A Kids Sports Party: Birthday Party Ideas for the Sports Lover

Most kids love sports. Whether it’s football, baseball, soccer, basketball, (or even a combination) kids grow up loving to compete, to play and to have fun. Whether they were team captain or a great fan, they love the sport. I have one friend who cannot have a conversation without soccer coming up. Simply loves the sport, which is interesting because his dad never played. Go figure!

If you have a sports loving child, it's a good idea to use that sport as a theme for their birthday celebration. This is especially effective with smaller parties or if most of the guests are teammates, although it can work for anyone who's a fan(atic).

Sports Birthday Invitation
There are lots of great ideas for invitations. If you plan on folks playing a game of basketball, touch football, etc. during the party, let them know to dress appropriately. Send out your invitations 4-6 weeks in advance of your party. That will give everyone time to get it on their calendars and to get even more excited about the party.

As always a perfect choice is a personalized sports invitation. Choose an invitation with a specific sports theme or choose an invitation that has graphics of many different sports. A sports magazine invitation is also a fun option that really shows off how much your child loves everything sports.

For a really unique invitation consider a semi-custom caricature invitation. Using art that has already been drawn, we can add a photo face or a caricature face and personalize the message for you! You can use the semi-custom caricature as the design for other fun elements in your sports party, including centerpieces, a welcome sign, thank you notes, and much more!

We have fabulous ticket invitations that give you a variety of color options (use team colors). You even can personalize the wording. A perfect invitation for this kind of party! If you like the tickets, you should also check out the photo ticket invitations that feature an image of your child.

Sports Decorations and party supplies
As people enter, place an easel sign welcoming everyone to "Play the Game". For basketball you can “Hoop it Up!” for the birthday boy. For soccer "Joey is 12. What a Kick!" You get the idea. A lifesize cutout of your child holding sports equipment will give everyone a laugh. You can add a speech bubble welcoming everyone to the party.

A sign in board with a sports theme is a fun way to let your guests share their good wishes for the birthday boy or girl. We have a basketball themed sign in board and baseball themed sign in board that have a spot for a picture too! Have balloons tied to the easel to draw everyone's attention.

Balloons are a wonderful, and inexpensive, way to decorate this area. As people move from the welcome area to the dining area, create a fabulous balloon arch mixed with Mylar sports balloon. Continue these arches throughout the hallway. There are Mylar balloons representing many sports available!

The room can be filled with fabulous balloon centerpieces, highlighted with Mylar sports balloons. You can have these rise out of a photo sports centerpiece personalized for the guest of honor.

Continue the sports theme throughout the room using some of these great decorations:

Inflatable Soccer Goal
Baseball Pennants
Inflatable Football Goat Posts
Basketball Player Cutout

Sports Party Table Decorations and Menu

Make sure your tables are as game and the rest of the room. Make it easy and start with a sports themed aper goods, available at your local party store.

For your menu think stadium food; hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, soft pretzels... yum! Sports drinks are perfect for quenching everyone's thirst!

Then you can either have the local bakery make a sports theme cake or make your own with a football cake pan.

Sports Party Games and Activities
The thing about sports themes is that activities naturally follow. If classmates show up in force, prepare for a spirited game of baseball (or Whiffleball might be safer), touch football, or a little 3 on 3 tournament on the hoop in the driveway. With many parties being open houses held outdoors, these kinds of games make perfect sense.

Or, think about a skills tournament. Free throw shooting with basketball. Home run derby (think Whiffleball!) for baseball. Dribbling or passing accuracy for soccer. You get the idea. Or, just make sure the equipment is available and the kids will figure out their own game.

Sports Party Favors

Like the game, your sports theme party will have to end at some point. Make sure everyone is a winner by sending your guests home with a personalized sports theme candy bar. A delicious milk candy bar surrounded by a custom designed wrapper is a tasty way to end the festivities.

A personalized sports theme mint and candy tin is also a fun (and yummy) favor for your guests to take home.

There are also a lot of great sports theme favors that you can give out at the party for the kids to cheer with or to use to fill a fun goodie bag. Here are some sports theme party favor options:

Soft Basketballs
Sports Keychains
Inflatable Trophies
Inflatable Sports Balls

We know you and your guests are going to have a ball at your sports theme birthday! Game on!