Baseball Drip Birthday Party | Ice Cream Bar + Acrylic Pour Activity
For Landon's 10th birthday, there was no doubt we were doing a baseball theme to celebrate double digits with our tween boy. The question was, would he go with the vintage, traditional baseball decor, or all out with the baseball drip trend of hot pink and aqua blue? We decided to use our free will to do both! As always, my goal when throwing a kids birthday party is to create something YOU can recreate, on a realistic budget, that looks like you had a party planner.
I'll share with you our epic baseball painting acrylic pour activity that was such a HIT, the ice cream sundae bar with candy charcuterie numbers, and our concession stand drink station plus all the realistic budget tips that tied this baseball ice cream drip party together!
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Choosing the Party Theme: Baseball Drip meets Vintage Baseball
This was Landon's first season of baseball, and just like soccer last year, (see the modern soccer party here), he was all in from day one. At the start of this season, I didn't even know what the baseball drip trend was, and by the end of the baseball season, his outfit resembled an ice cream cone and he fit right in.
I had the baseball drip birthday banner already designed, and we were both excited for this years theme, then he saw me creating a classic blue and red vintage baseball banner and he loved it too. He wanted both and I was torn on how to create the overall aesthetic to make this a cohesive baseball party when you're combining hot pink, aqua blue, red and navy- not your typical color palette - but I was up for the challenge. I got lucky when his team was the Rainiers, so incorporating his team hat for the red and blue, as well as the original big league chew gumballs tied together nicely with the blue and pink big league chew! I loved combining the vintage baseball theme with the trendy drippy theme for a tween boy birthday party.
Want to recreate the floating banner look? See my banner hanging tips here
Ice Cream Sundae Bar + Candy Number Charcuterie Toppings
One thing we knew right away was that dessert was going to be an ice cream sundae bar, it was too obvious of a choice with the baseball ice cream drip theme! We spotted the charcuterie numbers at the craft store and grabbed the 10 for Landon's ice cream sundae toppings, and the 40 for my coastal chic beach picnic (the week after his party!) It was such a fun way to celebrate the double digital for both of these big milestones birthdays together. I gave a full step by step breakdown of how I fill these charcuterie numbers on my 40th birthday post if you want some easy tips to recreate this look, just click the link above.
Candy Charcuterie Tips:
- If you snag the "movie boxes" of candy from the dollar store or grocery store, they aren't as full as you would think! I purchased 8 boxes of candy thinking that would be plenty to fill the charcuterie numbers, but the packaging was much larger than the amount of candy in the boxes and I had to make a quick grocery store run to buy more fillers.
- Check the cereal aisle too for budget friendly fillers like cookie crisps and cotton candy captain crunch! I grabbed the bag of mini golden oreos, mini cookies and mini cupcakes to fill the gaps.
- If you want to test fill the charcuterie numbers early to check the amounts, pour your toppings or snacks into snack size ziplock bags to keep everything fresh and then place them in your charcuterie numbers for a good idea on spacing and quantity.
Fun behind the scenes "real life" moment, the boys demolished these ice cream sundae bar toppings long before ice cream was served, so when it came time to make their sundaes, they all had plain vanilla ice cream 🤣 It ended up being a nice way to spread out the sugar rush.
Baseball dessert Table Budget Friendly Decorating Tips
When you're creating a dessert table for a themed kids party, you don't have to stick to just putting desserts on the table! The first thing I always do for a party theme is shop my house first and we displayed his team hat and mini baseball bat, then incorporated the party favors as part of the table display too.
Adding his team hat, baseballs that we used for the acrylic pour activity, and the big league chew that was also a party favor helped fill this ice cream sundae bar table.
My party splurge was the baseball hats that we served the ice cream in, but this could have easily had a budget friendly swap for paper bowls!
I also tied the ballpark decor together with the concession stand sign and top of the 10th party printable (I'll include a free download for these signs below too) ⚾
Want to see the rest of my dessert table decorating ideas? Check out my top 5 dessert tables tips here
Baseball Birthday Concession Stand Drink Station
We knew his party was going to be on a hot summer day, and wanted to make sure the boys stayed hydrated in between swimming and baseball play, and had enough artificial sugars and dyes in the treats that I drew the line at serving Gatorade too so I combined coconut water with frozen pineapple juice concentrate, water and fresh lemon slices for this concession stand drink station. Easy, budget friendly, hydrating and tasty! ✔️
A Unique Baseball Party Activity: Baseball Drip Acrylic Pour
The highlight of this party was definitely the baseball painting activity. I was inspired by the baseball drip look and decided to try something I haven't seen done before with a baseball drip acrylic pour. I loved that unlike the "paint your own baseball" party activity, this didn't require any creative skills and felt like it would have much more of a "wow" moment for the boys! Let me tell you, this activity did not disappoint and I would absolutely rate it 10/10.
I am going to break down this activity in a few different steps with shopping list, directions and tips so you can recreate this look.
Shop the Baseball Banner Here
The boys were SO engaged and their reactions to this baseball painting activity did not disappoint.
The Baseball Acrylic Pour Setup: Shopping List
- Baseball(s) for each party guest
- Acrylic Paint- I ordered these on Amazon, but bought acrylic paint for my daughter's glamping party at the dollar store
- Disposable tablecloth
- Containment tray- we used the cute baseball boat trays, but anything with a lip like a paper plate would work fine
- Baseball stands- I cut toilet paper rolls down to size to hold the baseballs while the paint dripped so it didn't just puddle at the bottom and it worked perfectly. If you wanted to make it more aesthetically pleasing, you could cover the toilet paper rolls in strip of paper and that would be so cute!
