Baseball party (6 year old) -- My son is a baseball fanatic and Red Sox fan so it was no surprise when he wanted a baseball party for his 6th birthday. For the invitations, I created a
simple 5"
circle on Word and added the words " Hit a Home Run at Alex's Baseball party! Help us celebrate his 6th birthday with some Major-League fun!" The party details followed below. I centered the text, printed them on card stock, then cut out the circles and glued red ric-rac on to resemble the stitching on a baseball. I used square vellum envelopes to mail them. They were simple and adorable! For the party, we turned our front yard into Fenway Park. We created the "Green Monster' out of a roll of green plastic tablecloth taped onto green gardening sticks for the wall. We made the score board out of green poster board and white felt stick-on numbers and made the infamous CITGO sign out of posterboard which we hung over the wall on a tall pole. We set up bases and used lyme to paint on the white stripes to create the diamond. Red Sox balloons and Red and blue latex balloons made it look really festive! We also rented a moon walk for the back yard and set up a velcro ball toss game with a target for some warm-up activities. When the kids arrived they played out back. I also had a "Pennant" craft set up on a table on the back deck. I bought sheets of red and blue felt at a craft store and cut them in the shape of pennants. I purchased felt stick-on letters and numbers, baseballs and stars so the kids could decorate the pennants. I hired two older neighborhood boys to help organize the games. They started with "Big Papi says" (our own version of Simon Says). Then we played Musical Bases where the kids ran around the bases while music played. When the music stopped, they ran to the closest base. We then pulled a card out of a batting helmet (we had 12 cards that said first base, second base, home, etc.) anyone standing on the base called was "out." Finally, they played a quick game of T-ball where the players alternated positions. Next, we had a baseball- shaped pinata filled with candy (including chocolate baseballs). I gave each child a red and white popcorn bag (purchased at i party) with their name written on a popcorn-shaped tag to collect the goodies. Then, we moved inside for make-your-own sundaes. I purchased small plastic Red Sox batting helmets for ice cream bowls (the same ones they use at Fenway -- they were $1 each at the souvenir shop and the kids took them home). We had lots of toppings; oreos, M&Ms, peanut butter cups, sprinkles, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Instead of a cake (my son is not a cake fan), I made a giant cookie (using a roll of cookie dough and a pizza pan). I decorated it with frosting to look like a baseball. We cut and served it like pizza. For favors, I found plastic bat and ball sets for under $1 that came in mesh bags. I added a Red Sox lolipop, package of baseball cards and a Red sox pencil. I made a small 'thank you" card (just like the invitation, but smaller) that read "I had a ball! Thanks for helping to make my Birthday a big hit!" and tied them onto each mesh bag with red and blue ribbon. All of the kids seemed to have a great time!