My son loves football (like instead of sleeping with a stuffed animal he holds a football- he is obsessed), so a backyard football game has become his favorite kind of football party!
We have done this for a birthday party, a football party for his team and even for a Little Dude’s Turkey Bowl at Thanksgiving! We can’t wait to hold the 3rd Annual Little Dude’s Turkey Bowl in our backyard next week. The boys keep getting bigger (we may need to re-analyze the name soon), but every year they look forward to this awesome backyard tradition.
It’s super easy and not very expensive, so everyone wins!
Invitations
I made a simple invitation using the Rhonna App, it is my go to anytime I need to make a party invitation. I love this app and not just because it’s FREE! You just select the size you want, design your invitation and then send it to your favorite photoshop to be printed. (I usually order 4×6 prints and send it to Walgreens.) So easy!
Party Prep
Let’s be honest, the boys don’t care about the decorations. But, if you are looking to steal those little boys hearts buy some field paint and paint a football field on your backyard lawn.?We even bought some football pylons?to make the field more realistic. These are the details they will notice and love!
If you are having your party in the evening it’s fun to set up some lights for your football field. We just use the shop light my husband has and it works great to light up the field. Something about a lighted football field makes the boys really come out to play!
Food
At a football party, hydration is super important and you are definitely?going to need lots of water! I usually buy Gatorade bottles?and write the boys names on the lids, so they can keep refilling them with water and know which one is theirs. I have even bought the plastic Gatorade?bottles to give out as party favors before (Easy party favor for sure!). If you really want to get crazy you can use vinyl to label them with their football numbers.
I also, keep a huge cooler with a spout, filled with water, outside. This way the boys can refill their bottles outside and are not walking all over your house.
When we do the Little Dude’s Turkey Bowl the party is in the morning, so we always do pancakes. But, for evening party’s we have barbequed hotdogs or ordered pizza. Football is the main focus and let’s?be real, the boys will eat anything. Keep it simple!
Yes, at a Turkey Bowl you need cheerleaders and they love pancakes and hot chocolate too!
My son is allergic to eggs, so doing a birthday cake is not the best option. We have had to get creative! One year we had a watermelon slice cake and this year we had a donut cake! Jacks Donuts…yum!
Game Time
We usually invite about 25 boys to the party and then divide them into teams of 5 or 6. Then we play a tournament style. This way, not all the boys are on the football field at the same time. While some of the boys are playing football the other ones eat and watch the games. They might not like it at first, but?once they start playing they are happy to have a little rest.
My husband does a great job of dividing the teams, being a referee during the games, and scheduling the tournament. I would teach you how to do this, but he does it all, so I really have no idea!
Celebrate
At the end of the party, it’s important to have all the boys practice their best football celebration dance! So funny!
It really is one of my favorite parties to throw! There is just something about a backyard football game that makes everyone happy!
