Bowling parties are great fun and a terrific way to celebrate one's birthday. Even with no planning a party that include bowling is sure to be lively and filled with laughter. But with a little bit of planning you can take your party from 'ordinary' to 'spectacular'!
Start with the Invitations: Of course a bowling themed invitation is a must. It sets the scene and guides your guests to dress appropriately. You can probably find themed invitations at your favorite party store or store such as Target, however, if you want to choose from a large selection the internet is your best bet. Simply by typing "Bowling invitations" in your search bar you will have a slew of fabulous options at your fingertips. I especially like the large selection offered at impressinprint.com and zazzle.com.
Move on to Decorations and Refreshments: For both of these a quick call to the bowling alley will let you know the leeway you have with both. Most alleys are more than happy for you to put up banners and streamers to let everyone know that a birthday is happening. Heck, offer to leave the decorations for them when you are done to use for other parties and, as long as they are in good shape and of good quality, they could be thrilled (bowling parties are very lucrative to the alleys).
Refreshments are a bit trickier since bowling alleys make money from the food and drink they sell. A couple of ideas here:
- Ask them what their policy is. If they have a strict 'their food and drink only' policy, ask if you could bring in just the dessert (a birthday cake or wedding cake, of course - most will allow that). If you are forced to order the rest for them, ask if they will discount prices for your group.
- If you are allowed to bring in your own food then, of course, it's up to you. Try to buy the beverages from them at the very least - it's a good-will gesture to the bowling alley and they most likely offer pictures of pop and beer at lower costs than individual servings. Do check out their menu (they can probably fax it to you) to see if there is anything you would like to order from them to round out your menu.
- Make sure that they are set up with tables for you to serve the refreshments on.
Send your Guests Home with Bowling Favors: It is always thoughtful to send your guests home with a party favor and guest LOVE being given these little 'presents'. I'd love to tell you that there are tons of these theme favors available but there really aren't. Most are in the form of edible favors (cookie favors, etc.) but there are others to be had with a bit of searching. A unique and fun gift is to hand out 'trophies' to your guests with something like "I scored big at Peter's Bowling Birthday Bash" engraved on it. Sites such as www.crownawards.com have trophies, with engraving, available for less than $4 each (a quick search using the term "cheap trophies" will provide you with more options). Another great gift is to give each of your party goers a coupon for one free game in the future (and the alley might be willing to give you a price break on this).
Diva Entertains- Copyright 2009
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