A Retro Bowling-Themed Birthday Party

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Planning a bowling-themed birthday party with a few minutes to spare? Jen Carver of Banner Events is here and highlighting her son’s retro bowling-themed birthday party.

We are thrilled to share tips for getting the ball rolling with this exciting party theme. From sending out unique invitations and deciding on decorations to styling the dessert table and dressing the dining table, no details will be spared.

We will even hit the topic of bowling-themed birthday party favor ideas. Come check out the party magic as captured by A Fresh Take Photography.

Generating hype for a party is easy! Sending out a cool invitation definitely gets things started because there is nothing quite like receiving a creative invitation delivered to your doorstep, These bowling invitations, designed by Anders Ruff are well-designed, impressive, and clearly showcase the theme.

The red and aqua tones help give it a retro vibe. In lieu of the traditional envelope, Jen chose to go with unexpected invitation packaging, opting to use black jewelry boxes filled with red paper shreds. Custom deliver-to and return address labels were added to dress up the outside of the box. We love throwing in an element of surprise and included a mini tabletop bowling game with the invitations. Other options could include a small treat, toy, or even confetti.

With excitement for the party building, Jen quickly got to work on planning decorations to coordinate with the retro bowling theme. There is nothing we love more than treating guests to a fully decked-out party space, complete with personal touches. For this party, she began with plans for the dessert table. Anders Ruff created a large party logo, complete with personalization that Jen could use as the focal point.

Hang coordinating fabric on my DIY PVC pipe backdrop stand to create a backdrop and attached my party logo with pins. Table linens from my stash were used to cover the table and provided a blank canvas for testing out a variety of color-coordinating cake stands and serving pieces from my inventory while visualizing party prop and treat placement.

After the bare bones of the dessert table were in place, you can put orders in for desserts and additional party supplies like the polka dot balloons and small bowling pin sets to add a little festivity to the design.

Dessert planning is always an exciting part of party prep, and my go-to cake designer, Christina Goff of 4 Kids Cakes, is always at the top of my list to call.

You can always count on her to create something original that looks as amazing as it tastes. Don’t you just love the extra care that Christina took on this cake, combining fondant and molding chocolate to achieve a cake that coordinates with the graphic designs?

Cupcakes are an easy, child-friendly cake option at parties. She loved topping Christina’s cupcakes with bowling pins from mini bowling sets and black gumball “bowling balls.”

A dessert table staple at Jen’s house and these beautiful sugar cookies from Sugary Sweet Cookies are inspired by the printable décor. We are obsessed with the detail on the logo cookies, but can’t get over the cuteness of those bowling pins.

Dreaming up creative-themed treats is just one of the many gifts of Nicole from Bella Bakery. We loved the creativity of her chocolate-covered Oreo bowling balls and Rice Krispy bowling pins.

Guests always go crazy for candy bobs made by Sweets From Heaven Orange. Made from a combination of candy and edible embellishments, they were the perfect choice for rounding out the sweet table offerings.

Number two of Jen’s favorite party elements to style is the dining area. She enjoys decorating a party space that results in party guests feeling special.

Other favorite elements from the table include the bowling pin sippers and the simple bowling pin-inspired cutlery transformation. A little red electrical tape made the project quick and mess-free.

Because Jen likes her party tables to have a custom look, she often commissions the creation of personalized printable designs that can be added to party table essentials such as plates, napkins, cups, water bottles, various food containers, party favor packaging, and centerpieces.

A quick look at my bowling birthday party tablescape reveals a variety of printable logos and labels attached to popcorn boxes, paper straws, fruit cups, paper plates, and water bottles.

Use cute printable bowling-themed centerpiece picks to create a simple centerpiece using paper straws, paper shreds, and a black basket.

A “gutterball” gumballs label turned an ordinary candy tube of black gumballs into a genius bowling party favor! We love how printables can help tie the theme and overall look of a party together.

When it comes to party favors, choose practical items that will extend the fun of the party. Maureen (Anders Ruff) had a genius idea for birthday party favors “bowling bags” easily made by attaching a custom printable label and tag to glossy black gable boxes.

Inspired by Maureen’s lead, Jen filled bowling bags with an assortment of bowling-themed items (paddle balls, bowling pin pens, bowling pin stress “balls”, a bowling trophy), coloring books, and a bag full of “spare sweets” for the road. Guests even received larger-sized bowling sets to take home, providing plenty of future practice opportunities.

To work off the sugar rush, we paid a visit to our local bowling alley where these bowling novices had fun sporting their custom bowling shirts from Brenda at GreatStitch.com. Custom team logo stickers were added to the back to help the kids stay in the correct lane.

How do you gauge the success of a party? With no time to spare, a crew of smiling faces, tummies full of treats, and hands full of party favors, this bowling-themed birthday party was deemed a success!

Don’t miss these other great birthday party ideas:

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