Game On!
Invitation Ideas
Send the party information written or attached to the following:
Baseball: a scorebook page
Basketball: a wristband
Football: a small megaphone or football sock
Gymnastics: a rhythm ribbon
Lacrosse: a mouthguard
Soccer: on a red or yellow card (soccer invitation printable)
Swim: on a swimmie
“Seasons over, the winner won! Let’s get together and have some fun”
“2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate… 3, 5, 7, 9 let’s get together for a good time!”
Decoration Ideas
GO! With the sport of choice OR a combination of all…
General: jerseys of a favorite player, pictures of a sports hero or favorite team’s logo; team colors on EVERYTHING (cake, dinnerware, blankets, rugs, crepe paper, balloons, etc)
Baseball: baseballs laying around, baseball gloves slung about, hats on top of lamp shades, hanging off chairs etc., cracker jack boxes to hold balloons down, olden day scoreboard…keep track of “team events” points. Make this out of a piece of foam board and two rows (one for each team). Place team 1’s name in the first row but leave a few spaces next to their name to post points. Do the same for team 2 (think Fenway Park).
Basketball: big scoreboard made out of poster board, a few small “hoops” hung in obvious places (the passway to the kitchen, above the door (or on the door) to the bathroom, a few near the table, suction cupped onto windows)). String big bo-bo shoes over the chandelier, door knobs, coat hangers, etc.
Football: field goal posts on the wall (can be used as a bean bag “extra point kicking game”), use painter’s tape to put down yard lines in the party room, flag belts for children to pick up and put on, old uniforms and equipment that you or your significant other may have collected through the years
Gymnastics: rhythm ribbons within reach of party-goers, hula hoops, hair ties, Judge scorecards that read “10”, mats (if you can get a hold of a few), chalk bowl (preferably outside)
Lacrosse: fiddle sticks, eyewear, netting over lamps or hung on the wall, helmets and gloves strewn throughout the room
Swim: hang goggles, bathing caps, towels and suits throughout the party rooms. Everyone must wear their ugliest bathing suit (if it’s a pool party).
Favors
Go overboard with the sport of your choice. Give a ball with the party information reminder written with permanent marker, a shammy for swimmers (or sunblock), ribbons for gymnastics. Have children decorate a goody bag upon arrival…see activities…and fill it up with appropriate items from your local dollar store. You can also have children decorate their own ball or item pertaining to the sport of choice. If everyone invited is from the same team, make a donation to the booster club in lieu of party favors (parents will be impressed and excited that they don’t have another toy to clean up). You can also hand out trophies or medals for the activities from the day (make sure everyone receives something).
Games
Baseball –
Pepper – baseball bat and different types of balls. Pepper is played with a batter and 2 or more fielders. The fielders toss the ball to the batter who lightly hits the ball to the next fielder in line (then that person tosses the ball back to the batter) and they go down the line. Try using a tennis ball, ping pong ball, beach ball, soccer ball, etc. Monitor this activity!!!!
Pickle – two fielders each located at a base about 30 feet apart and a runner. The runner starts in the middle and has to try to get to one of the bases before the ball. He/she runs back and forth and attempt to “duke” the throwers into dropping or overthrowing their teammate. Once the runner gets to a base before the ball, he/she is safe. Throwers stay on their bases, they don’t attempt to run the runner down. Try this with a nerf ball or tennis ball.
Indoor Balloon Baseball – all you need is a wrapping paper roll and balloons (and a space that is not displaying breakable items)
Dizzy Bat – old favorite…use a wiffle ball bat and some sort of a target area for the participant to reach. He/she places one side of the bat on the ground and the other on his/her forehead (bent over) and spins around the bat several times then attempts to do something:
- Throw a ball into a hula hoop
- Run and tag a base
Basketball –
Knock Out (need 2 basketballs, a hoop). Children line up at the foul line. First child shoots for the net, next child in line immediately shoots. If first child makes it, he/she passes his/her ball to the next child in line who tries to make it before the previous child. If he/she succeeds, that child is “knocked out” of the game. If the 2nd child makes it then he/she passes the ball to the next child in line who tries to make it before the person before him/her. Keep playing until two left. Stop game and have children line up. Flip a coin to see who goes first. Play through original rules but those two children keep shooting until the other makes two consecutive shots. You can use a waste basket or indoor hoop during inclement weather or dreary months.
What I like (need paper and a waste basket). Children write down what they like about the birthday child while seated at a table. They throw them toward the waste basket. Bday child read those that miss first and then those that make it into the basket.
Red, Blue, Yellow, Green GO! (need different color paper and a waste basket) Children are sitting at a table or behind a line with a few sheets of colored paper in front of them. They have to take the paper and crumble it up and throw it at a waste basket. Each child gets 5 attempts. They can tear crumble, fold the paper how they would like but at the end of everyone’s turn you count to see what color got the most in the waste paper basket. You can put party-goers into teams and have everyone throw 3-5 pieces of paper before letting their team mate try.
Hot Shot (need basketball(s) and a hoop) Place 3 hula hoops in front of the net. Allow each participant to take 3 shots from each hoop. Add up the points for each participant…assign higher points for shots that are more difficult or further away.
