Baseball party ideas
BY A PROFESSIONAL PARTY PLANNER
Ideas include:
Baseball Party Ideas for Kids
Baseball Party Ideas for Adults
Baseball Party Food Ideas
Baseball Party Invitations
Baseball Party Decorations
Baseball Party Favors
Baseball Birthday Cake Ideas
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i’m matt james
professional event producer
welcome
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01 BASEBALL party invitations
Below are baseball party ideas, decoration & styling tips, and food & drink recipes which can be adapted for either a kid’s, teen or adult birthday party or even a baby shower.
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“I think it’s important to create a big first impression, which is why I always try to include some sort of 3D object tied to the printed invitation with ribbon.
This is a little trick that’s often used by professional party planners to make invitations stand out.
It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, just some cheap novelties, and you can use it re-enforce your party theme. For example, kids sunglasses or a flip flop for a beach party, a toy dinosaur for a dinosaur party, or an eye patch for a pirate party.
People just love to receive unusual invitations; it really captures their imagination and gets them excited about the party.
Click here to check out some examples of 3D object invitations from my party invitations page (opens in a new tab)”.
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3d BASEBALL invitations
A great 3D invitation to go with these baseball party ideas would be to send out an actual baseball. You can pick up training baseballs here, or use these foam baseballs, available here.
Print all the party details onto these editable and printable custom tags then tie it onto the ball with ribbon (use a dab of glue to stick the ribbon to the ball). Alternatively, attach these personalized baseball ticket invitations, available here.
You can embellish the presentation even more by sending them out in these these cute box mailers filled with shredded tissue paper.
Similarly, you could send out some type of baseball bat as the 3D invitation. You can pick up mini 8″ baseball bats quite cheaply, available here, inflatable baseball bats, available here, or 18″ bubblegum-filled baseball bats, available here.
Alternatively, you can send out these mini plastic baseball caps, available here, which are available for lots of different teams. These are actually small ice cream bowls but they’re small enough to send out as invitations. Again, just write all the party details on a decorative shipping tag and tie on with ribbon.
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edible baseball invitations
Edible invitations are always a big hit, and would make another great 3D invitation to go with these baseball party ideas. You could make your own baseball cookies and wrap these in cellophane bags tied up with ribbon. Then just tie on a decorative shipping tag with all the party details on and send out in these these cute box mailers.
If you’re not the baking type, or just want to save time, you can always buy these personalized baseball cookies, available here.
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TRADITIONAL BASEBALL INVITATIONS
If you prefer to a use a traditional invitation with these baseball party ideas there are lots of designs available, for both adults and kids, which can be personalized on-line. Some can even be personalized with a photo. Below are some of my favorites, but you can see the full range available here.
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02 BASEBALL party drinks
If you’re using these baseball party ideas for an adult birthday, and you want to serve something a bit more special than beer, below are some baseball inspired cocktail recipes.
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“Always create a signature drink for your party—it’s one of the easiest things you can do to make your party unique.
If your party has a theme, think about what flavors you can use in your signature drink that will convey it.
Don’t forget about styling and presentation too. You could serve drinks in individual bottles, jars, or novelty containers, add your own labels, use themed ice cubes, decorative straws, or drinks picks, or add a simple garnish.
A sprig of berries or a single flower head on the rim of a glass can make a simple cocktail look really stylish”.
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THE CURVE BALL
Pick up some of these mini plastic goldfish bowls, available here, then add red markings with a permanent marker pen to look like a baseball. Then use them as glasses and fill with any white cocktail such as this White Russian recipe. Of course, you could also adapt this for kid’s parties by using something like a coconut and banana milkshake.
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baseball cocktails
Other baseball cocktail ideas include:
Cracker Jacks Cocktail. This cocktail (below left, from Bourbon Buzz) recreates the flavor of Cracker Jacks, which is synonymous with baseball games. There’s also a Cracker Jack Martini, which was created by the Avalon Hotel Beverley Hills, which is just vanilla vodka, butterscotch schnapps and white chocolate Godiva liqueur.
Peanut Cocktail. When you think of baseball games, it always brings to mind whole roasted peanuts. So serve this Peanut Cocktail (below center from Liquor) which uses Jack Daniels, Coca-Cola and Peanut Syrup).
Cotton Candy Cosmo. Another food associated with baseball games that can be turned into a cocktail for these baseball party ideas is cotton candy. Check out this Cotton Candy Cosmo (below, by Campari America).
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BASEBALL BOTTLE COOLERS
Give regular beer bottles a baseball makeover with these baseball jersey bottle coolers, available here.
