Homemade Miniature Golf
Invitations
To
make “golf ball” invitations, fold white paper
in half. Trace around a small bowl on each paper, slightly
overlapping the folded edge.
Cut out the circle. On the front, print “You’re invited to a mini- golf party!” Use crayons or markers to make the invitation look like a golf ball. Inside the card, write
• Where: (your full name)’s Home Golf Course
• Address: (your address)
• Date: (date of the party)
• Tee time: (time the party begins)
(Party ends at ____ o’clock.)
• Refreshments will be served.
• Please reply: (your phone number)
Decorations
Cut out a large poster-board circle and decorate it to look
like the golf-ball invitation. With your parents’
help, hang it on your front door.
Decorate the table with a white tablecloth and green paper plates. At each place setting, draw a “green” with a green crayon and provide a plastic spoon and green napkin.
Make small flags from paper and tape them near the tops of straws (leaving room for your guests to drink). Place one in each guest’s drink cup. Write guests’ names on the flags to use them as placecards.
Decorate the room with small white balloons and green crepe-paper streamers.
Preparing
the Golf Course
You’ll need an open area, such as a yard, basement,
or garage. The ideas for creating a home-made miniature-golf
course are nearly endless. Use your imagina-tion and available
materials to design your own. Here are some ideas.
Collect materials ahead of time so that each guest can make and decorate a golf club at the party. Use a long cardboard tube for each club. To add the club head, cut a piece of heavy cardboard about 3 inches wide and 10 inches long. Fold it in half and tape it to the bottom of the club. Paint the club.
Provide one plastic golf ball or table-tennis ball for each guest. Use a permanent marker to write guests’ names on the balls.
To make the golf “holes,” use various containers, such as buckets, plastic flowerpots, or well-rinsed milk cartons. Lay the containers on their sides so the golf balls will roll into them easily. Secure them by placing bricks or rocks alongside.
Make ramps by propping one end of a piece of thin wood or thick cardboard on a brick. You can fold up the edges of the cardboard to make a rim so balls won’t fall off the sides. Other possible ramp materials include rubber doormats or bathmats or pieces of plastic racetrack. Place a container upright under the high end of the ramp.
To make tunnels, ask a parent to help you cut cardboard con-tainers or plastic bottles in half lengthwise, remove the tops and bottoms, and line up the middle sections from end to end.
A sandbox can become a “sand trap.” Or you might require guests to putt up a ramp and over a short jump to another ramp.
Short on space? Build your course in a smaller area. Tee off with “golf ball” marbles and “golf club” rulers. Sink putts into yogurt tubs and paper cups and through cardboard-tube tunnels.
Activities
Golf-Ball
Guess
Fill a large clear-plastic jar with miniature marshmallows.
(Count them as you put them in.) As guests arrive, have
them guess the number of “golf balls” in the
jar. Give a small prize to the person whose guess is closest.
Mini-Golf
Game
When all guests have arrived, it’s tee-off time! Make
sure holes are clearly marked so players can follow your
course. Have everyone go through the course together. For
a large group, split into teams. Give players paper and
pencils to keep track of their strokes. The player or team
to get through the course with the lowest number of strokes
wins.
Golf
Buddies
Seat your guests at the dinner table. Provide them with
scissors, glue, felt, markers, fabric, and yarn. Give each
guest a plastic golf ball, tee, and some modeling clay.
Have them create a face on the golf ball, then glue the
“head” onto a golf-tee “body” and
stand their creation in a small, shaped mound of clay. When
everyone has finished, clear away the craft materials.
Tee-Tin
Toss
One at a time, players stand behind a line and try to toss
seven golf tees into a muffin tin about five feet away.
The person who gets in the most tees wins.
One
Fell into the Water Trap
Arrange several objects on a tray. Show the tray to the
guests for one minute. After taking the tray out of sight,
remove one object. Have players guess which item has disappeared.
Refreshments
Let golfers assemble their own “club” sandwiches
from bread, luncheon meat, tuna or egg salad, cheese and
tomato slices, lettuce, and mayonnaise or mustard. Serve
fruit juice with ice cubes that have mini-marshmallow “golf
balls” frozen inside them.
For
dessert, crush tan-colored cookies into a 
small
bowl (the sand trap) for each guest, and put small balls
of ice cream on top.
As guests leave, give them their hand-made golf clubs and golf buddies to take home—and thank each guest for spending a day of golf and fun with you!