Football –
Catch It – cover footballs with butter or Crisco. Make sure children are wearing a shirt that can get messy (provide them for party guests). Have someone throw each child 10 passes and see how many they can actually catch. Inside variation: give each participant oversized gloves or gloves with extra long fingers…stuff the fingers with tissue…throw them soft footballs and see how many they can catch.
Hit the Target – hang hula hoops from trees at different heights (tires work as well). Indicate a different point total based on the difficulty. Each child gets 10 footballs to try to rack up as many points as he/she can. Inside variation: Cut out different size holes in a few foam boards…assign different point totals based on the size of the hole…each child gets 10 soft footballs to try to rack up points.
Break It down – Give party-goers 5 minutes to come up with their best “TOUCHDOWN” dance. Play music while they practice…for added enjoyment, allow them to participate in teams. You be the judge and allow each person or group to do their football dance. Winner gets an award ribbon or something similar.
Pass, Punt & Kick – Outside only. Allow each party guest to test their strength. See who can throw the football the furthest (on the first bounce), Punt the furthest (on the first bounce) and kick off the furthest. You can also add “punt the highest”, pass the most accurate, or kick-off the most accurate on-sides kick (these are easier to judge if the ability of the participants is wide-spread).
Gymnastics –
Follow the Leader – one person leads the rest in a melee of gymnastics floor routine moves. Each guest has to follow. Throw in “the silliest”, “act like a baby on the mat”, “do something without using your arms”, “funniest face” while doing the move.
Dance Routine – make sure there is ample space and a radio (and cd or ipod) available for each team. Divide party-goers up and have them practice for 10 minutes. They then have to show their routine to the rest of the party. Give each team a 2 minute time-limit (you’ll be happy you did). Added incentive…Have everyone else act like judges and write 1-10 on a piece of paper based on the performance. They get to hold up their number at the end of each performance!
Commentator – Divide the party guests up into teams of 2 or 3. One person performs a floor routine while the other one (or two) act as commentators. This should be done on the fly and the commentators should have a microphone (karaoke machine works well). They have to comment on the other’s performance while the audience listens (laughs) and applauds.
Lacrosse –
Hot Shot – place hula hoops at different locations around a goal. Each child gets 3 – 5 shots from each hula hoop. Tally the scores of each individual or put them on teams and add the total points up. Add a “goalie” into the mix or put cones on the lower corners for added points. Inside variation – give each team a serving spoon and a ping-pong ball. The goal can be a basket – they have to shoot with both hands, one hand (left / right) or even behind their back.
Check It Out – secure fiddle sticks or lacrosse sticks from areas such as trees, chairs, clotheslines, etc. – make sure their nets are facing up. Place balls into the nets and give children different objects to use to try to check the balls from the nets. Items that you can use are pool noodles, yard sticks, pens, brooms, etc….or try using different types of balls like ping-pong balls, golf balls, bocce balls, etc.). Watch each person frantically try to knock a baseball from the stick using a pencil. HA HA!!!
Block It – Place a small net or basket behind the “goalie”. Give everyone else 5 or 6 ping-pong balls and have them sitting in a semi-circle around the goal and goalie. On the count of “3” everyone rapid-fires at the goalie and he/she has to block the balls from going into the net. Count how many made it into the goal for each person. If you can be outside, use nerf balls or foam balls. Being a goalie isn’t that easy!!!
Soccer – see soccer party use a variation of “Block It (Lacrosse)”, “Pass, Punt, Kick (Football)”, “Hit the Target (Football)…with feet”
Swim –
If a pool is available:
Watermelon Polo – mark a goal at either end of the pool with painter’s tape and cover the watermelon with Crisco. Divide the party-goers into two teams and have them try to score a goal.
Dive for Five – throw pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters into the pool. Give them a time limit of 1 minute. On the count of “3”, everyone jumps into the pool and tries to find as many nickels as possible. They each have a cup located around the pool and they have to get as many nickels into their cup as possible. They get deducted a point for each coin that is NOT a nickel. NO GOGGLES! For safety, you can have one person go at a time.
Catch It – Have children jump in while trying to catch a variety of items…in the air. Try different types of balls (playground ball, beach ball (several different sizes), ping-pong ball, crumbled up paper, goggles, shammy, flip flop, etc.
If a pool is NOT available:
Best Stroke – Come up with silly names of a “swimming stroke”. Each participant has to stand in front of the group while you call out the name of the stroke. They have to try their best to match the name of the stroke that you said. Ex: Wallop Stroke, Hedgehog Stroke, Flailing Stroke, Snake Stroke, Slapjack Stroke, Scissor Stroke, Eyeball Stroke. Everyone hears the name of the stroke and laughs with the performer.
Googly Goggles – have children try to find specific items in a tub of water with a blindfold…try blacked-out goggles. Items should be all in the same family…like grapes, raisins, olives or coins (find the dime), or utensils, or shape blocks, etc.
Craft / Other Activities
As children arrive, have them decorate their own award certificate…use stickers and stamps based on your sports theme.
Jersey for me – give each child a blank tshirt and have them design their own jersey with their name and number. Use fabric paint and puffy pens.
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Sports Party