How to be the ultimate football tournament host for family and friends with kids

Have you set your sights on the next worldwide football competition? Everyone knows it’s not about the beautiful game, the players or the teams – it’s all about the parties! If you’re getting ready to flex your hosting skills and bring family and friends together for an epic football-themed party, now’s the time to start your preparations.

While it’s abundantly clear that kids love watching football, their attention can wane over the duration of a game. We might be biased, but we think super-sizing the event with an extra-large projected display is sure to get everyone’s attention. With a home cinema projector, everyone will feel a part of the action with a display that pops with more detail, colour, contrast and brightness. But, if we’re being honest that’s really there to win over the grown ups. 

So when it comes to keeping the kids interested so that you can enjoy the game (and importantly win the title of the ultimate host), pre-party planning is a must. Here’s our round-up of ideas to ensure you achieve your goals:

1. Set the scene

Decorations will instantly set the tone and get the kids excited for the party ahead. You can even get them involved with creating the decorations themselves with our DIY bunting and food flags. Our free, printable football-themed decorations can be found in the Kids’ Corner.

2. Screen time

Keep the kids glued to the match by giving them a football-themed bingo card.  The scorecard is filled with things that they’re bound to see on the screen during the game such as a flag, silly hat, painted face, whistle, yellow card, and so on.  Just like a normal game of bingo, the kids can mark off the items as they appear on screen. Once a player has a complete line (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) they have to shout ‘bingo!’ to win a prize.  You can find our free, printable football bingo cards in Kids’ Corner.

3. Half-time activities

Get the kids outside during half-time to expel some of their energy. Split the kids into teams and run off some basic drills to wear them out. For instance, set out cones  in two lines (upside down empty plant pots would do) and get them to dribble the football round the cones in competing teams.

4. One for everyone

Here’s a game that the adults are sure to take over– blow football. The idea is to blow a ping pong ball around a table-top pitch to score a goal against an opponent. You can buy a readymade kit with a pitch or make your own. For the latter, simply locate some straws (remember to get the recyclable variety), a ping pong ball and bits of masking tape to mark the outline of a pitch. For the two goals, you can use straws or ice lolly sticks and some sticky tape to hold it together.

5. Weather-proof options

It’s difficult to predict the weather so it’s a good idea to have an active game on standby that you can play safely in the house. ‘Keepy uppies’ as it’s affectionately known is a game where the player has to keep the ball - or a balloon for this easy indoor version - off the floor longer than everyone else. You can use your knee, head or any body part (just not your arms) to keep the balloon off the floor. 

6. Add some colour

Not all the kids are bound to love football, so have a couple of other options up your sleeve to keep them happy. One thing that always seems to have mass appeal is colouring-in. There’s lots of printable colouring-in sheets available in our Kids Corner’ that can be printed at a moment’s notice.  All you’ll need is a pack of colouring-in pencils and a protective mat to look after your table.

Head over to our Kids’ Corner homepage to find a range of printable DIY decorations and activities for little ones.

Set yourself up with a home cinema projector to make the most of the football tournament, and enjoy entertainment all-year round, in the comfort of your living room. Discover the best projector for your needs  here.

Share pictures of your event with the hashtag #stepintotheaction