REESE’S Three Point Popcorn, Slam Dunk Coke Floats & Basketball OREOS for the ULTIMATE Basketball Party!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #UnbelievableMoments #CollectiveBias

College basketball season is in full swing and I’m sure there will be parties aplenty while everyone roots on their beloved college basketball team.

But sometimes throwing a party can a tad daunting, especially if its a sports-related one. No one sits down and eats a steak dinner during the major tournament, so party food has to be on point for it to be successful, am I right? And chips & dip, while delicious, are kind of predictable. So I’m going to show you how to throw the BEST Basketball Party without all the stress & fuss so you can spend more time eating… or, you know, watching the game 🙂

First up – party planning, obviously. No one just has color-coordinated plates and napkins lying around unless you live inside of a party supply store. I did most of my shopping at Target, where I purchased my ingredients for all of the treats you see above as well. Target has a great party supply selection with tons of different colored plate, napkin, and utensil items, and lots of fun decorations for any theme you could think of. Sports was an obvious one for this party, so I picked up some fun basketball confetti, these cool basketball plates and cups, and the basketball bouncy balls – party favors that no kid can resist.

Bonus that all my ingredients were on sale at my local Target! Score!

If you don’t want to go with a generic basketball theme and would rather stick with your favorite college team’s colors, that would be great, too! Or if you know of two particular teams playing one another, you could go with all four colors to make it really festive and spirited.

I found these super cute orange paper treat boxes and knew I could doctor ’em up really fun for this party. I simply drew on a couple of arches on either side, a line down the middle, and one through the center for a basketball lining’s shape. Easy and SO cute… and of course, the perfect vessel to hold my REESE’S Three Point Shot Popcorn. It’s pretty awesome, you guys… so let’s talk about that for a sec.

This popcorn is the perfect sweet-and-salty treat for munching during the game and it couldn’t be simpler to whip together. I don’t know about you, but when eating something mixed up, like trail mix or chex mix, I’m always searching for my favorite component to eat first, and these REESE’S Peanut Butter Cup Minis are that! They’re so adorable and the perfect miniature size for this popcorn.

(Psst.. if you have Target’s Cartwheel App, there’s a free coupon for REESE’S Peanut Butter Cup Minis available from 3/15-4/4. Download it!)

Next up? OREO Basketballs! Adorable basketballs made from OREO Cookies. Don’t cringe from intimidation – I promise these are a breeze to make. They do require a little bit of a steadier hand, and a disposable piping bottle, but they’re so worth the smidgen of extra effort. Not only do they look the part, they taste awesome. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy chocolate-covered OREOS? No one, that’s who.

(BTW, you can find a small piping bottle like this in the baking aisle of most stores, or sometimes even the craft aisle!)

Last up: my Slam Dunk Coke Floats. These bad boys are delicious, thanks to Coke Zero. Their motto is ‘you don’t know ZERO ’til you’ve tried it‘ and that’s so true. It tastes just like regular Coke but without all the calories and sugar. And did you know that Coke Zero and Target use special “drinkable” advertising and technology so people can try out Coke Zero for themselves with a free 20 oz coupon? Starting April 2nd, download the Shazam app to participate in these unbelievable experiences at a drinkable TV spot, jumbo-tron, or at CokeZero.com.

These are like your traditional Coke Floats but made with Coke Zero instead. I used fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt for the “dunks” of ice cream, but any icy-cold ice cream will work! They’re the perfect, refreshing way to indulge while watching pivotal, #unbelievablemoments during the game.

Now back to the spread. Again, I went with a general basketball theme here but team colors would be a fun and festive touch should you throw your own Ultimate Basketball Party. I like to lay all of my components on the same table so guests know where all the good stuff is 🙂 I like putting the packaging behind some items where people may not know what’s what, so as to offer better clarification. You could also put up cute placecards with the food or drink item’s name on it so folks know what they’re eating.

Also, when throwing parties, I don’t like to set out everything I have. Much like a retail shop, I keep some stuff out on the floor and some stuff behind so when something leaves the table, I can replenish it. This keeps the table from looking too full of busy and keeps me working off those calories from all the popcorn I’ve been eating 🙂

I also like how everything is arranged on the table and a little scattered about. Don’t get me wrong; I love things tidy and orderly, but having a couple of straws left out (BTW, paper straws are a must!) keeps it lively. Scattering the basketball bouncy balls and plush basketballs about keeps your eye darting around and makes things interesting. And experiment with height – top OREO Basketballs on a medium-sized cake stand, the REESE’S Popcorn in tall treat bags, and use shorter cups for your Coke Floats. It keeps the table balanced, even if there are different shapes and sizes.

But most importantly… Have fun! It’s a freakin’ party, man. And even if your team loses, there’s still Coke Floats to fall back on… and that’s never a bad thing!

Now, who wants some REESE’S Popcorn and OREO Basketballs?!

For more info on Mondelez products, such as OREO Cookies, be sure to visit their site and enter to win their ULTIMATE Basketball Prize! And visit Coke Zero’s site for info to get a 20 oz Coke Zero for FREE starting April 2.

Thanks for stopping by! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some popcorn to eat.

Have a great day!

xo, Hayley