For some, March means celebration—for others, it’s a time of sports-fandom despair. And it all hinges on the fate of “March Madness,” the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s springtime men’s Division I basketball tournament. Whether you want to distract from the pain of losing or share the joy of victory, it’s the perfect time to bring your friends and family together for a party in honor of the championship.
Pulling together a basketball-themed party doesn’t have to be a hassle. In fact, you can tap into your creativity and re-create the excitement of the basketball court with a festive, do-it-yourself gathering. Not feeling very creative lately? We’ve collected some ideas from local experts to help make your celebration a total slam-dunk.
Pass the Ball
The first step in throwing a party is setting the tone with your invitations. There are a lot of different options, but your first decision will be choosing between an electronic or paper invitation.
“For a casual gathering like a basketball party, an ‘e-vite’ is fine,” says Becky Salita, though she usually favors a more traditional paper invitation. For electronic invitations, check out websites like paperlesspost.com or evite.com. Salita recommends choosing a color scheme that highlights the theme of the party, whether it’s orange and black (like a basketball), in the shape of a court, striped like a referee’s jersey, or your favorite team’s colors. As far as the information on the invitation goes, feel free to get into the spirit with some basketball terminology (or dust off your sports-to-English dictionary if you need a lingo refresher). Encourage your guests to come in a jersey to show their team allegiance. Of course, include the basics: Let your guests know when both the party and the game start, and whether they should bring anything.
If you’re feeling crafty, Kathleen Daley-Boeder suggests making the game come to life through your invitations. Print out the invitations as tickets, with your guests’ VIP information, section and seat row included. If you have a steady hand with a pen, write out the date and time of your gathering on small toy basketballs (purchased at amazon.com or at a toy store) and hand-deliver them to your guests’ houses.
Prep the Court
Now that you’ve spread the word about your party, it’s time to set up!
Upon arriving at your house, your guests should know they’re at a party. You can welcome visitors with a message on a blackboard, with markers on a glass door, balloons or even (if you’re feeling ambitious) a balloon tower or arch. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it sets the tone for your gathering—and makes it easy for guests to find your home if they haven’t visited before.
Decorate your space with the day’s competing teams’ colors; use streamers and balloons to make it clear which side belongs to each team. It can even be fun for guests to “take sides” before the game begins, and you could even offer small prizes for the winning group.
If you’re looking to create a dramatic effect, Salita often uses “up-lighting,” battery-operated or rechargeable lights that are placed on the ground and aimed to project light off the wall or at a particular object, like jerseys hung around the room. Most up-lights are programmable, so you can select whatever colors you like. The lights usually start at $20 each. “They can be placed both indoors and outdoors, and they add ambience,” says Salita.
Daley-Boeder recommends keeping guests refreshed with a bar area in your viewing room. You can drape a table with a striped fabric to mimic referee shirts or put drinks in big tubs festooned with the colors of your team. Hanging up a chalkboard to keep the score is a great way to keep guests caught up with the game if they’re busy chatting and eating, and is also a great way to get kids involved.
Set the mood with a playlist. Salita suggests music from the classic Michael Jordan movie Space Jam, or the Harlem Globetrotters’ theme. The song “Basketball” by Kurtis Blow is also a great tune to get your head into the game.
Don’t forget to decorate your food area, too, since it’s guaranteed to be a much-visited spot. “I always like to stagger food items and have them at different heights,” says Daley-Boeder. She suggests using a glass vase with basketball netting or filled with little plastic basketballs as a great way to elevate a platter of snacks. Let guests know what’s on the menu with chalkboards set up by the buffet. If you’ve got small trophies at home, put them on the table to add a bit of glory to the proceedings. Daley-Boeder also recommends looking around on Etsy for fun basketball-themed confetti pieces to scatter around the table.
Staff the Concessions
Whet your guests’ appetites with delicious (and simple) drinks. Keep soda and punch around for any underage guests; seasonal beer and wine are fun for the adults.
