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Our son is beyond obsessed with anything basketball related (or more specifically the Milwaukee Bucks). So for the past two birthdays, he has requested a basketball-themed birthday party. This was one of the easiest party themes to put together in my opinion and I am excited to share with you how we pulled it all together!
Invitations
First, the invitations set the tone letting everyone know we were celebrating our little all-star. Grab your own printable invitations from my shop.
We have the luxury of my son’s birthday being in the summer, so utilizing our own yard was perfect. If you do not have that luxury or mother nature isn’t on your side check out your local YMCA, fitness gyms, community centers, or even schools to rent out the Gym to host your party at and have a real basketball court to play on!
Food
Food was my favorite part. We decided to have concession-style food as you would find at a real basketball game! Think hot dogs, giant pretzels, tortilla chips with melted nacho cheese, popcorn, and peanuts. A trip to the dollar tree or amazon and you will find the paper boats to serve these all in to make it feel even more authentic. (see my article on other great Dollar Tree party finds) Another fun idea I wanted to try but admittedly ran out of time was to string small bags of chips along a string held with clothespins like you would see at a school sporting event. Lastly what sports event would be complete without a variety of Gatorade, bottled water, and sodas to drink?!
Decorations
Print a few basic letters on 8×11 paper to spell out “Concessions” and hang them as a banner over the food counter or table. Add a chalkboard or printed menu for another adorable touch. Instead of prices, we said a hotdog cost 1 high five, a pretzel was 2 fist bumps, etc… The kids got a kick out of “paying” for their snacks this way!
Favors
We found some great grab bags for party favors off amazon that had a variety of cute basketball trinkets (see here) so I went that route to save myself some time. We also blew up basketball beach balls for all over our patio instead of balloons and the kids all got to take one home with them at the end of the day. Other great party favors would be sports water bottles, drawstring backpacks, sports trading cards, sweat bands & referee whistles, mini basketballs, or small basketball team merchandise.
Cake
No party is complete without cake! We served store-bought cupcakes with basketball toppers stuck in them as well as my famous ice cream cake (post with the recipe coming soon). I decorated the top with Reeses Pieces candies to look like a basketball. I added a plastic figurine of his idol (Giannis Antdekumpo from the Milwaukee Bucks). My favorite part though was the sports card I made of my son to look very official I also laminated it. He thought he was pretty cool to have his own trading card- clearly a sign he is destined to make it big in the NBA haha! (He is pretty convinced he has raw untapped skills at age 10, and he is going to be the next superstar. Who am I to doubt his destiny I guess?!)
Fun
For fun, we challenged all who were willing to a heated competition of HORSE in our driveway on the garage hoop for the adults and big kids. We also set up a smaller youth hoop for the younger ones so they were not left out as well. Chalk left out on the sidewalks will keep other little ones who are not fans of sports occupied, as well as a few pom poms set out in case anyone wants to be cheerleaders. (they sell simple pom poms and ribbon wands at our local dollar tree). We set up the projector and had a live basketball game playing on the patio for anyone else who rather watch the game than play too. You could also opt for a family-friendly basketball movie such as Space Jam if there are no live games on at the time of your party.
At the end of the day, this was one of the most laid-back themes our family has done and one of the most enjoyable for all ages. I mean who doesn’t love concession stand food and a good game to keep them entertained?! I am sure my son will try to have this theme again this year so please comment below if you have any other ideas we could incorporate into our little hoopers’ birthday!
