wording might go something like this:

Take your seat, we're getting ready to play!

Come to the game! It's ______'s 9th Birthday!

Game Day:_________

Time:__________

Stadium:________

• Encourage guests to wear their favorite sports jersey.

Decorations

• Decorate each guest table in a specific sport theme. For example: If you have four tables for the guests, decorate one in a basketball theme, one in a baseball theme, one in a soccer theme, and one in a football theme. You could do as many or as few as you need.
• Cover each table with brown paper. Purchase green indoor/outdoor carpet to look like grass. You could also purchase crepe paper grass from your local party store. Place the "grass" in the middle of the table and depending on the sport, create the rest of the centerpieces:

Basketball: small or large basketball, small hoop, jersey, whistle

Baseball: baseball, mitt, cap, baseball cards scattered on table (tape down), Cracker Jacks, Big League Chew

Football: football, helmet, jersey

Soccer: soccer ball, orange cones, water bottle, jersey, shin guards

• On the brown paper, use a marker to write words that have to do with each sport. For example:

Basketball: dunk, shoot, nothin' but net, shooting hoops, zone defense, etc.

Football: field goal, touchdown, 1st down, 1st and 10, 2 point conversion, etc.

Baseball: flyball, homerun, RBI, shut-out, World Series, MLB, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, etc.

Soccer: goal, score, defense, off-sides, etc.

• Make pennants out of stiff felt
• Use blue, green, red and orange for decorations, paper products and serving pieces.
• Create a field on your lawn with white spray paint.

Games/Activities

• Have stations set up around field. Each sport could have its own station.

For younger kids let them move through the stations at their own pace, with no real structure. Your stations might be: small basketball and goal; golf clubs and golf balls; soccer goal and soccer ball; football and inflatable goal (Oriental Trading); baseballs, bats and tees; bowling pins and bowling ball (Little Tikes version);

For older kids, make each station more of a competition. Your stations might be: Basketball-score as many baskets as you can in 30 seconds; Soccer-kick as many soccer balls through the goal as you can in 30 seconds; Football-kick as many footballs through the goal as you can, or throw a football through a suspended tire; Baseball-hit a baseball a certain distance, or throw a baseball at a target;

• Ask parents to write their child's "vital statistics" on a piece of wide adding machine tape: child's nickname, favorite #, favorite snack food, hometown, etc. Introduce each child and read their stats, as he/she runs onto the field and through their tape. Have sports themed music playing in the background.

Party Food

• Use dome shaped cake pan and decorate it like baseball, soccer ball or basketball.
• Use large round cake pan (10" works well) for a football cake. Cut out the middle section and put two end pieces together, to make football shape.
• Another football cake idea is to make 1 - 8" round cake and 1 - 8" square cake. Flip the round cake onto a tray and cut square cake diagonally. Put one piece on each side of the circle, and frost.
• Anything shaped like balls: sausage balls, melon balls, cheese puffs, grapes, peanut M&Ms.
• Ball game foods: hot dogs, popcorn, nachos and cheese, Cracker Jacks, peanuts
• Serve drinks in cups shaped like sports balls with straws.
• Gatorade or Powerade to drink
• sugar cookies in the shape of tennis racket, baseball and bat, football, and a circle frosted like a basketball
• Ball game cupcakes - recipe from Betty Crocker.
• Baseball cupcakes - recipe from Family Fun.
• Ask volunteers to pass out food using large box lids covered in sports paper. Attach thick ribbon and have them wear the box lid around their neck, just like the vendors do at the stadiums.
• Serve snacks in replica sports helmets.

Party Favors

• Purchase brown bags and stamp balls on the outside.
• favors might include: sports ball chocolates, ball shaped straw cup, and cookie medals.

Cookie Medals: Bake sugar cookies. Use toothpick to make a hole in the top of the cookie as soon as you take them out of the oven. Insert colorful ribbon through hole when cool. Write "You're #1" in icing on cookie.