Nothing works up an appetite like watching a fierce competition, so fuel your guests up with easy and festive fare. For quick grab-and-go snacks, Salita recommends using edible food-coloring markers to draw basketball or court lines on various round or basketball-colored delicacies like clementines or oranges, mini hamburger buns or doughnut holes. Dipping strawberries in orange-colored frosting and adding black icing can be a fun activity for kiddos, too.
Daley-Boeder recommends having pre-game snacks on hand, like spiced nuts or veggie “shooters” (veggies and dip in individual serving cups). Keep your guests mobile by serving snacks that can be carried easily.
For a main course, pulled pork or turkey sliders, baked potatoes, and chili are all low-maintenance options. Cater to a sweet tooth with basketball-themed cupcakes or cake pops (check online for a DIY version, or call a local bakery to see if they can accommodate the request) or sugar cookies with orange frosting. We asked local caterer and event stylist Carole Garrigos of Carole’s Catering to whip up a few specials to share. Check out Garrigos’ favorite recipes on page 44.
Halftime Hustle
Enhance the main event with a few activities of your own.
Depending on your space, Salita suggests loosening up your guests with a round of lightning or H-O-R-S-E at a Nerf basketball hoop. Adjust the hoop’s height so all ages can join in. If you feel like competing while sitting, pick up a tabletop basketball game (available for $13 to $30 at Target, Walmart and Kohl’s).
Daley-Boeder advises setting up an indoor beanbag toss, using poster board to make the holes look like a basket. Print off a basketball bingo sheet to help keep kids interested in the game. For guests with good hand-eye coordination, set up a round of pong-basketball on a table, and assign different points to the cups to make scoring more interesting. Test your attendees’ basketball brains with a round of trivia on the teams, players and the sport as a whole. Give all games a championship twist by making a bracketed competition throughout the day or evening, with a final face-off between the last two standing. You can even reward the victor with a prize to take home at the end of the night.
Additional Alley-Oops
If you’re hungry for more ideas, Salita and Daley-Boeder both recommend using Etsy and Pinterest for inspiration. These popular websites are loaded with creative and unique ideas to add the finishing touch to your party. With these excellent suggestions in your hands, your party will surely be a swish.
#1Menu: Recipes from Carole Garrigos
16-Bean Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 3.5 cups Goya 16-bean soup mix (dry)
- 16 oz. ground turkey (93% lean)
- 1 cup red bell peppers (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cup free-range chicken broth
- 1 cup fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. Liquid Smoke
Directions
Soak beans according to package instructions.
Bring 4 cups of chicken broth to a boil. Add beans and ground turkey. Reduce to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 1 hour. Add tomatoes, garlic, peppers, onions, flavor packet from beans, chili powder and Liquid Smoke. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings as needed. Top with cheese, Fritos, sour cream, cilantro and more!
White Sangria with Kumquats and Citrus
Ingredients
- 1 grapefruit, peeled and cut into supreme-style segments
- 2 oranges, peeled and cut into supreme-style segments
- 1 blood orange, cut into slices
- 10 kumquats cut into slices
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- ½ c. orange liqueur (like Grand Marnier)
- 2 cups chilled sparkling water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 750 mL bottle of chilled moscato wine
- Ice
Directions
Put the citrus fruit slices and segments in a pitcher. Add honey and orange liqueur, let macerate for at least 30 minutes. Add chilled sparkling water, moscato, lemon juice and ice. Mix well. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready.
Final Four Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 1.5 to 2 lbs. chicken wings and drummettes (separated)
- 1/4 c. salted butter
- 2 Tbsp. Sriracha hot sauce
- ½ c. plus 2 T blood orange marmalade (available at Trader Joe’s)
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add at least 2 teaspoons of salt to the water. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Boil chicken wings for 8 minutes. Drain and place on an uncovered baking sheet. Use a paper towel to dry completely (there should be no moisture left). Discard the paper towels and place the chicken wings ½ to 1 inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes and flip each wing over. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.
While wings are baking, add butter to a small saucepan. After butter has melted on medium-low heat, add Sriracha and marmalade. Mix and cook for 5 to 8 minutes.
Remove wings from baking sheet and place into a large mixing bowl. Add Sriracha-marmalade sauce and toss to coat. You’ll have leftover sauce; store in an airtight container in the refrigerator to save for later!
