Even with young children, sports are a great way to get them moving and motivated. One sport that will normally be a part of their middle school and high school lives is basketball. It is never too early to introduce kids to this fun and energetic sport. So, why not make basketball the central theme for your next child’s birthday party? With both men’s and women’s teams, you can build up an interest for your party with both boys and girls!

The first thing you can do at a basketball party is give every guest a jersey. Even if they aren’t “official”, you can make them out of inexpensive T-Shirts and iron-ons. Put the guest’s last name and their favorite number on the back of the jersey, and then a symbol for your party on the front! Once the party is over, the guests can take these jerseys home as a momento.

After everyone has a jersey to wear, you can break out the basketballs and hoops! Many toy companies have short, plastic hoops available with a mini basketball included. Talk to your friends and family to find additional hoops and basketballs for your event. The guest can have a great time trying to sink the ball from all different angles and distances.

Once all the guests have had some shooting practice, you can split everyone into groups of 4. At each hoop, you can have the guests play the popular basketball game of “HORSE”. You can change it a bit and make them all play “PARTY”!

After all the activity outside, be sure to let the athletes hydrate with their own sports bottle full of their favorite sports drink. With puffy paints or permanent markers, the guest could decorate their bottle before liquid is added.

Go to OrientalTrading.com and you will find a great basketball game craft! For a very reasonable price, you can buy 12 kits for the guests to make their own mini basketball game for playing at home.

While the crafts are drying, but before you start eating, why not allow the guests to break open an piñata that looks like a basketball! You can have all sorts of little goodies inside, like stickers, steel whistles and lanyards, and bouncy balls.

Food at a basketball party can follow those food items that are normally served at a game. Soda, peanuts, hot dogs, soft pretzels, pizza, and ice cream can all be served at a party with this theme. When you go to make or order your cake, make sure to create a round, multi-layer cake that you can decorate to look just like a basketball!

Paper products are easy to find for a basketball themed party. You can find all kinds of paper products, like cups, plates, napkins and streamers! You can find your invitations and thank you notes in an identical or similar design, too. Just look at your local party outlet store or at a party retailer online. (Tip: when buying online, leave plenty of time for shipping!)

To end your party, have a large jar full of “sports” themed erasers in a big jar. Let all the guests take a guess at how many are inside. The guest that is closest wins the jar!