Field Day Themed Adult Birthday Party

My husband is a child at heart and he loves to play games, so we recently hosted a field day themed birthday party.  I really liked this party, because all of the activities were set up so that the kids and adults were able to participate and have fun.
I used a painted Ikea chalkboard to let people know what the plan was.  I made medals from Reeces Peanut Butter Cups and York Peppermint Patties - I made a gold and silver for kids and adults for each race.

 I left chalk out and the back side blank, so that kids could have a space to draw - this ended up being a big hit.

For game set-up, I spray painted a starting line onto the grass.

I used crepe paper, and green fence posts to set up a fun finish.  I spray painted "FINISH" on the grass as well.

 For the hurdles, I bought swimming noodles and used tent stakes to keep them in the ground.  We timed these races for the big kids - adults - and the little kids were allowed to jump over them or to crawl under them.  They had fun kicking a soccer ball through them between activities too.
We did a three-legged race where people tied their ankles together.  The older kids and adults all really got into this.  After each race we awarded medals.  We also did a kid's heat each time as well - they actually enjoyed this so much that we did more than one for most of the races.

 I spray painted a line in the middle of the rope for tug-of-war.  We played in teams of four.  This was a big hit too.  Kids and adults liked this one too.

 I made a quick trip to JoAnns and bought some burlap.  I sewed some potato sacks.  Everyone loved this race.  We did three heats and then a final round.

We always make certain that there are things scattered about the lawn for kids to do: bubbles, an open sand-box, a bug net, a soccer ball, sidewalk chalk, airplane gliders, some ride on toys, etc.

 We put out and labeled two coolers for alcohol and non-alcohol drinks.

  I also find it helpful to clearly label trash, recycle and our compost bins.

This party was fun and easy to set up.  The cost for entertainment was fairly minimal - just noodles and burlap (which we will reuse) and the setup was pretty painless.  All in all: a huge hit.