How to Throw a NERF party for GIRLS!

         Nerf—it’s a man’s world.  Or maybe a boy’s world.  Well, then again, my grown husband likes to play with Nerf just as much.  Anyways, boys and girls (young and old)  both play with Nerf but it is usually marketed towards boys.  Do a Google or Pinterest search for Nerf birthday party ideas and 99% of the results are geared towards boys' parties.  GIRLS WANT TO HAVE FUN TOO!  So here  is a blog post with lots of ideas to host a party for girls with NERF.  Nerf recently introduced the Rebelle line which is made for girls.  My son and husband play with the Nerf Rebelle guns too and my girls really enjoy having some Nerf toys in their favorite colors! So here are some tips and ideas for a great Nerf party for girls....

          First of all, you have to decide what kind of party you would like to have.  With Nerf, you have a wide variety of options.  Of course, you can always host a birthday party but you can also host a:

• Mother and daughter get together with your daughters, their friends, and their mothers.  Moms an daughters can team up to play games.
•   Just a get together or a play date
•  A sister party.  I don’t know about you but I think it might be awesome to shoot at my big sisters, play some games, and just have fun.  Yes, I am a grown woman, and yes I would totally plan a Nerf party with my grown adult sisters. Sisters of all ages could enjoy this.

          Once you’ve decided what kind of party you’d like to have, start planning.  First, think about food. I like to keep it simple: pizza and drinks.  If you want more of a theme, you could make pizzas that look like targets.  Use pepperoni to make the circles.  Set out cool drinks, especially if you are going to be playing outside on a warm day.

          Next plan for the games and activities.  Houseparty.com and Nerf have some great game ideas and printable awards here.  You will also find printable targets and a welcome sign.   If you want to use some of these games at a uni-sex party or all boy party, they can easily be modified. (Use the snipping tool to take a screen shot and open them in Microsoft Paint or Word and then you can change the words or color scheme).  Here are the games they suggested as well as some variations and ideas from me.

• Set up several “training stations":  One station could have cups stacked in a pyramid, another could have targets with a hole in the middle, another could have targets for sticky darts, etc.  This way your guests can practice using the blasters before you all play the games.  Each station could have a different Nerf Blaster for kids to try.  This is especially good for the Heartbreaker Bow--it's a lot of fun but takes a bit of practice.
• Grace Under Pressure:  Stack 5 cups and walk 5 paces away and see how many cups you knock down in 10 seconds. When we played, we stacked 12 cups!    It was fun to see them fall down and a real challenge to get them all.  Instead of a time limit, we gave everyone 3 shots.  Whoever knocks the most cups down, wins! This one is fun with the Nerf Heartbreaker Bow or Pink Crush.
• Seeing Double:  Set up two targets side by side.  The player holds two blasters and shoots at the same time trying to hit both targets.  To add difficulty, place the targets farther apart or at different heights.   If you want to use suction cup darts, don’t cut the holes in the targets and add point values or purchase Nerf Rebelle targets. You could us the Nerf Power Pair pack (it comes with two small blasters) for this game.
• Stop, Drop, And Shoot:  Set up a runway or photo booth and have guests strike their best pose with their Nerf blasters.
•   Secret Message:  Print out the Alphabet poster here.  Give one player a word on a piece of paper or she can think of her own. She then shoots at those letters (using the suction cup darts) and her partner tries to guess the word.  I found this game on Houseparty.com (which I love) but this game was pretty hard.  I suggest playing it hangman style. (I don’t know the politically correct name for this game.)  One player chooses a word or phrase.  The person counts the letters in the word or phrase and writes that many blanks on a poster or board.  Other players shoot at the poster.  The other players will try to guess that phrase in 6 turns or less. They can aim for the letter of their choice but if they miss and land on another letter that is the one they pick.  Players can take turns shooting the letters until they run out of turns or find the word. 
• Blindfolded:  Divide guests into teams of two.  One partner is blindfolded and the other is not.  The blindfolded partner holds the blaster and the other partner describes where to shoot.  Partners then switch roles.  The pair with the most hits wins. 
•  No Woman Left Behind: Set up a racetrack or obstacle course with  a starting point and finish line. Have several targets to shoot at (or stacked cups).  Divide players into teams of two. Tie them together at legs and ankles (just like for a three legged race).  Whoever can hit the most targets, while completing the course objectives in the least amount of time, wins.
•  Awards Ceremony:  Here are printable awards for each of these games.  If you want to create your own games, you could easily modify these awards to work for you.  Make a big deal out of this and you can hand out prizes if you like.  

  

  I printed these as 5 x 7's on photo paper at Sam's Club.  They looked great!

          For decorations, you can download this welcome sign.  Then go to the dollar store and buy streamers, balloons, plates, party table cloths in pink, purple, and black. Hang them however you like.  Simple and cute!

        Finally,  I created these cute thank-you cards and included them in small favor bags for my guests.  The cards have a target and in the middle they said, "Thanks for making our party a hit!" I used one of the target printables I mentioned above to make the card. I then printed the cards as 4x6's at Sam's Club.  The bags contained Nerf Rebelle bracelets, tattoos, a few toys, and candy. 

      So there is everything you need to know to throw a Nerf party for girls.  Our last party was a blast and we can't wait to do another!  Summer is coming so we might have to buy some of the Nerf Rebelle super soakers!