Costumes & Accessories (13)

Cheerleader Party

Table of contents

Introduction

Looking for an excellent time with some of your best cheerleading friends? Well, if so we have just the thing! Below you'll find a number of tips, all of which are designed to assist you in organizing that ultimate cheerleading bash! But first, a little information on the history of cheerleading.

As every cheerleader will know, the official date of birth of this, now world famous, activity was on the 2nd of November, 1898. It was started by Johnny Campbell, a student at the University of Minnesota who directed a crowd with the cheer "Rah, Rah, Rah! Sku-u-mar, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!” - one which is still used to this day. Soon after that the university decided to appoint a squad of male students to take up this role. But they weren't called cheerleaders. They were known as "yell leaders". So, where do females - who today make up more than 97% of all cheerleaders - come in?

It was only in 1923 that females began taking part in cheerleading as there weren't many other sporting activities for them to take part in. As more and more females joined cheerleading squads, influences from other sports started blending with the cheerleading routines, typically tumbling and gymnastics.

Today there are just under 300,000 high school female cheerleaders in the United States, which forms part of the almost 3 million female high school athletes. Although this only amounts to about 3% of the total figure, almost 65% of all female athletic injuries come from this sport.

Nevertheless, cheerleading remains one of the most popular events of any sporting match... and would therefore also make an excellent theme for a party.

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Cheerleader Party Invitations

Key to any party, and therefore also a cheerleader themed party, are the invitations. It is after all the way you’ll be notifying your friends of the event and convincing them to come. Below you’ll find a couple of takes on the topic. Should you require any of the items of materials mentioned, simply pop down to your local sports retailer and buy them there. In addition, be sure to include the following information on all your invitations:

  • Party Name: Use a bit of creativity to come up with your own cheerleading party name. Think along the lines of “Sam’s Ultimate Cheerleading Bash”

  • Salutation

  • Date & Time

  • Venue/Location

  • Dress Code

  • Contact Details

  • Additional information… 

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Cheerleader Design

The cheerleader design invitation will simply require you to make use of a computer installed with the appropriate software and a printer. For those who lack a printer, just ask one of your friends if you could use theirs or go down to your local printing firm and make use of their services.

To start off, get a couple of cheerleader images onto your computer. These can either be taken from your own personal collection or downloaded from the internet. Once you have them, be sure to use image editing software to edit them and put them in the correct position on your invitation template.

Now, once that’s done, get your invitation printed. For those who want to go a bit further, use the plastic strips from real pom-poms to decorate your invitation.

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Golden Pom-Poms

One of the cheapest and easiest invitations to make, the Golden pom-poms will shout Cheerleading! and Victory!, all in the same breath.

For this invitation you’ll need to make an invitation card and purchase a set of pom-poms for each of your guests. When you’ve got them all, you’ll simply need some golden spray paint.

Covering all exposed surfaces, spray paint the pom-poms with the gold paint and let them dry. Once dried tie them together at the base with a bit of string, taking care to lodge the card invitation between them.

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Cheerleader Trophy

Whether it is because they are your friends or because you know they’ll be coming to your party… all of them are winners! And as such, why not invest in small cheerleading trophies available from your local sports retailer or online?

What you’ll need to do is get a trophy for each of your guests and have the invitation details of your party engraved on the plaque. Although quite an easy invitation to make, it might require a slight increase in budget.

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Cheerleader Party Dress Code

This area needs little introduction as we all know that the official uniform of a cheerleader anywhere in the world is the cheerleading outfit.

For those who don’t have cheerleading outfits to go with the cheerleader themed party, simply go down to your local sports retailer or have a look online.

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Cheerleader Party Decorations

Decorating your place for a cheerleader party will be as easy as “Raa! Raa! Raa!” And all you’ll need are a couple of items inherent to the sports. Here’s a short list of the most common among them:

  • Balloons

  • Pom-poms

  • Pendants

  • Banners

  • Streamers

  • Photographs of famous cheerleaders

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Cheerleader Party Guest Arrival & Announcement

To announce your guests, you’ll have to make or buy a megaphone as these are one of the traditional pieces of equipment used by cheerleaders. If you don’t know where to look for one – that is, if you’re not making one – simply have a look online.

Now, as your guests arrive, ensure that you have a cheer already made up. With the arrival of the first guests, you’ll have to do the routine yourself using the megaphone. Once they’re inside the venue, teach them the routine and the chant so that they’ll be able to do it with you as the other guests arrive.

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Cheerleader Party Favors

Stuck on ideas for cheerleader party favors? Well, don’t fret as we’ll be able to help you out.

Typical ideas in this area include all those mentioned under the decorations as well as under the invitations, though you might want to personalize them by adding the name of your party, the names of your guests and the date. These will make excellent keepsakes for years to come.

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Cheerleader Party Activities

Cheerleader party activities are as plentiful as there are routines. Below you’ll find that we have listed a few to cater for a range of tastes and preference which you may use and modify as you please.

Just note that there are certain rules and regulations pertaining to cheerleading routines which were designed with safety in mind. For this reason human pyramids, especially in a house or any other area where there may be objects or furniture, are not advised. For more information just log on to the AACCA website.

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Practice Cheerleader Routines

Do you still remember those routines you and your squad performed during matches in high school or college? Well, if you do then this will be one activity to bring back the memories and use your old pom-poms.

Should you have guests who haven’t done cheerleading before, why not teach them a couple of moves so that they’ll be able to join in the fun.

And to make the event memorable, have a camera ready for the final routine. If you haven’t thought of a party favor yet, this will make an excellent one!

 

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Cheerleader Party Competition

Stuck with a room full of cheerleaders? Well, why not start the fun and games by dividing them into groups of three or more?

The aim of this activity is for each group to choreograph a new routine based on a song that you assign them. Points are obviously awarded for synchronicity and style, which your judges panel will be able to indicate on score cards.

Again, we’d like to stress that safety should be put first.

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Cheerleading Film Marathon

And for those who don't quite feel like practicing cheerleading routines, why not just sit back, relax and let a couple of actors do the work? Over the years there have been quite a number of cheerleading movies, each with it's own central story line.

Perhaps the most famous of these movies is the "Bring It On" series, which consists of Bring It On, Bring It On Again, Bring It On: All Or Nothing and Bring It On: In It to Win It.

Other titles include Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders, Man of the House, Cheerleader Camp and Sugar & Spice.

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Cheerleading Trivia

For those who feel more inclined to sharpen their minds and fill those cheerleading educational gaps, the cheerleading trivia activity will do just the trick. Be sure to team the weaker players with the stronger players as to ensure a more balanced game of trivia.

Trivia sets can be bought from the appropriate cheerleading merchandise retailer or from the internet.

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Food & Drink

Now we all know that cheerleaders need to keep fit, so it is essential to have strictly healthy foods an drinks at the party. Nah, just kidding! We’ll leave the diet bit up to you and simply state that cheerleaders, like many other people, enjoy pizzas, burgers, barbecues and French fries just as much as the next person.

Therefore you’ll be well served to give the menu a bit of serious thought if you want to make this a night to remember.

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