My husband, Chad, turned 31 this summer. As always, I wanted to celebrate him with a get together with friends, beer, and one of his favorite activities. Enter: Pints and Paddles—a pickleball party.
It was casual (much more so than last year’s Camp Chad summer camp-themed getaway), but so much fun.
As always, the party had to embrace the theme; here are the details of how I threw my wonderful husband a pickleball party.
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Pints and Paddles details
Location
When Chad and I first started playing pickleball (back in May 2023), I signed us up for a league at a bar. Dale Z’s on Tour is the perfect setting for pickleball lovers in Milwaukee: there’s two private courts on-site, with a great pavilion area and bar inside. During our time in the league, we grew as pickleball players and began to love the sport; it pretty much became our personality. Our love affair with pickleball all started at Dale Z’s.
Now, two years later, I was able to reserve the space for Pints and Paddles.
Dale Z’s was the perfect location for a pickleball party in Milwaukee: I got to reserve the courts for two hours for free (!!!), there’s shaded outdoor space with comfortable seating, and our guests could help themselves to ordering food or drinks at the bar. They also have paddles and balls to borrow during your time playing.
It was an incredible venue and I highly recommend Dale Z’s for your Milwaukee pickleball parties.
Invitation
After we set the date, I decided to use a new platform to send out invitations (Facebook events rarely seem to get an RSVP these days). Inspired by our friend Jackson’s recent tiki party invites, we used the platform Partiful.
Partiful is incredibly cool! I was drawn to the digital platform because of easy text-based RSVPs and automatic alerts (a week to go, day-of), easy photo sharing, interactive design elements, and links to playlists. It was free to use, too!
As for the invitation itself, I tried to lean into a design that captured the easy-going vibe of the pickleball party: simple and fun. I’m happy with how it turned out!
Favors
Embracing the pickleball party theme, there were a few favors to note.
Such as:
- Custom pickleballs – I bought pickleballs from Amazon, then used a custom stamp (ordered from Office Depot) that said “hbd Chad” on each of the balls
- Headbands – solid white, or green and white striped
- Custom cookies – pickleball themed, designed and created by Kelsey at Midwestern Comfort
- Green Gatorades (they were green apple flavored!)
- Pickleball stickers
Overall, it was nothing crazy, but these small details went a long way.
Pickleball party format
There are a few different ways to throw a pickleball party: we opted for casual free-play. Anyone who wanted to play could jump on the court, ask to join, etc. It was easy and breezy, and fun to watch the games unfold.
Chad and I got to play a doubles game together, and it was wonderful to reunite as doubles partners once again.
A successful Pints and Paddles
All in all, Pints and Paddles was a rousing success! We had so much fun, and it was a wholesome way to celebrate Chad turning 31.
What’s one detail you’d bring to your own pickleball party?
Established in 2018, Sunshine with Savannah is a catch-all blog with an emphasis on weekend travel, millennial-style marriage and fun, reflection-based musings, outdoor adventure, home design, and all things lifestyle.
Though the content is diverse and varied, the heart of this space stays true to a single, guiding principle: a simple pursuit to find sunshine, wherever I go.
Sounds like the perfect day of celebration!
Have you ever played pickleball, John? It’s a blast! Thanks for reading!
Only once but love it! More interactive with opponents than tennis and a great fun way for a group to hang out in a healthy way!
You have talent on and off the court! Happy belated birthday to your sweet one!
Thank you so much!
I’ve heard a lot about pickleball on social media, and it seems like a really fun sport to try out. I really like the idea of it being part of a themed party too. It looks like your husband had a great time for his birthday!
Pickleball is so fun! It’s very approachable and intuitive to learn / play – I recommend trying it out! Several of our party guests had never played before and left as fans. Thank you for reading!