Hit a Grand Slam with a Summer Baseball Party

After selecting this theme for your party, choose a slogan to use in your invitations, and to use in tying in decorations and personalized favors to your super sports theme.  Try one of the following, or brainstorm with the birthday boy or girl to come up with the perfect slogan for your party:

• ”Corey’s Home Run Happenin’!”
• “Grand Slam Gathering!”
• “Hey now…You’ll be an All-Star at Jaysen’s Party!”
• “We’re gonna have a BALL at Taylor’s Baseball Bash!”

Invitations:

Choose one of the following invitations to let your young guests know what a grand slam time they will have at the party:

• The Championship Baseball Ensemble and Major League Baseball Party Ensemble contains an invite that is perfect for this theme. Address each envelope to “Big Hitter Josh” (each child’s first name.)

• Treat the kids to an invitation that will transport them straight to the 7th inning stretch at Yankee Stadium or Wrigley Field.  Start with a design invitation, which can be imprinted with your slogan or logo, and any wording you wish.  Attach a box of Cracker Jack to the invite with curling ribbon, and you could paraphrase the wording to “Take me out to the Ball Game!” to create a very clever invitation.  For example, “Take me out to Cameron’s Birthday Ball Game….Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, etc.”

• Be sure that the invitation notes that kids should come dressed to participate in sporting activities, including the right kind of footwear.

Transform Your Party into a Big League Event with Baseball Decorations

You won’t have to wait for the World Series to experience the thrill this baseball party is sure create!  We’ve gathered everything you’ll need to decorate and celebrate grandstand style, and to guarantee all-star action for everyone!  Decorating for this party can be fairly simple, because typically this party will be held at a ballpark, schoolyard, backyard, or gym and the focus will be on playing the game.  Try to greet guests with a festive welcome, and create over-the-top tables for eating, and for food and gift display!

Outdoor decorations:
• Line a walkway with red shimmer star cut outs, writing each guest’s name on a star.  Tape the stars with masking or duct tape to the sidewalk, walkway or exterior walls leading to the site of the party.  The stars can also be used on the food table and as place cards.
• Attach a bouquet of helium filled balloons to a light post or mailbox so there will be no mistaking where the fun will be that day!

Indoor Decorations
• Start your decorating with our Championship Baseball Party Kit or Major League Baseball Party Kit. This ensemble contains balloons, streamers, curling ribbon, a cascading centerpiece, pennant cutout, molded baseball candles, and even a Baseball Piñata to match your theme!
• Our orange cheer phones (sport cones) are great for running drills, and they will also add a great splash of color to any party location!
• Stand life-sized stand ups of sports heroes around the table…Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriquez or Derek Jeter would all be welcome guests!
• Pay tribute to your child’s favorite pro team by adding logoed pennants, caps, bats, or autographed balls…anything you have around the house.
• Balloons can economically transform any room or yard into a festive space in a matter of minutes by using some of the following ideas:
-Use a helium tank to fill balloons.  Tie Curling Ribbon to balloons, and group them together. (Odd numbers look best: 3, 5, or 7) Place groupings of balloons around the party site.
-Tie a bunch of helium filled balloons to the birthday child’s chair, or tie one balloon to the back of each chair.
• If your party is indoors, or if you are eating in a separate room, streamers offer an economical way to splash lots of color around the site of the party.  Create a fun and colorful effect by draping printed streamers from the center of the ceiling to the walls on each side of the room.  The streamers can be twisted after they are anchored to a ceiling wall or table for a more dimensional look.  They also look terrific hanging from doorframes or cascading vertically down walls.

