Guest post by Silvia Savage.

Part 2 of a 3-part series on hosting a soccer birthday party in Vancouver. See the first article in the series on planning a soccer birthday parties for kids in Vancouver.

Now it’s game day and you’ll need to organize your soccer birthday party.

Set up two playing fields. Their size will depend on what space you have available. You  don’t need to make them too big, as the kids will play three versus three (if you have 12 guests) or four versus four (if you have 16 guests or more). If you have uneven numbers for some of the teams, you can have children substitute in the game every couple of minutes.

Each field will have two goals marked with the red cones, and six yellow cones to mark the perimeter of the field.

You will have two games going on at the same time. For example, on one field Italy will play against Spain (Group A) and on the other field, Germany will battle Mexico (Group B). The games can be as long as you wish, but a good suggestion is to play 20-minute games with a short break after 10 minutes.

Have one referee for each game. The job of the referee will simply be to blow the whistle at each goal and to make sure kids play fair. If there are uneven teams, the referee can also make sure all the kids get to play by substituting in the children who are on the sideline. This is a perfect role for an older sibling!

Once the first set of games is over, the winner of Group A will play against the winner of Group B (battling for first and second places). The other two teams will play each other for third and fourth places. Again, you can use the same format as the first games, or modify the length, depending on time and the kids’ energy.

Prizes are optional, though children love getting them. You can get lollipops, candy, or small chocolate bars for all of the teams, and add a set of medals from the dollar store for the first place team.

After the prizes are given out, it’s time for cake!

Make sure you have lots of drinks on hand. Water jugs with paper cups and juice boxes are a good choice. If it’s a hot summer day, watermelon is great to give out at half-time or in between games.

Next week, check back for ideas on goody bags for your soccer birthday party.

Silvia Savage is the owner of The Party Treasure and mom to her four kids. The Party Treasure provides quality, themed birthday party kits for 3-8 year olds, with everything you need for a fun, unforgettable party.