Throw a Baseball Themed Party

Throwing a baseball themed party is an opportunity with almost limitless potential. Provide your guests with snacks of the sort typically found at a baseball game like popcorn, peanuts, and Cracker Jack. Invite your guests to partake in games of skill like throwing a baseball at a target or through a hoop. You might also choose to watch a baseball-themed movie or play a baseball trivia game with your assembled friends. Use your imagination and your knowledge of your party guests to determine the best way to throw a baseball-themed party.

Steps

Choosing Snacks

  1. Offer Cracker Jack. Because of a popular children’s song about baseball that refers to Cracker Jack, this sweet, crunchy snack is a mainstay at baseball stadiums, and will be a hit at your baseball-themed party. If you can’t locate Cracker Jack, just pick up a tub of some other caramel corn.[1]
    • You could buy a big box and dump the Cracker Jack in a central bowl for everyone to share, or you could provide smaller, individual bags for your guests.
  2. Provide popcorn. Popcorn is a salty, buttery treat available at most baseball games. You could make popcorn from microwaveable bags or from loose kernels dropped in an air popper or on the stovetop using hot oil. To beautify your popcorn presentation, obtain a few sturdy plastic popcorn containers – the sort with four tall sides and ridges along the top edge.[2]
    • For a healthier alternative, lightly salt and butter your popcorn, or don’t add any at all.
  3. Provide Babe Ruth candy bars. Babe Ruth was a famous baseball player in the early 20th century. A popular candy bar was named after him. Your baseball-themed party will truly be complete when you “invite” Babe to join you and your friends.[3]
  4. Offer peanuts. Unshelled peanuts are a common snack at the ballpark. Provide a bowl of peanuts for you and your friends to munch on and an extra bowl to dispose of the shells.[4]
  5. Make some baseball cupcakes. Bake a regular vanilla or chocolate cupcake of any size. Top them with a thin veneer of icing of your choice, then gently roll the iced top around in white nonpareils. Finally, use a fine-tipped tube of red frosting to add some baseball “stitching” in the form of two inward-bending semi-arcs.[2]
  6. Serve beverages in squirt bottles. Instead of serving beverages in cups, set the table with squirt bottles of the variety used by professional baseball players. If you or your guests are partial to a particular team, you might choose to obtain squirt bottles emblazoned with the logo of that team.[5]
  7. Make an all-star sundae. Obtain some mini baseball helmets (available at your local novelty store) and turn them upside down. Using the helmet as a small bowl, place a scoop of ice cream in it. Provide several bowls of toppings like nuts, cherries, sprinkles, chocolate nibs, and so on. Encourage partygoers to decorate their sundae as they see fit.[6]

Decorating the Room

  1. Celebrate your favorite team. If you have a favorite baseball team, you can use pennants, streamers, and balloons to show your team spirit. Put up streamers using your favorite baseball team’s colors. For instance, if your favorite baseball team’s colors are red and white, obtain some red and white streamers and connect them from one end of the room to the other.[4]
    • Alternately, or in addition, obtain some red and white balloons and let them float about the room.
    • Hang a few pennants with your favorite team’s logo on the wall.
    • It might be possible to get balloons in the shape of baseballs or baseball hats.[6]
  2. Put up posters of famous players. You can easily obtain posters of famous baseball players at your local poster or arts and crafts store, or online. Some famous baseball players you might want to include:[7]
    • Babe Ruth
    • Derek Jeter
    • Jackie Robinson
    • Hank Aaron
  3. Choose a baseball-themed centerpiece. In the center of your dining table, set baseball trophies, baseballs, and gloves. You might also buy – or make – jars that evoke the appearance of a baseball. For instance, you might paint a Mason jar white, then paint baseball “stitching” on it by tracing wide arcs up two opposite sides in red paint. Place silverware, extra napkins, or other dining paraphernalia in the jars.[4]
  4. Break out the baseball-themed tableware. Get some baseball-themed plates, napkins, cups, and the like to spruce up your party. These napkins and cups might feature images of baseball players, team logos, or baseball equipment.[2]
  5. Hang a piñata. The piñata can be used as a festive decoration or you could encourage your party guests to actually hit it. The piñata might be shaped like a baseball, baseball glove, or another baseball-themed item.[6]

Choosing Activities and Games

  1. Play baseball. If your baseball-themed party is held at or near a baseball diamond, you might wish to play baseball with your friends. If this is part of the party itinerary, be sure to let partygoers know ahead of time so they can bring their equipment, including baseballs, bats, hats, helmets, and so on. Bring extra equipment, too, for those who don’t have their own.[4]
    • If no baseball diamond is within reach, you can still play baseball safely using a wiffle ball – a lightweight plastic ball that will not shatter windows should it come in contact with them.
  2. Play wacky baseball. Instead of regular baseball, add new rules that require everyone to run around the bases backwards or throw pitches underhanded only. These new rules will put a fun twist on a classic game.[6]
  3. Show a baseball-themed film. Movies like The Sandlot, Bad News Bears, or Field of Dreams will set the mood for your baseball-themed party. You might choose to conduct an informal survey of your guests before the party to discover their favorite baseball-themed films, and show one of them.[3]
  4. Play a name-identification game. Print out 20-30 images of popular baseball players. Hold an image before the assembled party guests. Award a point to the person who correctly identifies the player first. Put the image down and then show the assembled guests the next image.[4]
    • Instead of printing the images out, you could load them on a flash drive and plug it into a TV equipped with a USB port.
    • You could add bonus questions for each image. For instance, after a party guest correctly identifies the player in the image, you might ask a bonus question like, “What college team did this player play for?”
  5. Throw baseballs at a bullseye. Hang a sheet painted with a bullseye in front of a fence. Encourage partygoers to hit the center of the bullseye, which should be just slightly larger than the diameter of the baseball. Allow players three chances to hit the center.[6]
    • If a player hits the center of the bullseye, they win.
    • If you wish, you could assign each ring of the baseball a point value, with the zones closer to the center progressively higher point values. This would allow two or more players to compete against each other for the high score.
    • Ensure nothing breakable is nearby.
  6. Encourage partygoers to knock over stacked cans. Arrange some empty aluminum cans on a small table in a triangle shape. For instance, you might place three cans on the bottom row, then balance two cans on the first row, then balance a fifth can between the two cans on the second row. Invite partygoers to toss a baseball at the cans arranged on the table. Whoever knocks over the most cans wins.[4]
  7. Set up a series of hoops as targets. Set a hula hoop about 20 paces away. Encourage partygoers to throw a baseball through it. If they get it through, move the hoop another 10 paces away. Continue in this way to discover which partygoer has the strongest and most accurate throwing arm.[5]

Tips

  • Give your guests a small bag of party favors when they leave. You might include a pack of baseball cards, a mini baseball helmet, a small box of caramel corn, baseball-themed pens or pencils, or a baseball player action figure or figurine.[4]

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.bitememore.com/createme/99/how-to-throw-a-baseball-bash
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/throw-baseball-themed-kids-party/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.bitememore.com/createme/99/how-to-throw-a-baseball-bash
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 http://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com/baseball_birthday_party.htm
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://creative-party-themes.com/baseball_theme_party.html
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/party-ideas/a17220/kids-party-baseball-may07/
  7. ↑ http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/party-ideas/a17220/kids-party-baseball-may07/
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