15 Ideas for Archery Themed Parties (and not just for kids!)

Posted on 12th December, by Hatfield in Archery

Archery is such a fun and exciting activity so why wouldn’t you want an archery themed party? Most of the time kid’s get all the fun, but we’ve found some ideas that everyone can enjoy and a couple of these amazing Archery Party ideas are adults only!

General Archery Themed Party Decorations

Whether you choose to buy or DIY your own party decorations, you’re only limited by your imagination. Things such as table decorations, personalized candy wrappers, banners, invitations, thank you cards, homemade bows and arrows…we think you get the picture. Here are some of our favorite examples:

TheChic – DIY Guide for Katniss Everdeen Gift Bags

Ikatbag –DIY Kids Archery Party

Hostess with the Mostess – Check out these free Hunger Games printable designs!

PearTreeSpace – Customizable Archery Party Bundle

Archery Themed Food

Well let’s see there’s food on a parachute (remember the supply drops in the Hunger Games?), amazing cupcake and cake designs (archery but also hunting themed), cookies, fruit in the shape of an arrow, and even chocolate molds (Mockingjay Pendant). Here are some of our favorite DIY, extravagant, and downright cute food ideas from across the internet:

Pinterest – Woodland Cake

Shower of Roses – Archery Cake

Flickr – Archery Cake

Pinterest – Fruit Arrows

Maddy Cakes Muse – Robin Hood Cake

Kara’s Party – Archery Themed ideas

CakesDecor – Archery Cupcakes

Robin Hood Cookies

Archery Tag

Similar in style to Paintball or dodgeball, Archery Tag uses bow and (thankfully foam-tipped) arrows for an action packed game which is great for family, friends, and of course bachelor parties. Each location will be different depending on where you setup your course, but the game generally consist of two or more teams who play against each other to either shoot each other, shoot certain targets or seize an objective (like capture the flag). The field typically has obstacles and safe zones to further complicate the game.

Source: Daily Telegraph

Costume Party

Ah the old costume party. Even if you don’t want to pull out a bow and arrow you can still dress up! This short list of great costume ideas can be either bought online or created yourself, but the possibilities are endless!

Robin Hood (The reliable favorite)
Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner – The Avengers)
Legolas (Orlando Bloom – The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit)
Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly – The Hobbit)
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider – 2013 onwards)
Princess Merida (Brave)
Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games)
Cupid (We suggest pairing the bow with a toga or loincloth at a minimum!)
Isabel (Natalie Portman – Your Highness)
Andromeda (Rosamund Pike – Wrath of the Titans)
Green Arrow (Stephen Amell – Arrow)
Neytiri (Zoe Saldana – Avatar)
Queen Susan the Gentle (Anna Popplewell – The Chronicles of Narnia)
Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel – Blade: Trinity)
Alec Lightwood (Kevin Zegers – The Mortal Instruments)
Eragon (Edward Speleers – Eragon)
Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus – The Walking Dead)
Sylvanas Windrunner (Warcraft)
Guinevere (Keira Knightley – King Arthur)
Prophet (Crysis 3)

Check out our article on the top 20 famous fictional archers for some more info and pictures.

Archery dance party

Some local ranges such as this one even offer an indoor disco setup with animal targets, now that’s impressive!

Source: Heights Outdoors

Archery Golf

Based on the rules of golf, the game uses a bow and arrow to shoot at a series of holes, goals or targets with the main objective to hit the targets in the least number of shots.

Simple Party Bow and Arrow Sets

Simple and safe Party Archery Sets for children’s parties. These are cheap, safe, and a great alternative to home made sets (typically using cut up hoola hoops).

Archery Paint

Using suction cup arrows and a few buckets of paint, a masterpiece rivaling Da Vinci can be made in an afternoon. For a great “How To” guide see All Things Thrifty’s Brave Party Guide.

Wedding Ideas

An archery theme can be elegantly incorporated into any wedding. Take a look at these ideas!

Tulle & Chantilly – Hunger Games Inspired Bride

Ruffled Blog – Archery Seating Chart

Martha Stewart Weddings – Seating Chart

Courtney Clarke Photography – Hunger Games Wedding Cake

Baby Shower – Guess the Gender

The Buck or Doe theme can be great if you have managed to keep the gender of your baby a secret. It can even be used as a target where your guests try to guess the gender by shooting an arrow at the buck or doe. Problem is, they will want to know who is right at the end of the game!

Source: Kate Aspen

Source: Etsy

Zombie Apocalypse

How amazing are these Zombie Targets!! Grab a few friends and get ready for a Zombie Apocalypse with bleeding targets! Available in paper, bleeding targets, mutating targets (yup they glow when you hit them), vermin, and skeet holding face off. Get ready to discuss your survival tactics and why not incorporate them into an obstacle course or Halloween party.

Source: Zombie Industries

The Hunger Games Drinking Game

(not recommended before or when actually shooting!!)

Have a night in with friends and try this drinking game while watching The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Have a sip when:

An arrow is shot
Gale and Katniss kiss
How about whenever you see Gale
Peeta and Katniss kiss
Katniss is referenced as “The Girl on Fire”
You see a parachute drop
Effie’s wig changes
Someone makes the three finger salute
You see a force field
Lightning strikes the arena tree
A tribute dies

Have a shot:

When you see the Mockingjay Pin
In honor of Rue
Effie says “mahogany”
Johanna strips in the elevator

Chug your drink:

In honor of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in his first appearance in the movie

Pick someone else to have a shot:

First one to call out when Peeta drops the baby bombshell gets to pick
First one to call out when someone mentions Jennifer Laurence or Liam Hemsworth gets to pick

The Oxford University Company of Archers Drinking Game

(absolutely 100% not recommended before or when actually shooting!!)

Thanks to Oxford University, this is the classiest sounding drinking game we’ve found!
The scoring is fairly simple: Everyone has the first two drinks to qualify. Then you go down the list in order, and for each drink you get the score you’d expect if you hit the appropriate ring on an archery face (10 zone scoring). If you can finish the drink in a single motion (e.g. you chug it), its worth double points. Straws are not allowed.

Drink	Target	Points
1 pint Lager 1 pint Bitter 1 pint lemonade 1 double Vodka 1 pint Guinness 1 double Bacardi and Coke 1 bottle Labbatt’s blue 1 double Blue Curacao 1 pint Snakebite and black 1 double Pernod and black 1 pint cider and Hooch 1 double Advocaat 1 Cadbury’s Creme Egg	Qualifier Qualifier White White Black Black Blue Blue Red Red Gold Gold Bulls Eye	No points No points 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points 6 points 7 points 8 points 9 points 10 points Tie-Break

There is no set time limit for finishing each drink, or for finishing the game. You can make up your own if you like to alter the difficulty level; but the guys at Oxford consider you a wuss if you take more than two hours to finish the 10 scoring drinks.

Archery Obstacle Course

Target Archery is great fun but picture this: a tough mudder style obstacle course with marked and unmarked targets and even a flying pig! (By the way in this scenario the pig is a fake 3D target. please don’t fly a real pig through the air!) Make the course as challenging or leisurely as you like. If you’re anything like us at TheModernArcher, you will want a true competition.

Source: AL.com

Source: Aliexpress.com

Other Party Games & Ideas

Wikipedia has a whole list of archery games which can be played at your local archery range, or in your own backyard if it’s big enough. Local ranges frequently offer party packages so it would be well worth taking the time to contact your local archery range. One of our personal favorites involves shooting blunt arrows at Piñata’s!