A Boy’s Retro Bowling Themed Birthday Party

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Planning a bowling themed birthday party and have a few minutes to spare? It’s Jen Carver of Banner Events here, and I’m highlighting my son’s retro bowling themed birthday party.

I’m thrilled to share tips for getting the ball rolling with this exciting party theme! In the hopes I can bowl you over, I’ll detail my complete party plan.

From sending out unique invitations and deciding on decorations to styling the dessert table and dressing the dining table, no details will be spared. I’ll even hit the topic of bowling themed birthday party favor ideas.

Come check out the party magic as captured by A Fresh Take Photography.

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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 on 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, I chose to go with unexpected invitation packaging, opting to use black jewelry boxes filled with red paper shred. Custom deliver-to and return address labels were added to dress up the outside of the box.

I 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, I quickly got to work on planning decorations to coordinate with the retro bowling theme. There is nothing I love more than treating guests to a fully decked out party space, complete with personal touches.

For this party, I began with plans for the dessert table. Anders Ruff created a large party logo, complete with personalization that I could use as the focal point.

I hung 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, I put my 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. I 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. I loved topping Christina’s cupcakes with bowling pins from mini bowling sets and black gumball “bowling balls.”

A dessert table staple at our house, these beautiful sugar cookies from Sugary Sweet Cookies are inspired by the printable décor. I’m 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 our sweet table offerings.

Number two on my favorite party elements to style is the dining area. I enjoy decorating a party space that results in party guests feeling special.

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

Because I like my party tables to have a custom look, I often commission 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.

I even used cute printable bowling themed centerpiece picks to create a simple centerpiece using paper straws, paper shred and a black basket.

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

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

Inspired by Maureen’s lead, I filled our 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 a larger sized bowling set 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 boys 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!