Table Decorations:
• Setting a table with the party ware, including the tablecloth, cups, plates, napkins, and cutlery is the fastest way to create a focal point in a room.  Start by setting your table with all the goodies in the Championship Baseball Ensemble, creating a place setting at the table for each birthday guest.  Setting the table with all the tableware creates a much more dazzling effect.
• Add one or a few of the following touches to personalize your tables:
• Cover the gift or food table with either grass green floral sheeting vinyl to create a clever surface that resembles a ball diamond.  Use white athletic tape to create the bases, home plate and foul lines.
• Place a diamond shaped piece of the “infield” (same material as the table cover grass) under each plate as a placemat on the table where the kids will eat.
• Hang personalized vinyl pennants down the back of each chair around the table.  A treasured pennant will hang in the birthday boy or girl’s bedroom for many years to come!
• Set a personalized cheer phone at each place setting as a place card.
• Turn well-washed batting helmets upside down, and use them as serving bowls for dry snacks such as chips, pretzels or Cracker Jack.
• Display your birthday cake in the center of the table…the kids will love the close up view!
• Add other personalized items, such as a stadium cup, to each place setting to let the birthday boy or girl know just how special he/she is.  These items will stir fond memories of the “best birthday ever” for many years to come.

Food Ideas for a Ball Park Baseball Party

The kids will be root, root, rooting for more when you serve baseball cake and ice cream!  A Sport Ball Cake Pan includes easy-to-follow directions, and can be modified to create a terrific baseball cake.
To make the cake a real standout, cover the food table with either grass covering creating a clever surface that resembles a ball diamond.  Place the baked and cooled cake in the center.  Decorate the cake, and then use white athletic tape or white piped frosting to create the bases, home plate and foul lines.  The other food can then be placed on the table around the cake.
If you are serving more people than can be accommodated by one boxed mix, which is what this pan calls for, we recommend that you simply bake extra cupcakes, or an extra rectangular cake.  All can be frosted in matching frosting, and cut and served behind the scenes.

Food:
• As the excitement is so high at children’s birthday parties, most children under the age of 10 will eat very little, and the waste can be disheartening.  If you are entertaining a younger crowd, schedule your party during a time when parents will not expect that their children will eat a meal…and serve only cake, ice cream, and a few other munchies such as Cracker Jackstm, peanuts in the shell (provided that you’ve checked with parents about allergies), grapes, or Baby Ruth Candy Barstm.
• If you are serving a meal, serve typical “sports spectator” concession stand food – hot dogs, nachos, soft pretzels, pizza, chips, popcorn, and snow cones.  Use die-cut shimmer stars to label each dish with a creative name.  Dugout Dogs (hot dogs), Homerun Hamburgers, No-hit Nachos, Strike Out Snow Cones, Pop Fly Pizza, Catcher Corn Dogs, and Grand Slam Grapes would all be fun to serve and eat!  Turn well-washed batting helmets upside down, and use them as serving bowls for dry snacks.  The leftover shimmer stars can be used to create place cards for each all-star at the party!

