Game-Theme Birthday Parties: Twister, Soccer, and More!

Some games never go out of style. Polka-dot your house and watch the kids twist and shout!

Greet your guests with dots, dots, and more dots! Create 8-inch dots in the four Twister colors by using a handy circle cutter. Adhere them to the floor and wall with painter's tape. Craft multiple garlands using circle punches, glue dots, and fishing line.

Get all tangled up in a game of Twister. Then, play freeze dance to songs that contain the word twist.

The dots on this cake are just rolled-out fruit chews.

Dip twisted pretzels in melted white chocolate, then sprinkle with blue, red, yellow, and green sugar.

Raising a budding goalie or centerfielder? They'll get a real kick out of this soccer-theme birthday party.

Turn party hats into wearable orange practice cones.

What you'll need: Orange cone-shaped party hat, orange cardstock (to match hat), scissors, tape, hot-glue gun

Make it: Cut an 8-inch square from cardstock. Make a 5 inch slit in the center of the square and a 1/2 inch diagonal slit at each corner. Fold the edges of the square under and tape securely at corners. Feed the string of the party hat through the slit in the center of the square and secure underneath with hot glue.

Play games like sharks and minnows and monkey in the middle with an outdoor soccer ball and a little running room.

Top a cupcake with Oreo's 100-calorie cookies, then pipe lines to make an edible soccer ball.

Kids can play coach at home with a metal whistle and a mini soccer ball from a party store.

A life of espionage awaits your little spy -- give them a memory that will last forever with fun theme birthday party.

Get kids into mystery-solving mode with a detective-theme invite.

Have kids inspect a tray of items, then see who can remember the most when it's out of sight.

Bake and serve peanut-butter thumbprint cookies.

Magnifying glasses make an exploration favor. (We found ours at learningresources.com).

It's game time with one of the world's most popular games -- Bingo!

Make napkin rings and cup stickers with the guest of honor's initial and age. Serve it beside a pate with a bingo sheet ready to go.

Label kids with a bingo belt. When his number is called, he moves forward one step. First to reach the end wins.

Dip doughnut holes in white chocolate and pipe on letters and numbers.

Give kids a bingo game to play in the car. (We found ours at amazon.com.)

Originally published in the May 2010 issue of Parents magazine.