Tyson's "All-Sports" Birthday Invitation

Tyson turned 7 on May 11th, but his birthday party is NOT until May 26th. The theme... "All-Sports"... well, really just baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. I have been really excited to write a post about the invitation that I "thunk" up and brought to fruition. I wanted each kid to feel as if they had been drafted to a game and/or invited to a real sports event + party!

The invitation was enclosed in two envelopes. This was the outer envelope. Personalized for each child and decorated with details from my cricut, computer, and jolee's stickers.

It came out so sporty and handsome.

The guest list.

This next detail is my favorite of all... even besides the "jersey". Look closely and you will see a "ticketmaster" envelope. I called ticketmaster and asked them if they would mail me some envelopes. They of course declined. Once I had the idea in my head, I thought, "You can't stop me. I'll get them one way or another."

So, I called our local civic center and asked them for a huge favor. The woman was so kind and handed me a big stack. She appreciated my drive to be detail oriented. :)

Inside the green envelope were the following.

I LOVE IT!

All (4) tickets accompanied by it's matching sports ball.

The INFAMOUS ticket. Originally, I wanted each kid to ONLY receive their favorite sport ticket, but the wording was so cute on all of them that I couldn't resist giving them all four.

The football ticket invite.
Wording reads...
"You've been drafted to Tyson's birthday party!
So bring along this jersey and get prepared to play
An All-star team is needed
For Tyson's special day!"
Gameday: May 26, 2012
Kickoff: 12:00 pm
Bolling Stadium
Regrets to Coach Kristin
"Are you ready for some football?"

The baseball ticket invite.
Wording reads....
"You've been drafted to Tyson's birthday party!
So bring along this jersey and get prepared to play
An All-star team is needed
For Tyson's special day!"
Catch the action on: May 26, 2012
Game Time: 12:00 pm
Bolling Stadium
Regrets to Coach Kristin
"Batter Up!"
"Kids bring your mitts and cleates. We have all other bases covered."

The basketball ticket invite.
Wording reads...
"You've been drafted to Tyson's birthday party!
So bring along this jersey and get prepared to play
All-star team is needed
For Tyson's special day!"
Gameday: May 26, 2012
Tip Off: 12:00 pm
Bolling Arena
Regrets to Coach Kristin
"It's going to be a slam dunk party!"

The soccer ticket invite.
Wording reads...
"You've been drafted to Tyson's birthday party!
So bring along this jersey and get prepared to play
An All-star team is needed
For Tyson's special day!"
Gameday: May 26, 2012
Kickoff: 12:00 pm
Bolling Field
Regrets to Coach Kristin
"We're kicking up some fun. Score!!"

I've been so accustomed lately to giving out invitations that are more than paper and I can't seem to get away from the tradition (ie. Noah's ark animals, unstuffed build-a-bears etc.). I had this awesome idea in my head to give each guest their own personalized "jersey" raglan shirt. After MUCH chaos due to time constraints and cost, I finally finally finally made this idea work. This is the front of the "jersey".

The back of the blue "jersey".

The front of the green "jersey".

The back of the green "jersey".

I wanted the front to have something to do with the theme of the party... "All-sports".

And I wanted the shirt to contain something to do with the birthday boy. I knew saying "birthday" or "Tyson" would cause the kids to not re-wear the shirt, so instead we chose the number #7 for the age that Tyson is turning. This detail/idea was given to me by Erin Carroll.

I purchased two colored "jerseys". I placed the guest's names on little pieces of paper and placed the names in a bowl. To be fair and to make sure all the "jocks" weren't on one team, I had Tyson pick out the teams. 6 boys on one team and 6 boys on the other.

Surprisingly, the teams seem pretty even.

Tyson's favorite color is green, but his favorite sport is basketball. OF COURSE, knowing me, his jersey had to be color coordinated with the sport. Check out the basketball invite above. Isn't it blue? LOL! I doubt any other soul recognized this detail, but it doesn't matter. I required it to take place. Imagine having my brain. It's tough :)

When Tyson saw these he said, "AWESOME!"

Another peak.

Another peak!

Each child received their stadium ticket and "jersey" raglan shirt in a gift bag. Of course the gift bag color coordinated with their shirt.

Stuffed with tissue paper and tied with a sports ribbon. I was sure to ask each mommy what their son's favorite sport was. I was sure to use that specific sport ribbon on their bag.

I also downloaded a font called "jersey letters" to replicate the font on a professional jersey.

Each invitation was hand delivered. It got rave reviews!!! The last three invitations I designed were delivered in gift bags. I am really keeping the gift bag industry in business. LOL!

That's it!!! Man, that was a long post for just a party invitation. Now it's time to plan the party!!! Okay, it's almost all planned out. I mean after all... it is TWO weeks away. YIKES!!!!