How to Host an All-American Afternoon

What’s more American than horseshoes, baseball and apple pie? Spend the whole afternoon celebrating the best of the U.S. Break out the gloves and bats and get ready for a mean game of homerun derby. Follow it up with an ice cream picnic, denim decorating and an apple pie baking contest.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Pitching machine
• Blankets, umbrellas, cushions
• Decorating materials like scissors, glue, patches, glitter glue, puff paint, ribbon, and glitter
• Plates, forks, napkins, spoons, ice cream scoop
• Cooler
• Note cards, pens
• Apple desserts
• Wiffle balls, Wiffle ball bats, baseball gloves, batting gloves
• Horseshoes
• Jeans, denim shorts, skirts, jackets
• Ice cream, cookies

1. Remember the county fair pie baking competitions? Wouldn’t it be great to start a tradition of hosting an annual apple pie baking contest? Invite guests to bring an apple dessert. It doesn’t have to be pie, it could be pastries or tarts, whatever they consider their specialty. Have a few apple desserts on hand in case every guest doesn’t make something.
2. Give everyone a judging card with categories such as presentation, taste, texture, smell, and overall. Let everyone have a taste of each dessert. Then collect the cards, tally up the votes and award the winner with a blue ribbon or some “Big Apple” swag from the Big Apple (New York City).
3. Set up an ice ceam sandwich picnic. Spread blankets and cushions for a relaxing session of ice cream sandwich making. Fill picnic baskets with homemade or store-bought cookies, assorted ice creams, a scoop and a ton of napkins.
4. Burn off calories with a round of 3 flies up or homerun derby. Grab a Wiffle ball pitching machine, bats, balls and gloves, then it's batter up! In 3 flies up you need a batter and a pitcher (or someone to feed the pitching machine) while everyone else is in the outfield. The pitcher lobs the ball to the batter and the first outfielder to catch 3 flies wins and gets to be the batter. Homerun derby requires a batter, a catcher and a pitcher (or someone to feed the pitching machine) with everyone else is in the outfield. The pitcher lobs the ball to the batter and if he/she hits anything other than a home run, it’s an out. Each batter gets three outs then the next batter is up. The person with the most homeruns wins.
5. Set up horseshoes if space allows. It’s the only game where “almost” actually does count.
6. Think denim. An All-American afternoon would not be complete without denim and without shorts. Enter the denim decorating station. Ask guests to bring old denim jeans (have a few on hand as well) to make into cutoffs. Compile a kit of decorating supplies such as scissors, glue, patches, glitter glue, fabric-writing puff paint, an iron and ribbon. You never know, an old pair of jeans could become your new favorite summer Daisy Dukes.

Tips & Warnings

• Pick up an ice cream cooler or ice cream picnic basket (link below) so the ice cream doesn’t melt while the picnic is still going on.
• Have a clothesline set up for guests to hang up their finished jeans to dry and show off.
• Bring umbrellas to shade the picnic area if you are out in the hot summer sun. This way you, the ice cream and the guests can stay cool.

Who Can Help

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