Baseball Party -5yr- Innings of Activities

Baseball Party - 5 year old  My son loves baseball, and his t-ball jersey from last summer happened to be #5, so we chose a baseball theme for his fifth birthday, and it was so much fun!   

INVITATION: (homemade using Microsoft Publisher) has a picture of a baseball player on it, and read, "It's GAME FIVE for Jacob"  We also spelled out F.I.V.E. as an acronym:  "Five Is Very Excellent".  On the inside of the invitation we had a poem:    Come on out to a party/Come on out for some fun/We'll have some hot dogs and Cracker Jack/And give the pinata a super big whack/So let's root, root, root for our Jacob/If you can't come, it's a shame/'Cause it's ONE, TWO, THREE times the fun at our birthday party game!    We also made up simulated baseball tickets on our computer with the party details (Jacob age 4 vs. Jacob age 5, address/date/time, and "Section 5, Row 5, Seat 5") 

CAKE:  We did a baseball cap cake.  It starts with an oval brim, made from half a tube of sugar cookie dough, rolled out into a big oval and baked in the oven, then "glazed" by putting it on a cooling rack and pouring microwave-melted white frosting over it.  The top of the hat is a yellow cake mix (pound cake version) baked into an oven-safe bowl.  Cool and invert onto the brim, then frost and decorate with icing and M&M's.  We also made baseball cupcakes - frosted white and dotted with red M&M's for stitching. 

ACTIVITIES: As kids arrived, we had a "Welcome and Warm-up" table by the front door.  They signed a "game ball" for our son, then posed with a baseball bat for a Polaroid picture and received an empty loot bag.  They then went through nine innings of fun!  

Inning One:  Baseball bean bag toss (a game we found from Oriental trading company) and collect a prize for the loot bag (we got lots of baseball party favors from Oriental Trading Company and local party stores to use as prizes). 

Inning Two:  Baseball fishing.  We cut out round paper "baseballs" and put paper clips on them.  The kids fished for a ball using a magnet on a string tied to a baseball bat.  When they "caught" a ball, the backside would tell them what they got (strike out - try again, or base hit, or home run, etc.) and they would get a prize. 

Inning Three:  Instant replay.  We had a Playstation II game that used an iToy camera, so the kids could simulate playing baseball on television, and they got a prize. 

Inning Four:  Pitch to the Catcher.  We found an inflatable "catcher" from Oriental Trading Company, and the kids would pitch bean-bag baseballs into his net and get a prize.   

Inning Five:  Pitching and batting practice outside in the backyard.  We had a t-ball and a pitching net set up in the backyard; they would play for a while and get a prize. 

Inning Six:  Baseball Limbo.  We gathered everyone together and played "Limbo" with a baseball bat.  As they came through the last round, they collected a prize. 

Seventh Inning Stretch:  We sang "Happy Birthday" and cut the cake. 

Eighth Inning:  Baseball pinata, which they whacked (of course) with a baseball bat!   

Ninth Inning:  Everyone gets presents!  We gathered the kids together on a green area rug which had rubber bases on it to look like a baseball field.  My son sat in a chair at home plate and opened his presents.  Then we gave presents to the partygoers (in addition to their loot bags):  their picture, framed in a foam baseball-themed magnetic frame (kit came from Oriental Trading Company), and a soft rubber baseball (got a set of them inexpensively at Oriental Trading Company) that said, "You made my party a HIT!  Thanks!"   

FOOD:  Throughout the party we had a concession stand open in our kitchen, featuring hot dogs, nachos, potato chips, grapes, carrot sticks, Cracker Jack, Big League Chew, Baby Ruth candy bars, and Butterfingers candy bars.  For drinks, we found Gatorade sport drinks in small bottles (they even have clear ones, which make spills no big deal).  The price for each item was:  ONE SMILE. 

DECORATIONS:  We used baseball cards and baseball-themed items from our son's room (pillows, books, pictures of him from his t-ball team, t-ball trophy, baseball caps, etc.).  We also made a banner for Jacob, using a Chicago Cubs logo: "It's J-(Cubs logo) 5th Birthday!" (We did that because he's our J-Cub!)We found some inflatable baseball glove chairs at Oriental Trading Company, which made great kid-size seating.    It was a grand slam, no strike-out party for our five-year-old star!