Baseball Party Ideas

Take your child out to the ball game with a party based on America’s favorite pastime! The baseball birthday party is a timeless classic for children’s parties, to celebrate a little league or school team victory or to watch the World Series with family and friends. Kids will love the exciting baseball games and delicious ballpark food, and you will appreciate a flexible and easy-to-prepare party setting, good for kids of all ages.

Step up to the plate, because we have some ideas to help you throw a baseball birthday party that is sure to be a home run!

Let your little sluggers know there will be an all-star game with the perfect party invitation. Die cut baseball gloves, cute little baseball players, baseball diamonds and invitations modeled after tickets to major league games are popular choices. You can also send a personalized photo invitation of your little slugger in their little league uniform (complete with bat and glove) or wearing the clothes and waving the pennant of their favorite big league team.

Choose a whimsical or “retro” font in complimentary colors and model the text after an advertisement for a major league game using authentic baseball terms. Call the date of the party “game day,” the time it starts the “first pitch” and your house the “ballpark.”

A great way to get your guests in spirit is to ask them to arrive wearing their little league uniform or dressed in baseball jerseys and caps with the colors and logos of their favorite team. You and other adults can even dress as coaches or umpires!

Balloons, streamers and other birthday party decorations should be in the colors of their favorite team. Hang life-size posters of their favorite players on the walls and doors and make team pennants from felt or construction paper. Borrow baseball trophies, bats, gloves and caps from any high school or softball players you may know to liven up the room. Tie clusters of balloons and streamers outside the entrance to let your guests know they’ve found the party, as well as banners reading “All Star Game,” “(your child’s name) M.V.P.” and “Welcome to (your last name) Field!”

The tablecloth, utensils, napkins, cups and plates can be in your little league or professional team’s colors. You can also use a green tablecloth with brown construction paper placemats with white lines and bases drawn to look like a baseball field. For the centerpiece, use baseballs, baseball glove, caps and batting helmets and trophies to weigh down helium or mylar balloons and streamers.

A great baseball birthday party favor is to print baseball cards for each of your guests. Before the party, ask your guest’s parents to supply a photograph of each child. Use your computer and printer to create authentic-looking baseball cards on card stock complete with their stats. Post these on the wall and let them take them home as souvenirs!

Be sure to have equipment ready for the games you’ll play at the baseball birthday party. You’ll need a bat or two, a softball and gloves to go around as well as something to use as bases if your guests will be playing a full game. It may want to encourage the kids to bring their own bats and gloves on the invitation. If your guests are very young or you’re playing indoors you will want to play baseball games with Wiffle balls and plastic bats.

Of course, if you have ample space outdoors your guests will love to divide into teams and play a game of baseball. You’ll probably want to play a shorter game than usual and declare a time limit, or that the game will only last a limited number of innings.

Another option is to set up carnival-style games to test their baseball skills. Rent or build a batting cage and set up pyramids of bottles or cans or targets painted on plywood to see who are the best hitters and pitchers. Or simply see who can slide into base or throw or hit the ball the farthest. These also make good warm-up activities before the big game.

There are plenty of baseball birthday party games that can be played indoors as well as out. Play “Pin the Baseball on the Diamond” instead of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” Award points based on how close they get to home base. Paint a picture of a batter on poster board or foam core with the a hole cut out in the “strike zone” and have the kids toss bean bags or Nerf balls trying to strike the batter out. Make large pennants of felt or construction paper in your team’s colors and let the children decorate with markers, kid-safe paint and stickers. Or play a baseball trivia game with prizes for the guests who get the most answers right.

You can also ask the children to bring their baseball card collections to have a trading session… This can keep them busy for hours! Buy a pack for every guest as a party favor to get the trading started.

Of course, you can turn your TV room into a home theater and watch a major league baseball game, a baseball-related movie or have a baseball video game tournament. If the children are members of a little league team, why not watch a replay of one of their games? You, or a friend or relative with the know-how can even do a little video editing and add titles to make it look slick. Your little sluggers will love to cheer themselves on!

Finally, you may even consider taking the kids to a real ball game! Contact the office of your city’s ballpark, as it’s often possible to get a package deal for parties.

“Get your red hots!” There are some foods that just go hand-in-hand with baseball. Hot pretzels with mustard, boxes of cracker jacks (with the prize, of course!) and hot dogs with all of the toppings will make your guests feel like they’re at the park. Pizza, chicken wings, hero sandwiches, nachos and chips or veggies and dip are great choices as well. A baseball party is also a great time to grill hamburgers on the barbecue!

Make a baseball diamond cake by frosting a square cake with green frosting. Make a “dirt” diamond with brown frosting and graham cracker crumbs and draw lines with white cake decorating gel. Use marshmallows for the bases, and you can even add baseball player cake toppers to make it look like a game is in progress!

If cupcakes are more your style they can be frosted white with baseball stitching, decorated as baseball caps or in your team colors.

Send your guests home with goody bags when the baseball party is over. Baseball caps, inexpensive costume batting helmets or large plastic cups with your favorite team’s logo are creative containers, or use a white paper sack with red baseball stitching drawn on. Fill with Big League Chew, boxes of Cracker Jacks, popcorn and other candies, whistles, rubber balls, major league pencils, pens and notebooks, baseball stickers and sticker books and a package of baseball cards.

Be sure to send personalized notes afterwards to thank your guests for making your party a grand slam!

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