Bowling Party

  
Bowling party ideas
   
 
 
Bowling Party Ideas


Bowling Party SuppliesBowling Party Supplies
at Birthday in a Box 		 

Bowling Partyware Bowling Partyware
at Celebrate Express

 

Party Planning

  • General Party Planning Schedule
  • When ordering invitations with your party supplies, place your order about six weeks before the party to allow time for processing, shipping, preparing the invitations, and mailing them in time to arrive two weeks before the party.
  • If you're having your party at a bowling alley, make reservations well in advance.


Party Decorations

  • For bowling alley parties, your decorations will be simpler: a tablecover, some helium-filled balloons tied to the back corners of the table, and a centerpiece. The cake will also be a decoration. If possible, use a clear cake cover to protect the cake from drying out, and from any flies that may wander in and find your cake irresistible.
  • Home parties give you more opportunities to decorate. Do you bowl with a league? Use your team colors in your decorations. If not, decorate with whatever colors you like. Red, blue, white, and light brown like the floor are good basic colors.
  • Bowling pins, bowling balls and the word strike! on poster board fastened to the walls.
  • Enlarge score cards, or draw one out on poster board, and attach to the walls. Or just make a collage of several regular score sheets on colored poster board.
  • If you have some fun bowling pictures, make a display of them, either enlarged, or as a collection of several on a sheet of poster board. If you have a cork board, you could use this. To avoid damaging your pictures, use a tab of tape attached behind the photo and folded over at the top to stick the pin through. Your photo collage can include large printouts of words like strike! and spare! amongst the photos. Cut out with spiky edges for added impact. Include a score sheet, too, if you like. Then hang the cork board or lean it against the wall on a piece of furniture.
  • Bowling posters make great party decorations, and can be used after the party, too!
  • A tablecover that simulates the wood floor of a bowling alley could make a cool tablecover. I couldn't find any fabrics, but you could take an old or inexpensive twin size sheet, cover it with wood grain contact paper, and trim along the edges. You only need to cover an area the size that you want the tablecover to be. To help the tablecover fold at the edges, cut out parts of the corner areas to make them less full. Crease along the table edges, and if necessary, use a blow dryer to heat and bend the edges. Try the heat method first on a scrap you've cut out. Do this with good ventilation just in case you release any fumes. You can also tape the corner edges on the back side to help keep the sides down.
    Tip: To help keep the sheet flat while applying the contact paper, pin it to your carpet. If you don't have carpet, do this at a neighbor or relative's house. Count your pins so you're sure to remove them all!
    Alternative: Use a sheet in a matching color, and apply contact paper to an area of the sheet the size of the table top in the middle of the sheet. Then just let the fabric drape down the sides.


Party Invitations

  • Use our basic invitation templates for making your own invitations, or get some colored card stock, fold it and trace a circle right at the fold, about 4 inches in diameter. Cut it out, leaving part of the fold attached. Alternatively, don't fold the invitations, just write the party info on the back instead of inside. Three darker circles for the finger holes and there you have it...a bowling ball invitation! You can trace a large glass or small bowl for the bowling ball, and a penny or nickel for the finger holes. You could also trace the hole circles on darker paper and glue them onto the bowling ball.


Party Food Ideas

  • Typical bowling alley fare: pizza, burgers hot dogs, fries, chips, sodas.
  • Cake: A bowling ball cake is easy to make - just use a round cake pan, use frosting in your favorite bowling ball color, use dark frosting for the three holes, add candles and whatever message you like. for a 3-d bowling ball cake, use a sports ball cake pan. Another idea is to use a rectangular pan and create a bowling alley scene on it: the lane, the pins, the ball going down the alley, candles and written message. Bowling pin cake pans are another option.


Party Activities

  • How about bowling? Have your party at a bowling alley. Provide a certain amount per guest for food, beverages and games, and bring the cake and some simple decorations such as a tablecover and balloons. Have the guests meet at the bowling alley. If it's a children's party, be sure to include a pick-up time on the invitations.
  • If you're having the party at home, there are plastic indoor and outdoor bowling sets you can purchase. Or set up a real indoor bowling alley! Both party supply vendors linked at the top of the page have mini bowling games.
  • Pin the bowling ball on the pins. A variation of pin the tail on the donkey, using a target of tenpins and a bowling ball instead of a tail. Here's a bowling pin graphic you can print out.


Helpful Links