Event Decor: Football Theme

For those of you who are interested in ideas to put on a spectacular event, I'll be posting blogs here and there about events too. In my new role overseeing special events at my church, I get the privilege of working with a fantastic team of creative and hard-working individuals!

Here's the outdoor ambience we did for our C3 Halftime Event, a fundraising event that centered around a football theme last month. We converted the courtyard into a football field.



First we cut up the astroturf into pieces and taped them down. Next we cut out stencils for the name in the end zones.



Then it was time to spray it with spray paint.



I worked on the logo by myself, cutting out the stencil. You can also see at the end the pieces of astroturf that haven't been made into a field yet.



Then I sprayed the stencil.



Finished sprayed logo.



Then it was time to tape down the seams. We used white gaffer's tape.



We were tired so we just wanted to go home but then we noticed that one person had taped down some hash marks. In the end, all 3 of us sighed because we are perfectionists so we spent extra time taping down more hash marks. But at least we all worked together and it went quickly! I think they added a lot to the field and made it look more real!



Here's the other side of the field with the name sprayed down!



Then we put up the goal posts, made out of PVC pipe by a volunteer.



And here's the final field! Our courtyard is transformed into a football field!



Here is how the field looked with all the balloons in place - balloon column and a mylar football tied to the goalpost.



Closeup view:



The stage was transformed into a locker room.



All the worship team members wore football jerseys or sports shirts.

Organizing and Creating Ultra-Creative Family Newsletters

It's that time of year to start sending out newsletters! But instead of sending out the usual one-page summary of what's going on, why not create something that's a step beyond and that will bring delight to your friends as they experience your creation?

We've sent out our "newsletter" repackaged in interesting ways. Over the years, these have created a loyal mailing list of people who ask to be kept on. They can't wait to open the package to see what surprise awaits!

We've sent the newsletter as:

• an annual report
• a stamp collection
• a portfolio
• a travel guide
• a Star Trek manual (complete with husband's photo doctored up to be a Ferengi, Vulcan and Klingon)

This year I'm working on a map collection!

Here are some suggestions if you'd like to put together something creative.

1. Decide on content. What do you want to include? There are a multitude of subjects you can include:

• review of events
• photographs
• quotes
• family statistics
• interests (books, movies, hobbies)
• travel

2. Collect information. Go through the calendar and recall what happened last year. Write down notes. Ask family members what they'd like to include. Go through your photos and pick the best ones. I like to put the information into a Word document as a big list of things that might be included.

3. Select a theme. Think about what might make your newsletter more creative. The best source I find is to keep your eyes open for something you might create a spoof out of. You can change your newsletter to just about anything!

• magazine
• newspaper
• brochure
• tickets/movie promotion

4. Figure out your budget. Putting these creations together requires a budget because most likely you will need to get something that's beyond your usual Christmas paper. Estimate how much you might need for:

• paper
• envelopes
• postage
• printer toner or ink/cost of copies
• artistic supplies such as ribbons, fasteners, stickers
• basic office supplies such as tape, glue

5. Purchase supplies. Look for sales or order online. One of my favorite vendors for reasonably priced paper supplies is http://www.marcopaper.com.

6. Lay out your newsletter. Using Word or another publishing program, put your information in order. Try to group similar things together. Think of a layout as a stranger would read it. Are things in logical order? Is it easy to find things? Try to prevent jumping around.

7. Produce your newsletter. Print, copy, cut, assemble. If you have children, this is a good time to put them to work! Then it's time to send them out and relax after all your work!

Welcome!

Like to organize? Like to lead? Like to be creative in your communication? We'll touch on these subjects! To check out more articles, click here.