10074

All Sports Party -4yr- Sports Stations

January 2005

Chris in Millersville, PA USA

Honorable Mention

All Sports Party for a Four Year Old Boy.  When our son turned four, we gave him a All-Sports Birthday Party in our backyard.

Invitations were made on the computer and looked like a sporting event ticket. "VIP Pass" was watermarked in the background and the party information included Event Date:, Event Time:, Location:[Your Last Name]Arena, Seat & Row:[insert your street and address]. Since his birthday was at the end of the summer, the weather was perfect for an outside party (we did include an event Rain Date on the ticket invitation).

To decorate the yard, we painted a mini-football field on the lawn using line paint (available in spray paint cans from your local sports store). Plastic mini goal posts were found at a local online party retailer and were placed in the end zones. Picnic table benches were placed on either side of the field to represent the home and visiting teams.

When the guests arrived, they each received a mini plastic megaphone with their name written on it. The megaphone was stuffed with a cheering pom-pom, a whistle, sport pen, stickers and some candy (this also acted as the goodie bag). They were encouraged to use the megaphone and pompom to cheer eachother on throughout the party games. Not all the kids knew eachother so we asked parents to write down their child's nickname, favorite number, favorite snack food and hometown (these were their "vital statistics").

Parents then held each end of a piece of 4 ft. long paper tape (I used wide adding machine tape from our local office supply store) with the child's name written on it in bright colors. We introduced each child by having them run onto our "field" and through the adding machine tape while we read their "vital statistics" through a megaphone. (Appropriate sports related theme music played in the background.)

Food followed in a tailgate party theme with a six-foot sub, salads, chips, dip etc. Drinks, Cracker Jacks, popcorn and pretzels were passed out by volunteers using large box lids covered with sport themed paper and with a thick ribbon to go around the neck (like the vendors who sell refreshments to you at your stadium seats..)The kids ate "picnic-style" on big stadium blankets we scattered around on the lawn.

After lunch, the kids rotated through four sports stations:

Baseball: hit a baseball across a line spaced close enough for a four year old; Soccer: kick as many soccer balls in the goal as you can in 30 seconds.

Basketball: Score as many baskets as you can in 30 seconds using a kid-sized net.

Football: kick the football through the goal post from our 50 yard line. Each child also received a small sport related prize at each station.

Finally, we had them all gather around a pull-string pinata in the shape of a football helmet of my son's favorite NFL team (also available through an online vendor).

The party festivities wound down with my son opening his presents on the 50-yard line of our backyard football field and of course, cake (we had 2 round cakes decorated like my son's favorite sports -- one was a basketball and one was a soccer ball!) Before the children left the party, we awarded them each a cookie "medal" (To make the medals, bake sugar cookie using your favorite recipe. Use a toothpick to make a hole in the top of the cookie as soon as you take them out of the oven. Insert a colorful ribbon through the hole when the cookies are completely cool. Write "You're #1" in cake icing on each cookie).

Thank you notes were also made on the computer and were headed with "Thanks for Being Such A Great Sport!" and clip art of basketballs, footballs, soccer balls and baseballs scattered all over the note.  This was really a great party and the grown ups had as much fun as the kids!

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