DIY Bowling Party... with cute food and favour ideas

Hosting a party at a venue outside your home is a great option... but it's still fun to add some homemade DIY details to make the party memorable and special. When my oldest son turned 11, we hosted a party at a bowling alley, but of course we created some fun games, food, and party favours. Below, check out the DIY details that made our DIY bowling party unique and fun!

We started with a simple DIY invite that I created on Picmonkey. If you design a 4X6 invite on Picmonkey, you can print the photo invites inexpensively. Mine were $0.19 each.

The main activity at the party was obviously bowling, but I wanted to add a few more activities to make the party fun and unique.

After the kids finished bowling, they were able to "guess the candies in the jar". The party guest that guessed closest to the actual number of Skittles won the jar. Fun, right?

We also had a prize punch (which has become a staple at my boys' parties). It's always a hit with party guests, and you can get the full tutorial here.

Of course, we had to have festive bowling party food. We had pizza and lots of treats at my son's personal "canteen".

And I made a simple "bowling cake". I carved a bowling pin from a rectangular cake and a bowling ball from a round cake. They were simple cakes, but they were cute and went well with our party theme.

And finally, our guests left with adorable bowling party favours (with sweet tags that I designed). You can download the tags for free here. 

I thought the bowling party theme was fun, and I enjoyed planning out all the DIY details. Have you ever hosted a bowling party? What did you do to make the party fun and unique?

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

DIY Sledding Party

Winter is the perfect time for a sledding party. You can host a special afternoon for a few kids, or you can invite the whole neighbourhood for a super sledding themed birthday party. As long as you have a few fantastic treats and activities, all your party guests will have a great time. Below, I am sharing all my best tips, tricks and ideas for hosting a sledding party... including a special hot chocolate bar.

The key to the success of a sledding party (besides snow), is a fun hot chocolate bar. Using different sizes of mason jars to hold the different components of the hot chocolate bar is simple, and it creates a lot of visual interest. Fill the jars with hot chocolate, chocolate kisses, marshmallows, and cookies. Whipped cream and different types of sprinkles are fun too!

You can also decorate with dollar store snowflakes, a winter themed tablecloth, and this cute "hot chocolate bar" sign. 

To download this sign for free: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8x10 photo.

Getting the party guests to decorate their own cups is a fun party activity, and it will help the kids remember which cup belongs to them... in case they want a refill. Drawing on styrofoam cups with Sharpie markers is simple and fun.

Doesn't the tablescape look cute when it all comes together?

And the hot chocolate is going to be a hit after an afternoon of sledding.

You can use sleds you have, ask guests to bring sleds, or you can make designing and crafting a duct tape sled a party activity.

And, after the party, you'll want to send guests home with sledding party favors. "Make your own snowman" kits are perfect for a winter party. (Get all the supplies you need at the dollar store: hats, scarfs, and some big buttons. Attach notes that say "Just add snow!") 

Snowman Soup (a bag containing hot chocolate, marshmallows, chocolate and a candy stir stick) is also fun.

Snowmen gum favors are adorable and inexpensive too. They are easy to make with scissors, a couple Sharpies, and a little felt (for the scarf).

A sledding party is a simple party theme, and it is perfect for winter. I love the hot chocolate bar and party favor ideas, don't you? Do you have a child that would enjoy this type of party with their friends?

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

PS - These cookies would be perfect to serve at a sledding party too...

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