Super Bowl ideas for little kids

Jan 31, 2012 8:45 AM by Lisa Steinke

Posted in Parenting / Family Fun / Family Activities

Throw a kids only Super Bowl shindig

Tip: You've done your best to throw a great bash, but boredom could still set in. Have a movie on standby for your child and his friends to watch.

If you're having people over for the Super Bowl, a fun idea is to also let your child invite a friend or two over for his very own shindig. Enlist your child's help in the party planning process and put him in charge of decorating. A fun kid's party idea is to give your child a few pieces of posterboard and let him make posters for his party. One of them can read reserved for kids only. He can also help you plan the menu and decide on some superbowl recipes for the kids. If you can set your child and his friends up in front of their own TV, all the better. And, of course, let your little one know that even though his party is for children only, your party open to all ages.

Get your child engaged in the game

Tip: For younger kids that might have to go to bed before the game is over (especially if you live on the East Coast), you can come up with a scoring system and hand out prizes at halftime.

It's no secret that a lot of children -- especially the younger ones -- won't be that interested in watching the Super Bowl (even if Tom Brady and Eli Manning are going head-to-head). But there's nothing like a fun game with some exciting prizes to change a child's perspective, right? Before the Super Bowl starts, ask your child to make some guesses about what will happen in the game.

Come up with a list of questions, such as: Who will sing the national anthem -- a girl or a boy? Which team will win the coin toss? Which team will score first? When the Super Bowl is over, tally it up. Every correct answer equals one point and a certain amount of points equals a prize. Or every correct answer equals a prize. It's your call -- you're the referee.

Set up a football-themed arts and crafts table

Tip: Stay away from projects that involve glitter, glue or anything else that's messy. The last thing you want to do is clean up a spill in the middle of a big play.

Setting up an arts and crafts area is the perfect way to keep your child occupied. Spark his creativity with football-inspired crafts that can be made with things you might already have around the house. Some ideas include: making pompoms out of tissue, football players out of construction paper and team pennants out of felt. There are also free printable coloring pages that can be easily found online.