Fun Sports Party Ideas to Set the Mood

Set mounds of different sports balls and equipment around the party area, and hang pairs of high tops or cleats by their laces from chair backs, hooks, or other spots around the room. For a centerpiece, place a wire basket or gym bag in the center of the party table, and fill it with sports balls or other sports equipment. Alternatively, you can turn the party table into a sports field or court using markers or colored tape on top of a colored table cover. For example, you can use white masking tape to create yard markers on a green table cover, turning it into a football field; or, you can create a basketball court by marking the free throw area over a pale yellow table cover.

For additional sports decorations, consider the following ideas:

• Hang sports posters around the party area.
• Tape trading cards and Sports Illustrated photos to the table cover, chair back, or the walls.
• Hang color copies of skateboard and BMX bike logo stickers on the walls throughout the party area, or use enlarged copies as placemats.

 Sport Party Snacks

Serve traditional ball park fare, including peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs, root beer, and/or lemonade. For added effect, serve the drinks in sports bottles and the snacks in toy baseball or football helmets.

Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut sandwich bread, and then use the star-shaped bread to make "All-Star Sandwiches" filled with peanut butter and jelly, cream cheese and jelly, hummus, mayonnaise and cheese, or lunchmeats.

Bake or buy a round or domed cake, and then ice it to look like your child's favorite sports ball. Alternatively, you can purchase a molded cake pan to create a cake that looks even more like a soccer ball, football or other sports ball. If your child is more into extreme sports, such as skateboarding or BMX, you can turn a rectangular sheet cake into a skate park by adding peaks in the icing to create ramps. You can also place small toy bikes and skateboards on the cake.