- Cups- I'll cover this in the "instructions and tips" section below, but you will need a cup for each baseball, so if you have 2 baseballs per kid, they will also need 2 cups.
- Paper Straws or "stir sticks"- will also go into detail on this step next.
- Baby Wipes and Trash Bag- Mess containment 101!
Baseball Acrylic Drip Pour Activity: Instructions and Tips
I have been an art docent at my kids schools for the last handful of years, and learned real quick, paint can get out of hand FAST, so these are my tips for a successful baseball painting project 👇
- Do a test run before the party. I made practice baseballs with my kids ahead of time and ended up needing to water down the paint quite a bit to a runny consistency. If we would have done this activity for a first time of the day of the party without watering down the paint, it would have been a huge fail! This also helped me figure out exactly how much paint each kid would actually need to give them directions on the party day. Bonus Tip: We also discovered you could wash the baseball off if the paint was still wet so if the ball didn't turn out like they want, you can wash it off and try again and you're only wasting paint, not a baseball!
- Demo it first. I love to give kids creative freedom, but showing them a 'how to' really helped make this baseball acrylic pour a success. I told each boy they got 30 squirts of paint total to go in their cup. I instructed them to pick their paint colors and do 4-5 squirts of each, and layer their colors. This made the activity SO much less chaotic than just a free for all grabbing paints and pouring, and the overall look was much cooler than just pouring the paint directly onto the baseball.
- Stir before you pour. We used paper straws left over from the drink station, but the boys discovered the final result was better when they gave the paint TWO quick stirs before dumping it on the ball. The colors incorporated much better than pouring it straight from the paint bottle. Don't over-stir!
- Mess Containment: Obviously this is a big one! Keep baby wipes within arms reach; I had a pack sitting right at the painting station and they were passed out immediately. I also had a garbage bag nearby that they could toss their straws and baby wipes into right away. This was genuinely a game changer. Lastly, everything was contained on disposable tablecloths so it was okay to get a little messy. Clean up was instant when I was able to just roll everything in the tablecloth and toss it.
I genuinely don't think these could have turned out any cooler if we tried. If you're wondering whether this acrylic pour activity is worth the mess, the answer is 100% yes every single time. The boys were so insanely proud of their painted baseballs and every kids was one of a kind. I also loved that this wasn't a traditional activity for a "boy" party and it was fun to break the gender stereotypes on this one with outstanding results.
Free Printable Baseball Birthday Party Signs
The last step in recreating this TENSZN tween boys baseball birthday is the printable signs to match your banner, and I want to gift the signs I used for his party to you! 🧢
At the end of the day, I really love that we followed my own business motto for Landon's 10th birthday: "There is no wrong way to celebrate, big or small". That's the point of every party I throw around here that there isn't a formula for a "perfect party" and sometimes that means picking two themes you love and refusing to choose between them! Parties come in all shapes and sizes with budgets of every sort. If I had a million dollars it would have been so fun to create a concession stand, have a bounce house and heck, even a baseball player to stop by and say hi- but this party was perfect for us and hopefully inspires you to throw you own baseball drip party. I hope this gave you a realistic, doable game plan, right down to the paint ratios. So grab the free baseball printables above, pin a few images below and tag me if you recreate any part of this party!
FAQs for a Baseball Drip Birthday Party
Quick, skimmable baseball party recap if you're short on time!
What is a baseball drip birthday party theme? The baseball drip trend took off this year with the growth of the Savannah bananas league and it takes the classic baseball theme, and adds the "drip" look of melting ice cream. It's usually in bright, bold colors like hot pink, aqua blue, purple or yellow, then it's mixed with baseball specific activities and decor. Our tween boys 10th birthday party combined the trendy drip palette with vintage baseball colors and real team gear for a party that felt both trendy and timeless.
How do you combine vintage baseball and baseball drip theme? Our baseball season was defined by ice cream baseball drip shorts and big league chew. It was great that the gum came in so many team colors. We used the big league chew bubblegum in the hot pink and aqua blue drip colors, and gumballs in the vintage blue and navy as focal points for this party. Crackerjacks are also a great way to tie in the vintage baseball look. Lean into your players real team gear to combine the two party themes, and grab their gear as part of the party decor! So many players on our son's team had cool bats, baseball bags, mitts and gloves that would have been perfect to add to the dessert table decor, but for our first season of baseball, we didn't have all the team swag (yet ;).
What's a unique activity for a baseball birthday party? If you want something behond the usual wiffle ball game or batting cages, a baseball drip acrylic pour is genuinely a unique party activity for any age. Kids pour acrylic paint over real baseballs for a one of a kind drippy effect that doubles as a baseball party favor. It doesn't require creativity and has such a big wow factor.
What supplies do you need for a baseball acrylic pour activity? Baseballs, acrylic paint (found at amazon, craft stores or the dollar store), a disposable tablecloth and garbage bag, individual paint containment trays or paper plates, something to prop the baseballs on (toilet paper rolls cut in thirds work great), a cup per baseball, paper straws for stirring and baby wipes for cleanup. It still has the potential to be a messy activity, so this is a great outside activity.
How do you baseball birthday party on a budget? Shop your house for for themed decorations, like team gear, baseballs, bats or mitts. Double your party favors like big league chew or baseballs as dessert table decorations before they're used as favors or activity supplies. Make a bulk beverage for a concession stand drink station with frozen juice concentrates and fresh fruit. Download my free printables to complete the look for a cohesive party feel!
Can I use the acrylic pour idea for other sports parties? Yes! This unique party activity would work perfect for a girls softball birthday, end of the season team baseball party or even a football, soccer or basketball birthday too!
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