Season Opener: Baseball Party Ideas

When it came time to plan my son Miles’ 2nd birthday, it didn’t take long to come up with a theme. At the tender age of 2, the boy is OBSESSED with anything related to sports. To narrow down the infinite list of possible sports themes, I chose the one that we’re most familiar with: baseball. My husband played baseball growing up, throughout college and still plays today, so I had plenty of baseball party ideas to get me started. Plus, with baseball season just starting, it was perfect timing!

For the invite, I chose Pear Tree’s Baseball All Star Kids Birthday Invitations. I loved that they were simple, featured a picture of Miles and were a unique shape that would stand out in the mail. The coordinating address labels carried the theme through to the envelope and were just as adorable. Additional Tip: On the invitation ask guests to wear their favorite baseball jersey to the party for added fun. My guests knew my love for ‘theme-ing’ and did it without being told. It was awesome!

For the decor, I used red and aqua to create the overall look I was going for. For the table, I purchased a red tablecloth at the local Dollar Store and used a table runner I already had to dress it up. For the centerpiece, I took a simple clear vase and filled it with baseballs, both of which I had lying around the house. I opted for new baseballs for the centerpiece but you could definitely utilize used baseballs to give the party a more vintage feel.

To bring more aqua into the table design, I purchased aqua plates from Party City and dressed them up with red napkins tied around aqua silverware. I used red and white polka dot ribbon to bring in a pattern and add a little dimension to the table. I completed the look by scattering Have a Ball Table Decor from Pear Tree onto the table.

Since you can never have too many baseball party ideas, I made a banner created out of craft paper from Michaels, and again, I brought in the red and white polka dot ribbon for a little something extra. I opted for the banner to read ‘Play Ball’ instead of ‘Happy Birthday’ as I wanted to reuse it and hang it in Miles’ room down the road.

I decided to carry the baseball theme through the food as well. We served hot dogs, brats, chips and cheese, cotton candy and fresh peanuts for guests to enjoy. For dessert, I made cupcakes and decorated them to look like baseballs.

For the food table, I again used the table decor from Pear Tree but this time displayed it differently. I drilled a hole into several baseballs and then stuck a photo clip holder (can be found at any craft store) into the holes. Then I placed the balls in small baseball gloves and attached different pieces of table decor to the photo clips.

As a thank you, I created baseball themed gift bags for the little ones that attended the party. I purchased baskets from the Dollar Store (2 for $1) and then filled them with red tissue paper. Each basket included a wristband, tattoos, stickers and a rubber baseball. The baskets were adorned with a personalized Baseball All Star Photo Gift Tags, which featured a picture of Miles and a message on the back thanking guests for attending. I also ordered personalized Hope You Had A Ball Thank You Cards from Pear Tree with Miles’ name on them. I love that the back of the thank yous were printed with a pattern.

Overall, the party was a breeze to plan. By utilizing red and aqua as the main colors and bringing in hints of baseball here and there, I could easily create the tie-together look I was going for without having to go overboard looking for baseball themed accessories. It was a hit with the guests and easy for this busy mom of two to plan… a homerun in my book! 😉

Angie:
Our guest blogger, Angie, is a busy wife and mom with two energetic (and adorable!) kids, Kate and Miles. She works as a Marketing Brand Manager, loves her husband and girls’ nights equally, and enjoys spending free time at the lake with family, shopping, playing volleyball, and Pinteresting—that is a word, right? Read more about Angie and her family at nesslerfamily.blogspot.com.