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PEANUT BUTTER MILKSHAKE
This Peanut Butter Milkshake (below, from Laurenda Marie) is a good option for a peanut inspired drink for kids. Again, don’t forget to check about peanut allergies first. Serve in milk bottles, available here, mason jars, available here, and use baseball themed straws, available here, to enhance their presentation.
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CRACKER JACK MILKSHAKE
For kids, serve this Cracker Jack Milkshake (below, by Sugar and Charm). Just don’t forget to enquire about peanut allergies in advance. You could also serve them in these personalized baseball party cups, available here.
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COTTON CANDY MILKSHAKE / SHIRLEY TEMPLE
You can make a Cotton Candy Shirley Temple by just topping up Lemon-Lime soda with Cotton Candy. Alternatively, make these Cotton Candy Milkshakes (below right, by Half Baked Harvest on Tablespoon).
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WATER
Give water bottles a makeover with these baseball themed labels, available here. Alternatively, you can pick up these personalized baseball water bottles for $5 each which would make great party favors for a kid’s party.
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03 baseball party food
Below are some food suggestions to go with these baseball party ideas.
ADVICE FROM A PRO
disclaimer
“As a professional party planner, I’m lucky enough to be able to collaborate with some amazing chefs to create menus for my events.
As I’m no chef myself, and cannot create dishes from scratch, I’ve searched the web for recipes that I think would work well for this party theme.
All credit goes to the talented people who have created these recipes, so please click through to their site for full details, ingredients, methods, and in some cases step-by-step tutorials”.
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GOURMET HOT DOGS
Hot Dogs are obviously the perfect accompaniment to a baseball game. But you can make them a bit more special by serving a selection of gourmet hot dogs with different toppings. Set up a Gourmet Hot Dog bar and offer different types of dogs, buns, and toppings for people to experiment with.
Check out this collection of different hot dog recipes which includes everything from Classic Coney Island Hot Dogs to Hawaiian Style Spicy Mango-Pineapple Hot Dogs (below left, by Coconut & Lime) and Hot Dogs with Cheddar and Sauteed Apples (below right, from Food & Wine)
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HOT DOG COOKIES AND CAKES
Alternatively, you could mix things up serving sweet versions of hot dogs with these Hot Dog Cookies (below left, from Taste of Home) or these Hot Dog Cakes (below center and right, by Sweet Cherry Pie) make from Choux Pastry Buns and Devil’s Food Cake.
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NACHO CUPCAKES / CHEESECAKE
Nachos are another concession stand food associated with baseball games, but if you want to do something a bit different try serving these Nacho Cupcakes (below left, by Sweet Simple Stuff) or this Nacho Cheesecake (below right, from Food Network).
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FRENCH FRIES POUND CAKE
Similarly, you could make these french fries out of pound cake (below, by Karen Tack at Parenting). Serve in a basket as shown and see how long it takes people to notice that they’re sweet.
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COTTON CANDY MOUSSE
While you could just serve cotton candy at your baseball party, it’s always better to do something a bit more creative if you can. So try making this Cotton Candy Mousse (below left, from Make Bake Celebrate) or this one (below right, from In Katrina’s Kitchen).
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CRACKER JACKS / PEANUTS
Serve individual boxes of Cracker Jacks, available here, and whole peanuts in little paper bags, available here, or have these cute personalized Cracker Jack boxes printed, available here.
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CRACKER JACKS / ICE CREAM / CHICKEN
Alternatively, you can try your hand at homemade Cracker Jacks with this great recipe (below left, from The Kitchn) or for a dessert take on Cracker Jacks, try this Cracker Jack ice cream recipe (below center, from 1 Fine Cookie). You could also use this to make milkshakes by blending with milk.
For something a bit more substantial, you could make this Peanut & Cracker Jack Encrusted Chicken Strips with Peanut Sauce (last pic, by Karen at Tasty Trials) which sounds delicious.
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BASEBALL PASTA
Use this cute baseball pasta, available here, shaped like bats, gloves and balls to make pasta salads or a hot dish.
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BASEBALL PIZZA
Pimp up your pizza by arranging slices of pepperoni or red pepper to look like the stitching (see example below left found on Pinterest, source unknown) or arrange the toppings in the shape of a baseball pitch (below right, from Fantasy Baseball Dug Out . These are a good option if you’re using these baseball party ideas for an adult birthday.
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BASEBALL SANDWICHES & SNACKS
Check out these amazing baseball themed sandwiches (below left, by Beth at Hungry Happenings). She just used a red food pen to draw the baseball stitching onto a round piece of Provolone cheese.
