This coming weekend I’m hosting a multi-family tournament that bumps family game nights up a notch with the brand new Wii U that was sent to us (a nice early Christmas present!). This is the first in a series of four posts about the tournament and all the fun little details from preparation and activities to food and event specifics.

We invited three other families over for the event. The Wii U works great for large groups because four people can play at once on a split screen. We haven’t set up our Wii U yet but Henry is getting really excited about it. I  gave the other families only a couple instructions: 1. A specific color to wear and 2. Start thumb exercises 3. There will be a large trophy to win (below!)

Today I’ll show you how Henry and I made this ridiculously over-the-top WiiU trophy and these rally flags for members of the family cheering on their teammate, and for any littles that aren’t quite old enough to play.

Keep reading for the details on how I made the trophy and rally flags…

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My family game night is sponsored by Wii U. How U will play next! Click here for a chance to win a Wii U™ Deluxe Set and $5,000 to take your family on vacation!



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MAKING THE TROPHY:

1. Henry and I went for a hunt at the local thrift store for something to build on for the base of the trophy. Henry had all kind of suggestions I had to politely decline like old shoes and doll parts, so I was delighted to find this fancy looking candle holder! You could also glue together candlestick holders, plates and pieces of wood to create something similar or larger.

2. We picked up a piece of styrofoam at the local hobby store and I used a knife to cut out the shape of a giant U (for the WiiU tournament). It was easy to cut and after I did the initial cut I could sharpen areas with a smaller knife.

3. Then we glued the U onto the top of the candle stand. Luckily, the stand had a little sharp point that was meant to stick into a candle and I simple stuck in into the styrofoam U with a little help from some hot glue.

4. At this point, I just spray painted it all gold (stand too so it would be the same color gold) and it’s now sitting on our mantle waiting for the big event!

MAKING THE FLAGS:

1. I printed out ‘Go Team Stanley’ and the other family names onto some iron on transfer paper, making sure to flip them backwards.

2. I ironed on the words onto different colors of felt. Each family was assigned to wear a different color for the tournament so these flags corresponded to those.

3. Then I cut out the felt to be the shape of small flags

4. And glued little sticks on top of them. So easy!

5.  I think they’ll be a really fun addition to the party. Henry’s been parading around with the red ones all day!