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I’ll admit I’m not as into college basketball as I used to be. Still, when March Madness rolls around, I do my 30 minutes of research and learn everything I can about the buzz-worthy teams and players. I also start planning basketball watch parties. This year I partnered with Hy-Vee to create a chicken wing charcuterie board and thought it’d be fun to go all-in and create a whole themed basketball party spread, too. I’m aware of my heavy preference for gold glittery decor and pastels, so it was fun getting to put my spin on traditional black and orange basketball party decor. Spoiler alert: In case you can’t already tell, I leaned heavily on a lighter version of March Madness blue. Ha! Anyways, keep reading for five of my favorite basketball party ideas, all of which are perfect for celebrating March Madness!
March Madness Party Ideas
1. Concession Stand Centerpiece
Orange flowers are actually pretty hard to find, so I picked up 30 white, yellow, and orangey-red tulips from the grocery store. Now, tulips are tulips. They’re pretty no matter how you arrange them. Still, I was having a hard time tying this particular centerpiece into the March Madness theme, so I turned on my Cricut Explore Air 2 and cut a “Concession Stand” sign out of gold glitter cardstock (get the project template here). Then, I hot glued 4 wooden skewers to the back and arranged the skewers into the tape grid I created for the flowers.
Oh, and I also sprayed the glittery side with Scotch Super 77 to avoid a sparkly explosion on the table.
2. Chicken Wing Charcuterie Board
Whether the watch party’s for football, basketball, soccer, or another sport, game day appetizers are a must. For this year’s March Madness party, I wanted to put out lots of grab-and-go finger food, so a chicken wing charcuterie board fit the bill perfectly.
Here’s everything I used to create this chicken wing charcuterie board–
- Boneless wings– I admire anyone who makes their own wings, but I order mine from Hy-Vee. They seriously make the absolute best boneless wings, and you can get a serious-sized platter for under $30.
- Dips– Ranch is a must, but I also put out some buffalo chicken dip for guests to enjoy. I really like it with celery, but it’s probably also worth setting out some crackers or crostinis for spreading, too.
- Green and orange veggies– To stay within a reasonable budget, I bought whatever green and orange veggies were on sale. In this case, it was carrots, celery, baby peppers, broccoli, cucumber, and green peppers. Other great ideas are snap peas, green olives, okra, and avocado slices.
- Parsley and feta– I used parsley and feta as a chicken wing garnish. Other green herbs, particularly chives or scallions, would work well, too!
Click play on the Instagram Reel below or head to this blog post for a step-by-step tutorial!
3. Basketball Cupcake Toppers
When I was looking for Superbowl watch party decorations, I found so many cute cocktail picks. Like so many (looking at these, Amazon). That wasn’t the case with virtually any March Madness decorations, including but not limited to cocktail picks or cupcake toppers. So, I turned on my Cricut again and cut some basketball player silhouettes out of gold glitter cardstock (get the project template here). Then, I sprayed the glitter with Scotch Super 77 and glued them to plain cocktail picks.
I used these particular cocktail picks as cupcake toppers and then also made some gold basketball picks for wings and other snacks. Cute, right?!
4. Mini Trophies
I love plastic mini trophies. They make great cheap bud vases, party favors, appetizer servers, and, in this case, basketball party decorations. I spray painted each of mine French blue and then hot glued one of my aforementioned gold glitter basketball cut-outs inside. If you have actual mini basketballs (as in one’s that bounce), that’d be even better– and those would make adorable basketball party favors, too!
5. Individual Mini Popcorn Boxes
Last, but not least, I like to think that grab-and-go snacks are king when it comes to watch parties. So, after seeing these orange mini popcorn boxes on Amazon, ordering them was a no-brainer. I filled some with popcorn and blue M&Ms and others with Cheese-Its, but the options are endless. Cheetos, cheese balls, nuts, and pretzels (yogurt-covered or regular) are all great ideas, too.
Oh, and another one of my favorite basketball party ideas, especially if you’re having kiddos over, is making Clementine “basketballs.” You can leave them as-is or draw on some black basketball lines with a Sharpie.
Anyways, that’s all I’ve got for y’all today! As always, please let me know if you have questions about any of these basketball party ideas. Whether it’s how to make them or how much they cost or whatever, I love hearing from you guys, and I’m happy to help!
What are some of your favorite basketball party ideas? Any favorite snacks or desserts? Let me know in the comments!
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Just so you know, I was reimbursed for the cost of these products as part of a sponsored social campaign with Hy-Vee. I loved this creating this game day food spread so much that I decided to feature it on my blog, as well, although I had no obligation to do so. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