This got me thinking about other foods you could apply this to. Babybel Cheeses are perfect party snacks for a kid’s party, so just draw on the stitching using a red food marker (see illustration below center as an example).
You could also do something similar to make open cream cheese bagels by spreading the cream cheese over the entire bagel (filling in the hole in the middle) then cutting strips of red pepper, tomato, or fruit laces / strips to make the stitching (see illustration below for example).
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BASEBALL TREATS
These baseball themed Rice Krispie treats (below left, by Jill at Sandy Toes & Popsicles) are really cute and even come with with a step by step tutorial and a free baseball glove tutorial. I would suggest making the treats round, as per the photo below from the Rice Krispies website using the instruction here, that way they’ll look more like baseballs in the glove.
Alternatively, just buy white iced donuts and pipe the red stitching on like these Krispie Kreme donuts I spotted on the Thrifty Jinxy blog. Or for something a little more healthy, try these baseball themed strawberries (from itsy bitsy foodies) which are perfect for either a kid’s or adult birthday party.
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BASEBALL COOKIE CUTTERS
Another way to make baseball themed sandwiches is to pick up one of the many different baseball themed cookie cutters, available here.
You can also use them to create shaped pizza slices, fruit, cheese and of course, cookies. If you want to make baseball cookies, there’s a great step-by-step tutorial here by Recipe Girl (below right).
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BASEBALL COOKIES
If you’re not one for baking, or just want to save time, there are lots of baseball themed cookies available to buy. Check out all the options here.
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BASEBALL CAKE POPS
Follow this tutorial for Baseball Cake Pops (below left, by Courtney at Sweet C’s Designs). She pipes the red stitching on, but if you’re looking for a shortcut I reckon you could probably add these with a red food marker.
Alternatively, you could just buy some baseball cake pops. For baseball shaped cake pops, below center, see here. Alternatively, for personalized baseball cake pops, last image below (other designs available) see here.
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bASEBALL CANDY
There’s also lots of great baseball themed candy available, which is good for filling out a dessert table. These include personalized candy bar wrappers, available here, and chocolate baseballs, available here.
Alternatively, there are these baseball Pez (lots of teams available), foam finger lollipops, available here, and Big League chew bubblegum packs, available here.
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BASEBALL CUPCAKES & TOPPERS
Baseball cupcakes are actually a lot simpler to make than they might look. This recipe (below left, from Martha Stewart) uses red licorice laces for the stitching. Or if you just want to decorate regular cupcakes, there are plenty of different toppers available, such as these edible fondant baseballs and baseball caps or these fondant team logo ones, available here.
Alternatively, these non-edible ones are also pretty cute, available here.
My favorite are actually these personalized photo toppers, available here, which would work just as well for a baby shower, kid’s, or adult’s party. Or you can get personalized ones without the photo, from the same supplier.
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BASEBALL FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PLATTERS
With all the sweet food and candy at a party, it’s always a good to include a few healthy options.
So, make a fruit plate in the shape of a baseball diamond (see below – the illustration’s a bit crude but you get the idea). Lay out green grapes to make the grass and use pineapple for the dirt area. Cut the pineapple length-ways to keep the semi circular shape, then cut some extra rectangular sticks of pineapple to arrange around straight edges of the diamond.
Finally use small cookie cutters to cut out circles for the bases. A nice touch would be to add a few of these baseball figure cake toppers.
Update: I came across this image, below center, via Pinterest (original source unkown) of someone who has tried out this idea—which might give you a better idea of how it could look.
You could also do something similar with vegetables and dip. Use green vegetables such as celery, cucumber, broccoli, green pepper for the grass and hummus for the dirt area (see illustration below for inspiration).
Update: Again, I found a couple of images via Pinterest (original sources unknown) where people have tried this. Whoever made the stadium below really went to town!
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04 birthday cake
Whether you’re making a birthday cake from scratch or just decorating it, below are some suggestions to go with these baseball party ideas:
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BASEBALL CAKE PANS
If you want to make a cake from scratch, there are some cool cake pans available to go with these baseball party ideas, including a baseball glove (available here), cap (available here), and ball (available here). If you have any problems finding these, you might also be able to get them here.
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EDIBLE CAKE IMAGES
If you’re not really a baker you can also get personalized edible icing cake toppers, such as the ones below, available here.
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CAKE TOPPERS
Alternatively, there are some non-edible baseball cake toppers, available here, or for a baby shower, there’s this cute fondant baby cake topper available here.
There are also plenty of baseball themed candles, available here, that you can incorporate into your cake decorations. Some of these, such as the baseball bats and small enough that you can use them on cupcakes too.
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05 dessert table styling
Below are styling and decoration tips to create a themed buffet / dessert table to go with these baseball party ideas.
