For my son's 4th birthday I decided to have a sports party (because if it is a ball - he loves it!) Football is his main love so that is what the invitation was.  I used a picture that he drew of a football player on a football field with goals at both ends of the field and printed the following on vellum (attaching the vellum to the picture with a royal blue grosgrain ribbon): Lake's on the four and he's ready to play! So come cheer him on in a special way. Do you like Clemson, the Skyhawks, UT? Auburn, Georgia, or USC? Then wear your colors and come have some fun!  We'll play some ball so come ready to run!  Lake's 4th Birthday Party, (date), place (a soccer field).  I then listed my husband and myself as the head coaches and asked for penalties to be called in for regrets.  Under all of that I listed a rain date so that I wouldn't have to call everyone if the weather was bad. Inside the invitation envelope I also put a mock ticket for each child to bring for entry into ôthe gameö.  It was set up just like a college football ticket. The field was set up with basketball goals in one part of the field, soccer goals at another, the inflatable football goal from Oriental Trading in another portion and baseball bats, balls, gloves (some borrowed from friends) in another part of the field. I also had some orange, blue, and white pom-poms (they were the colors of his and most of his friendsÆ team's) for the little girls who wore their cheerleading uniforms that didn't want to play ball (although there weren't many who didn't even attempt to play!).  We got about 36 inflatable beach balls shaped like sports balls from Oriental Trading as well and threw them all over the field and let the children to just go to it!  They had a "ball" and we did too.  This year I decided to do cupcakes. It is a lot easier to pass out and each cupcake was a different ball! The kids loved it and I didn't have to worry about forgetting to bring something with which to cut and serve!!!!  I had drinks for the children in ball shaped straw cups for them to drink from and take home. At the end of the party, each child got to pick out a beach ball and pom-pom to take home as a party favor. (I also had a small sports ball shaped bouncing ball and a sports pencil for each child to take home.) While the party was going on, I took a picture of each child playing or cheering and sent it in the thank you letter.  The parents love to get pictures and it gives me a wonderful keepsake of who his friends were at that age and what they all looked like.  We have had more fun looking back at the past three years and seeing how he and each of his friends has changed as well as the new friends who have come into his life.