When my cousin’s wife was pregnant, he really played a huge role in getting ready for baby, including preparing the nursery and helping tremendously with the registry. When it came time to plan the baby shower we really wanted the Daddy-to-be included in the festivities. We decided to host a “Jack and Jill” baby shower with a sports theme to appeal to both women and men.
Right off the bat (no pun intended) we knew the best way to invite the guests to a sports themed shower was with sporting event tickets. To save money we opted to create our own invitations. Every great sports team has a recognizable logo. Since the baby’s nursery was decorated with monkeys, I created a logo for the invitations with a monkey and the baby’s name, “Baby Ryan.” I also created a baseball card for the registry information, complete with stats!
Budget & Time Friendly Tip: One of the best ways to save money on invitations is to DIY. However, sometimes DIY and NAT (No Available Time) add up to not-so-great invitations. If pre-made custom invitations are out of your financial budget and DIY invites are out of your time budget, you could opt for semi-DIY invites by buying a digital custom invitation. Once you receive the finished custom invitation file by email, you simply print it out on your own paper. These are two great options from eBay sellers stephruiz915 and jacknjilldesigns.
The menu for this shower was very simple: typical sporting event foods. We served hot dogs, chili dogs, hamburgers, French fries, pizza bites, soft pretzels, popcorn, and chips. For dessert we had mini cupcakes decorated with candy sports balls and ice cream products, like Dreyer’s Dibs, Dove bars, and Italian ice. We kept the sports theme going with baseball paper plates, football serving trays and bowls, and a field grass table cloth.
Budget Friendly Tip: If you don’t want to offer so many food choices, just serve your favorite sporting event food. Love the greasy pizza? Rather than ordering pizzas, serve up your favorite frozen pizza or make your own pizzas. Pair up sliders (mini-hamburgers) with cocktail weenies. Instead of buying several boxes of individually wrapped ice cream bars, create a “Sundae’s Sports Bar” with your favorite ice cream and sundae toppings and let guests make their own ice cream sundaes.
What is a sports themed baby shower without a little competition? We kept guests entertained with several fun
games. First, we tested the guests’ team mascot knowledge with “Mascot Match-Up.” Next, we found out who could chug the fastest…out of baby bottles! Guests also participated in a free throw contest. And remember the “Section, Row, Seat” numbers on the invitation tickets? Each guest had different numbers on their tickets, so we drew numbers out of a baseball hat for a winner. The game of the hour, though, was our version of NASCAR and March Madness all rolled into one in what we called, “Nascycle.”
I created the “March Madness” bracket ahead of time. Guests raced against one another on tricycles until only one competitor was left standing!
Host(ess) Tip: Originally, each guest was going to get a copy of the bracket and, in true March Madness fashion, they had to pick who they thought would win. Well, I messed up when making the brackets. We almost didn’t play the game, but then we just readjusted our plans and the rules of the game. No one knew about my mistake and everyone had one H-E-double hockey sticks of a good time. The point is, you’ve spent a lot of time trying to make your event perfect, but something will, no doubt, go awry. As long as you don’t sweat it and you just relax and go with the flow during party time, your guests will never know something wasn’t exactly how you planned it and they’ll have a fantastic time.
The prizes for the game winners were presented in a similar fashion to the way we did the prizes at the Nursery Rhyme Shower. We bagged each prize and attached a card with a word clue to the bag. One tag read “Seattle” along with the logos for the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners. The prize was a bag of Seattle’s Best Coffee, coffee press, and mugs. A dozen steamed crabs and a cooler had a tag with “Baltimore” and the logos for the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens. Other prizes included: Chicago Cutlery (Chicago), Emeril cookbook, grill pan, and seasonings (New Orleans), Griddle pan and maple syrup (New England), Wine and Cheese Tote (Wisconsin), Netflix Gift Certificate, popcorn, and candy (Los Angeles) and Lowe's Gift Card (NASCAR).
Budget Friendly Tip: Trying to come up with sports theme related prizes wasn’t easy since actual sport team items (like baseball caps) can be very expensive, plus not everyone loves Penn State or the 49ers. That’s why we put together prize packages that could relate to a team’s hometown. However, rather than having several items as one prize, slim things down to stay within your budget. A horseshoe key-chain, like these from Wedding Favors Unlimited, can represent the Colts or a tin filled with Hershey Kisses from The Hershey’s Store could represent the Hershey Bears.
After the food was eaten, the games were played, and all the prizes had been won, we sent the guests home with their sporty favors. Each guest received a lunch bag with an NFL team logo filled with a koozie, a cookie lollipop in the shape of a football or baseball, a box of Cracker Jacks, and peanuts. “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” was tied onto each bag.
Budget Friendly Tip: The epitome of a great sporting event is the box of Cracker Jacks! Make your own Cracker Jacks with this recipe from Savory Sweet Life, package them in these retro popcorn bags from Hey Yo Yo, and of course, don’t forget the prize! These golf ball tape measure key chains from Plum Party would make a great and very affordable Cracker Jack prize.
I hope these ideas help make your next sport themed party a home-run!
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