Activities for a Home Run of Baseball Party

Put me in coach…I’m ready to play!  You’ll score a home run with this baseball party.
• Purchase an inexpensive t-shirt and baseball cap for each guest from a discount store (Wal-Mart carries them for approximately $2.00-3.00/top, and $1.00-2.00 per cap). On the back of each jersey write the guest’s last name and add large numbers using fabric paint.  The kids can decorate the hats if you have extra time at the party.  Let the kids suit up, and then take lots of pictures of your child’s “team”…the kids will love it!
• Balls, bats and mitts are the most critical element for a baseball party!  Baseball favor packs contain both Official Size/Weight Baseballs, and Baseball shaped Kick balls.  If the party is being held in a gym or backyard, add a pitcher’s mound, bases and home plate.  Plan time for the kids to play as they choose.  They will enjoy this as much as anything you might organize.
• Using a metal whistle and orange cheer phones (as sport cones) run some organized baseball drills or create a few fun “Skill-Seeking” games.
• If your party will be held outdoors, prior to the party blow up approximately 3-4 water-filled balloons (5”) per child.  Have the kids play a traditional water balloon toss game, instructing them to try to master their pitching skills!
• Divide the guests into two equal teams for a Home Run relay. Create two starting lines with masking tape, and place two bases about 15-20 yards away. Line the teams up with the uniforms at the starting line. At the sound of the whistle, the first player on each team quickly dresses up, runs the course, and then returns the uniform to the next player. The first team to have all of its players complete the course wins. A batting helmet, oversized baseball jersey, men’s sized cleats or cross-trainers, and a bat for each team will lead to some homerun fun!
• Divide the party guests into two equal groups.  About 25 yards away, place mounds of inflated balloons by two orange cheer phones. These balloons should be over-inflated to make popping easier. At the sound of a whistle the first two relay contestants, one from each team, run to the cones and remove one balloon.  Each must sit on a balloon until it pops. Once the balloon pops, the players run back to the starting line, and tag the next player in line. The first team to complete the course wins.  Not a quiet game…but a guaranteed favorite!
• Set the stage for “Game 7 of the Birthday Series” complete with dazzling player introductions, pumped up music, and play-by-play commentary.  Moms and dads can be invited back to the party early to root, root, root for the home team, and to witness this spectacle.  You’ll definitely want the video camera running!
• All the finest sporting venues have a gimmick for introducing the starting lineup!  Start with our budget priced solid color flat paper, which comes in 4’ X 50’ rolls.  Prior to the party, cut the paper into 6’ sections.  Using poster paint, write each child’s name, nickname and number in large print on the paper.  Have an adult helper hold each end of the paper at the start of the game, and let each player crash through the paper as his/her name is announced.  If the children are younger, you may want to perforate the center of the paper with a pin or small nail before the party to make the big entry easier.
• A Karaoke Machine is the perfect tool for a sports commentator to call the play-by-play!  Recruit dad or another sports nut for the job.  Give the announcer the kid’s names and numbers, and some pre-scripted notes with a little personal bio of each child.  Give each child equal airtime, despite the fact that some may be gifted athletes, while others will have had little or no experience with the game.  Depending on the ages of the guests, you may want to have a batting tee available.
• Ya’ll ready for this?  Pump up the jam with some great sports arena music and sound effects.  The ESPN Jock Jams and Jock Rock series of CDs are great.  The background sound will relax the kids who might be a little intimidated, and fire up the whole team!  Let the “G” rated trash talk begin!  “Hey batter, batter!”
• We offer a wonderful baseball piñata and we’ve yet to find a child who doesn’t want to take a swing at one at a party.  For a fun twist, use a bat as the stick to break the piñata.
• Take party guests to a facility with batting cages or to a high school, college or pro game if a baseball field isn’t available.

World Series Favors for a Baseball Bash

Send guests home from your baseball themed party with sporting favors to help them remember your party by. These are just a few favor ideas that’ll be a home run with your guests.

Fun Favors:
• We offer three great favor pack sizes…big, bigger and biggest! Baseball favor packs include an awesome selection of treats for your hard-working catcher, shortstop, pitcher and fielders at prices that will fit any budget.
• Whether the bottles are filled with Gatorade or water throughout the party, athletes need to constantly replenish their liquids.  Let the little sports heroes do so in style with our super cool Championship Baseball Water Bottles!  Each bottle contains a removable squeeze baseball…making it a two-for-one hit!
• Our inexpensive square shaped baseball medals with neck ribbons can be awarded at the end of the party for sportsmanship or skill.  Either way, the kids will feel they’ve won the World Series!
• Baseball spirit pins are great for backpacks or jackets, and will be treasured long after the party ends.
• Glow items and fiber optic wands are a universal favorite of all-stars everywhere!
• Every sporting venue filled with frenzied fans needs some foam We’re #1 Mitts, pom poms, and personalized vinyl pennants to wave to cheer on the home team.
• Create memories that will last long after the party ends by giving personalized favors.  We offer Stadium Cups, Acrylic Frames and much more…all personalized with your child’s slogan and name .
• Have inexpensive bubbles imprinted with your party slogan… a must for any birthday party!
Napkins:
• Order red napkins and have them imprinted with your party slogan and the design of your choice.  Select a metallic or foil imprint.  The napkins will serve several purposes…great decorating in disguise and a treasured memento for the birthday boy or girl’s scrapbook.  Try one of the following ideas to liven up your table:
• The napkins can be laid out on a serving table, or can be displayed at each place setting.  Place napkins in the center of each place setting at an angle.
• Unfold the napkins, pinch each in the center of the napkin and place the center point in the bottom of each cup from the Major League Baseball Ensemble. This adds a festive touch while the cups are still empty.
• Tie napkins with curling ribbon and place in the center of each plate at an angle.  Add a baseball medal or a metal whistle to the top of each bundle.  The cutlery can also be added before the napkin is tied with ribbon.