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“I always think it’s a good idea to concentrate the majority of your decorations around a buffet / dessert table as this will create a focal point in the room.
Party decorations often have to compete with existing room decor, so they can get a bit lost if spread too thinly. I think you’re far better off creating one really well themed feature wall that everyone’s eye will be drawn to.
You can then use a few general decorations around the rest of the room to tie everything together.”
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BASEBALL DESSERT TABLE 1
To create a dessert table, such as this one, as part of your baseball party decorations, follow the step by step guide below:
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background
Create a backdrop by hanging this baseball jersey striped fabric (below left) which is available by the yard. Alternatively, there are numerous other baseball themed fabrics available, such as team specific prints and generic baseball themed images. Check out all the options here.
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BASEBALL LOGO / DECORATIONS
You can make your own sign, like the one that reads ‘Batter Up’ in the illustration above, by downloading this free font by Måns Grebäck called Brannboll (below left). Just download the font, unzip it if you need to (with something like Winzip), then just drag the files into the font folder on your computer to install them.
If you want to make the sign yourself at home, and you want it to be quite big, then print each letter individually onto card, cut them out then line them up on the wall. Note: Use the number keys, such as 1, 2, 3 to get the tail that runs underneath the word.
Finally, hang one of these cardboard baseball cut outs behind the letters, as show in the illustration above.
You can dress around the front of the table with a team specific pennant banner, depending on what your favorite team is, (available here, but search by team name) and position bunches of team balloons at each end (available here, but you’ll need to search by team name).
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centerpiece
For a centerpiece, hang a baseball jersey and cap then arrange a few baseball accessories, such as a mitt and bat, around it. If you don’t already have a bat, you can pick up mini bats (18″) really cheaply here.
You can also fill a tall vase with baseballs and add some flowers to the top (as seen in this photo by True Photography Weddings). Either use real ones, or you can pick up these relaxable foam ones here by the dozen.
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BASEBALL DESSERT TABLE 2
Another way to dress a dessert / buffet table in keeping with these baseball party ideas is pictured below. For this display I’ve used baseball cards to create a backdrop.
You can pick up packs of baseball cards really cheaply here. Just glue cards along vertical strips of ribbon with equal spaces between them in order to create a grid effect. Then hang the vertical strips of ribbon from the ceiling against a plain wall to create a backdrop for your dessert / buffet table.
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PERSONALIZED BANNERS
Break up the baseball cards by hanging a personalized baseball themed banner above the dessert / buffet table. There are loads of different designs available from this supplier and also this one.
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BASEBALL DESSERT TABLE 3
Below is another option for a baseball themed dessert / buffet table to go with these baseball party decorations. For this dessert table, just apply a baseball themed wall decal, available here, to a plain wall.
There are lots of different types available depending on your budget from basic silhouettes, to 3D effect decals, and personalized ones. The great thing about these decals is that you can peel and re-stick many of them so you can always use them to decorate a kid’s bedroom after the party.
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BASEBALL BALLOONS
As this dessert table has quite a minimalist design, use clusters of balloons shaped like balls, mitts, or team balloons (available here) at each end to add some extra decoration.
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BASEBALL DESSERT TABLE 4
Below is one final dessert / buffet table idea, which is particular good if you’re using these baseball party ideas for a kid’s birthday.
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BASEBALL SCENE SETTERS
The dessert table above is largely made up of a stadium scene setter, available here. This comes in two halves, a lower deck (below left) and an upper deck (below center). You can also pick up some add ons such as the score board and dug out (below right). The great thing about this scene setter is that it’s 30ft long, so you can use it to dress more than one wall.
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TABLE STYLING
To tie in with the stadium theme, cover the tabletop with these tissue grass mats, available here, or check out all the artificial grass options here.
Alternatively, for a budget option you could use this grass print table cover, available here, although you don’t get the nice texture as with the tissue grass.
For a centerpiece, fill this baseball player shaped balloon, available here, with helium and fasten it to the back of the table. It’s over 3 ½ ft tall so it will make a big impression.
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BASEBALL PHOTO BACKDROPS
Alternatively, for a more professional look, use one of these large baseball stadium photo backdrops which you can also use as a photo booth backdrop later. This supplier has the best range, but it’s also worth checking out the ones here too.
To hang the backdrop, I’d recommend investing in one of these inexpensive backdrop frames or check out my page of party backdrop stands and fixings here.
The great thing about the support frame is that you can use it again and again to create different backgrounds for dessert tables by hanging fabric, tissue pom poms, or streamers (as shown below using a backdrop support frame).
