Our relay is held so late in the year that our 2009 theme was Celebrating More Birthdays. We decided on the theme just after the ACS started promoting themselves as the official sponsor of birthdays. Anyway, I ws the entertainment chair person (new to relay and now to committee so not everything went acording to plan). Anyway I encourage teams to celebrate their favorite birthday. My team is fairly young so we celebrated the 21st birthday. We decorated our campsite as the birthday girls bedroom, just after she finished getting ready, with clothes thrown all over the room, make up spilled over the vanity, presents/flowers/ballons all over and made a sign "Out Celebrating our 21st. Join us under the Food Pavilion!" Where we sold (non-alcoholic) jello-shots(cups) and beverages.

One team throw a slumber party, and one decorated for a baby's 1st first birthday. I was so busy running around with entertainment I didn't get a chance to see everything. There were lots of balloons and streamers. (Encourage your teams not to hand out thse blow-out noise makers - we didn't have a problem with it at our relay, but I was at one relay where kids had these and didn't stop blowing them during the ceremonies)

We planned on making a giant birthday cake out of cardboard boxes and letting the survivors decorate it with 'confetti' we were going to cut several circles (confetti pieces) and have the survivors write their name/survivor date on them and put them on the cake at the completion of their lap.

We also hate a crazy birthday hat lap where teams made hats and wore them around the track. Some people made hats out of the traditional birthday shaped cone hats, others wrapped boxes in birthday wrapping paper and others were just plain crazy.

One team brought in a DJ - for a donation he would play a song, for a larger donation he quit playing that song. And another team sold the pull string pinatas.

If I think of anything else or find some pictures I will be sure to post them. Good luck!

Amanda
Relay for Life Monroe County, IL

Our Relay theme this year is also birthdays.
We have just gotten started, but my team is going to try a backyard camp out theme. We will pitch a tent, make a fake fire ring use our folding chairs, maybe put up some fake bushes. We are going to serve hot dogs and sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions.
I'll let you know when our other teams post their plans and hopefully it will give you some ideas, good luck!