Creating Unique Football-Themed Birthday Party Bags
While in the process of planning Ryan’s seventh birthday party, Anya decided to make the party bags feel a bit more 'grown up'.
Kids get to a certain age where bubbles and crayons don’t quite cut it anymore.
So, she decided to lean fully into the football theme and create unique party bags Ryan's friends would actually get excited about.
Choosing the Bags
First off, the bags themselves. We found some drawstring-style ones online that were perfect because they could be used again and again.
Most of Ryan’s pals do football training or after-school sports, so we figured they might come in handy - rather than giving them bags that would be immediately dumped in the bin once they got home.
To make them extra special, we added personalised name tags to each bag.
Ryan was in charge of handing them out at the end of his party. He enjoyed the responsibility of reading out the names and giving them to his friends.
What Went Inside
We tried to keep everything football-themed and fun without overfilling the bags.
Here’s what we went for:
⚽️ A pack of football stickers, split up into smaller sets and sealed in little clear bags.
🏅 A shiny medal with a football boot design.
🔑 A football keyring they could clip onto their school bags.
✏️ A football pencil, because stationery always comes in handy.
😗 A whistle, wristband and ring set, again football-themed and packed neatly into clear bags.
🥳 A football blower for a bit of noisy fun.
🍬 A small bag of sweets (you can't have a party bag without something sugary in there!).
🥤 And the star of the show: the cold cups.
Anya asked parents in advance which football team their child supported, then ordered plain cups and decorated them with team stickers.
She used her Cricut machine to put each child’s name in vinyl on their cup, which made them feel really personal.
We also handed out sweetcones at the end of the party along with the bags.
A nice little bonus for the kids and our way of saying a special thank you for coming to celebrate our son's special day.
The Reaction
The boys were delighted with their football goodies, and the parents commented on how much they liked the reusable bags and personalised cool cups.
The lovely feedback made the extra effort feel worthwhile.
Ryan was proud to be handing them out, and I think it made his birthday feel even more special for him.
Ideas for Next Time
If you’re planning a football-themed party for slightly older children, you could potentially adapt this idea with things like football books, socks (we actually used these as prizes, and they went down brilliantly), or even small training accessories.
Hopefully you feel inspired!
Before you go, why not grab a copy of our completely free PDF download: 7 Quick Football Party Games That Kids Love.
Ideal if you're planning on hosting a football birthday party for your little one!
Free Download: 7 Quick Football Party Games That Kids Love
The biggest challenge with a kids' football party is keeping the young ones entertained once the sugar rush kicks in and the footballs start flying over fences.
That’s why we've put together a completely FREE guide:
7 Quick Football Party Games That Keep Kids Entertained
It’s a collection of simple, fun, and tried-and-tested ideas we used at Ryan’s party - a HUGE help on the day.
Inside our free guide you’ll get:
Step-by-step instructions for SEVEN different games football-mad kids love 📝
Minimal equipment needed (balls, cones, and a few other basics) ⚽
Ideal back-up plan for when novelty of the penalty shootout runs out! 🎯
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