I’m excited to share one of my favorite team-building concepts: the Volleyball Clip-Making Party! This gathering provides a creative way for volleyball players to connect while making personalized clothespin clips to attach to teammates’ backpacks as tokens of encouragement. What started as a cheerleading tradition, secretly pinning cute customized clips to teammates belongings at competitions has spread to other sports, including volleyball. Before my daughters national volleyball competition, I wanted to create a fun event where players could gather to craft these small symbols of team spirit while building bonds that could translate onto the court. Read on to see how I set it all up!
P.S. I got most of my supplies for this party at Oriental Trading. You can find many of them on my LTK post!
How to Set up a Volleyball Clip-Making Party
Backdrop
What makes this party concept particularly fun is incorporating on-trend elements that resonate with the players. Recently, mini rubber ducks have become a popular addition to these clips, adding a playful touch that players love. So I decided to make rubber ducks a central part of our party theme! I used two large cardboard standups – a traditional yellow rubber duck and a disco duck – as the base of my party backdrop. Then, in the center, I hung white balloon garlands to look like mini volleyballs featuring letter stickers calling out the upcoming competition. I used rubber ducks at each end of the garlands.
Finally, I used a giant volleyball balloon embellished with the team name as part of the backdrop, but it also doubled as a great prop for team photos.
Table Setting
The crafting table serves as the central hub, where players can comfortably work on their clips. But while I wanted the table to be a practical workspace, I also wanted to make it fun and celebratory! I used a “Party” letter tray as a functional centerpiece to hold a variety of colorful mini rubber duck figurines. On either side of this, I added a clear rectangular tray to hold glue guns, sharpies, and some mystery mini rubber duck packs.
Next, I placed some disco balls, and then the cutest bathtub-shaped containers of letter beads (with some rubber ducks in each “bath”).
Finally, on each end of the table, I placed large candy jars FULL of colored clothespins.
Place Settings
I added large personalized stickers to the table to serve as place settings. Each sticker had the name and number of a player on the team!
Next to each sticker, I set up a couple of cute rubber duck-themed party favors. I added a “Good Luck” tag to a gold medal “winner” duckie, and set it next to a rubber duck necklace.
On the other side of the sticker, I added the cutest DIY embellished lip balms featuring the team name, volleyball, bow, and personalized letter charms.
Supply Cart
One thing I’ve learned is that these athletes can make a LOT of clips! You definitely don’t want to run out of supplies. To be sure I had enough, I set up a rolling craft cart nearby, full of additional materials. Using the cart (or a separate table) for extra supplies ensures that you don’t overcrowd your crafting table.
Snacks & Drinks
The final part of the party setup was a table for drinks and snacks! We can’t expect the athletes to craft on an empty stomach, after all. I covered the table with a volleyball-themed tablecloth, and then set up a simple basket of snacks, some yummy drinks, and volleyball cups and napkins.
Stacks of adorable rubber ducky hats made the perfect table decór and doubled as stylish favors for party photo ops.
Crafting the Clips
When it was time for the party, the girls took some time to take photos with the giant volleyball before getting to the crafting!
Once the clip crafting started, there was a mixture of pure concentration and also team-building fun!
The athletes loved showing off their completed clips.
You can watch a video of the party fun below:
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Whether you’re a coach, team parent, or party planner, this celebration creates a special opportunity for teammates to connect off the court while creating meaningful keepsakes that will inspire them for any upcoming competition.
Happy Partying!
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