If your child is wild about soccer and your goal is to score big with a World Cup-caliber party, use your noggin and follow our soccer party planning tips below. Guests are sure to get a kick out of this party!

You can tailor your soccer party for any age and hold it either at home or at a local park, field or sports center. Be sure to check with location officials to make sure your rented jumper is allowed on the grounds and whether or not you need to rent or reserve space and if a generator will be required.

Invitations - If store-bought invitations aren't your style, use our free DIY Appian personalized invitation script! These feature the jump you rent (links are available at each jump page) and can be printed or saved for emailing. Or if you're hosting a party for a soccer team and wish to convey team spirit, make pennant invitations in the team's colors (see our Links below for instructions).

Have guests RSVP to the "Coach" -- you! If you'll be playing a game of soccer or running drills during the party, indicate on your invitations that guests should bring appropriate footwear and, if you think it's necessary, shin guards. If you are holding a pre- or post-season party, you may invite your guests to wear their uniforms for individual or team photos.

Decorations - If your child has a favorite team, or is a member of a team, coordinate your decorations with the team's colors. Or choose blue, green and white, the official logo colors of Major League Soccer. Use these colors if you plan to decorate with balloons or streamers. Many party supply stores carry plates, napkins, balloons and table covers specifically for soccer themed parties. Shop locally or see our Links section below for vendors.

Personalize your décor by hanging a banner over your door or lawn so guests know they've properly arrived at "Jefferson Park," "Rodriguez Arena" or "(Your Name Goes Here) Stadium." Hang soccer posters on your walls. Display trophies, pennants and uniforms from your family's collection. Create a pennant chain to hang from the ceiling or over a doorway by cutting large, identical isosceles triangles (2 sides long, 1 side short) from different colors of felt or construction paper. Fold a one-inch segment of each triangle's short side over a long length of string or twine; glue or tape to fasten in place. Repeat, adding pennants to the string until you have as many as you desire. Decorate with birthday wishes, team names or guest names.

Cover your tables with green fabric or plastic tablecloths and use white athletic tape to mark touchlines, goal lines, halfway mark, center mark, penalty area and corner arc.

Last, if your child is a fan of World Cup soccer, incorporate the international appeal of this sport by decorating your party space with flags representing powerhouse soccer countries.
Arrival Activities/Icebreakers - Upon arrival, have all guests autograph a soccer ball for the guest of honor -- your child will treasure it as a keepsake!

Pass out "funtoos," which are temporary tattoos, at the door and show your guests how to apply them. Once they're properly attired with their funtoos, children will wear them proudly and be ready to "kick off" the rest of the party activities.

Party Activities - Your guests will spend much of their time bouncing in our soccer jumper, but you may want to have a few other activities planned.

With fabric paints or pens, have children decorate plain pennants (use felt or construction paper, wrapped around dowels) or create jerseys from inexpensive plain T-shirts you've purchased.

If you don't have enough kids for a bona fide soccer game, or if your yard isn't big enough to play a game, you can still run soccer drills. Pair kids up and hold passing drills or a shoot-and-stop challenge.

Play "Soccer Croquet," which is especially suited for younger children, by creating two "goal posts" or wickets, each from half of a standard hula hoop you've cut. Push the cut ends of the hula hoop halves into the ground, leaving an arc above ground. Divide kids into two teams and have each team member dribble to the wicket, kick the soccer ball through and dribble back to his or her team member waiting next in line to dribble and kick. The team to finish first wins! You can use a series of similarly made wickets or goal posts to create a longer maneuverability drill; or create an obstacle course of wickets, backyard play equipment (have competitors climb to the top of the slide holding the ball, for example, and release the ball down the slide, or require advanced players to kick the ball over the seat of a swing), orange cones and old tires standing upright -- use your imagination and whatever you have on hand! Mark each obstacle with a numbered flag, and time each guest with a stopwatch. The fastest competitor wins a prize!

For a fun game appropriate for all ages and skill levels, play "Use It Or Lose It." Provide a wide open playing space and give each participant a large inflated balloon. Instruct players to use only their heads to keep the balloon in the air. If a player's balloon hits the ground, they are "ejected" from the game and given a red card. See who can "Use It" the longest!

Food and Beverage - Easy! This party menu writes itself! Choose from traditional soccer stadium fare like hot dogs, popcorn, pizza, peanuts, nachos, soft pretzels, sno cones, ice cream and soda or Gatorade. Appian Party Jumps has popcorn, sno-cone and cotton candy concessions available for rental to ensure authentic game-time eats! Consider asking a couple of teenagers or dad and a buddy to serve food from trays, tubs or boxes tied and secured around their necks. They can make rounds at the party urging, "Get your hot dogs right here! Peanuts! Salty peanuts!" Or provide food concession stand style -- get help from an older sibling in running your stand, which can be as simple as setting up a card table and displaying your menu selections on a large poster board. Or run your stand from inside the house, through a lower level window. Children can line up outside and "order" their choices.

If you'd rather bake instead of purchasing a cake, check out our Links below for great inexpensive soccer-themed cake toppers and a soccer-shaped cake pan.

Party Favors and Prizes - Use large plastic drinking cups or sports bottles to serve beverages and allow guests to take them home. Consider purchasing additional popcorn boxes or stadium cups and using them as "goody bags," filling them with favors such as whistles, small soccer puzzles, miniature soccer balls filled with candy, more "funtoos" and soccer stickers. Visit the web site of your child's favorite Major League Soccer team and you will most likely find small team-themed items for purchase, such as pens, pencils and rulers. These make great favors or prizes!

Music - Drew's Famous Sports Jams Party Music, Various Artists, Turn Up the Music, Inc. (1997).
ESPN Presents Stadium Anthems: Music For the Fans, Various Artists, Hollywood Records (2003).
Bend It Like Beckham, Original Soundtrack, Various Artists, Milan (2003).

Soccer Party Links - Follow the directions for making pennant invitations in your child's team colors at http://www.littledebbie.com/party/PostGame/Invite.asp.

Decorate your walls with soccer posters by shopping at http://www.allposters.com or add World Cup excitement to your party by purchasing international flags at http://www.united-states-flag.com.

Visit http://www.partysolver.com, where you can buy a colorful soccer banner, a variety of soccer decorations and tableware including stadium cups. Additionally, this online vendor offers cake toppers that will transform an ordinary sheet cake -- frosted green, of course -- into a soccer field in no time at all!

If you'd rather bake a cake that looks like a soccer ball, visit http://shindigz.com for just the right cake pan. This site also sells orange cones for your soccer drills, soccer medals, party favor packs, soccer pins, funtoos (temporary tattoos) and metal whistles as well as soccer tableware.

You might also score a few tips and treats by visiting http://www.kidssoccerworld.com, another great web site for party favors such as pencils, pens, stickers, temporary tattoos, small soccer puzzles and candy-filled soccer balls.