How to Make Basketball Bowls for a March Madness Party

For the first time in a couple of years (since I got pregnant the first time about 3 years ago), I’m throwing a March Madness Party. One of the funnest “tricks” I use to make my table all sorts of basketball-awesome is to make bowls out of basketballs and put my chips or other snacks in them. So, for those of you who are headed to the kitchen to whip-up a party and enjoy some b-ball over the next couple of weeks, here’s How to Make Basketball Bowls for a March Madness Party. It’s super easy and makes a killer-cool scene…

The idea for this originally came to me from my son’s heavily beat-up old basketball that had sprung a leak. For some reason, we kept the old thing around, even though it was more like a basketball skin than a ball for any kind of game. I saw that ball one afternoon in the garage, full of random junk that seems to collect in garages. Inspiration, my friends, in a pile of junk stuffed in what should have been trash. But, I hesitated to just use a nasty old basketball–so, I bought a new one. Heh.

Now, I have these great balls that my son occasionally nicks to play with, but I get to turn into bowls come party time. Kinda the most awesome ever.

How to Make Basketball Bowls for a March Madness Party

So, I know there are those of you out there that hate written directions, so, for you, my friends that run with scissors and drive without maps, here’s a quick photo tutorial. You can figure it out from here. Heh.

For the rest of you, here’s my quick tutorial in words. LOL!

Using your ball-inflation needle (just the needle, not the pump), go ahead and insert it in the ball’s hole.
Slowly press the ball, forcing the air out.
While forcing the air out, be sure to push toward the center to force the ball into a bowl shape. If you just crumple it, you’ll get a lumpy mess, but if you’re careful, a bowl will form.
Using a glass bowl of equivalent size, tuck it into the depression in the ball, further shaping the bowl and stiffening it. I like to leave the bowl in there so I don’t have to wash the balls before or after use…but that’s up to you. LOL!