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Monday, April 16, 2012

How to Plan a Bowling Party in Less Than a Week

I love a good kid's birthday party. Especially if it is a theme party with lots of fun details....and that is usually the kind of party that I plan for my boys. But somehow life got SUPER busy these last few months and Henry's 8th birthday got here way too fast. It probably didn't help that his birthday was a few days after Easter and during the boys' spring break! The week before his birthday, I hadn't done much of anything as far as planning goes....actually I was still trying to decided between a baseball party or a bowling party. I had considered taking Henry and a few of his friends to a minor league baseball game in a nearby city, but in the end bowling won out mostly because it was easier to take kiddos to the bowling alley during the day than to have them out at a baseball game until 10 o'clock at night!
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The first thing I did to get ready for Henry's birthday was to make him a birthday shirt. I printed out a clip art bowling pin and bowling ball, cut them out with some felt scraps, and sewed them onto a t-shirt.  I added the 8 to the bowling pin since it was Henry's 8th birthday:) He LOVED his shirt {and so did the manager at the bowling alley...she took Henry's picture in his bowling shirt to add their website!}
 I made a dozen cupcakes and decorated them like bowling balls. I used a black sheet of that sugar paper stuff that they have in the cake decorating section, and then I added a few dabs of white icing for the holes in the bowling balls using a ziploc bag.
 I also put together some cute party favors for the boys. I bought a pack of plastic trophies at the party store, then I added a sticker that said "Best Bowling Buddy" along with each of the kiddos' names. I also added a sticker to the back that said "Thanks for making Henry's party a BALL".To finish the party favors, I filled the trophies with gumballs and put them in small clear bags.
 And then we went bowling:
 We also had a small family party the next day. Instead of just having a generic party, I decided to continue the bowling theme. I decorated the house with bowling ball balloons that I made by sticking small white circle stickers onto black balloons. I attached 8 of the bowling ball balloons on the stairs just for fun:)
 For some reason I didn't get a picture of the cute bowling ball plates that we put together for the party, but they were simple black plates with the same white circle stickers stuck on to make them look like bowling balls. I also bought a cute plastic bowling set for the kids to play with during the party, but it ended up being WAY too windy for they played bowling on the wii instead:)
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After a little wii bowling it was time for food! We had some yummy bowling ball treats made with Ding Dongs and a little leftover icing.....
 ...and we also had a SUPER yummy cake that matched Henry's birthday shirt.
Considering that both of Henry's bowling parties were planned in about a week, I thought they turned out pretty cute...and I know the boys had a ton of fun celebrating Henry's birthday!
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15 comments:

CM said...

That is awesome! Wow, you are so creative! I bet he thinks you are the best mom ever! What a fun party.

laxsupermom said...

How fun! Love the creativity with all the "bowling balls." Thanks for sharing.

Kelli said...

Your creativity simply amazes me! I want you to come to my house and throw ME a party. I love everything about this party and will have to keep this in mind as my kids (and husband) love to bowl.

Anonymous said...

What a fun party. You are just amazing Kelli! Happy birthday to Henry!

Kmama said...

You are so good. How fun, and how creative! Happy birthday to Henry!

aggieam01 said...

Great ideas! Love the ding dongs and the bowling balloons :) We are having a bowling party next month and were going to use Oreos and icing for snacks. Too cute

Shooting Stars Mag said...

how cute! you really did a great job, especially for just a week's planning. love it!! And who doesn't like going bowling with friends?!

-Lauren

Randi~Dukes and Duchesses said...

What a great party! I love the fun details you added. The balloons and cupcakes are so simple but so perfect ... love it!

Melissa N. said...

What a great job for being last minute! Love all the simple details!

Richella Parham said...

You.

Are.

Amazing.

That is all.

Except I'll say it once more--you're the best mom!!

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

LOVE!!!! What a fun theme...you executed everything so nicely. :)

Dee said...

You are so awesome with your crafty shirts and EVERYTHING. Will you be my mom? ;)

staci @ lizard n ladybug said...

Happy Birthday to your little bowler :)

I love the balloons on the staircase. And how cute are the cupcakes?! I have seen the sugar sheets in the store but never tried them. Now I might!

Carrie said...

both parties looked like tons of fun and you did amazing with all the decorations and treats! I love the trophies! Sometimes I thinks it's best to put something together in a short time...gives me less time to get anxious and second-guess everything! I may have to use this idea...Alex's birthday is coming up :-) but we always seem to have a swimming party...I think that's gettng old! :-)

Lee said...

I bookmark parties on the first Sunday of the month and I'm putting this one up in May. Thanks for sharing!

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