Are you hosting the Super Bowl party this year? Whether you volunteered to host, or volunteered as tribute, here are ten survival tips to ensure that your Super Bowl party is a touchdown!
1. Cover your surfaces
Tablecloths often get overlooked until cleanup time when you realize that someone spilled chili dip all over your dining room table. You can find football field tablecloths at Party City or Wal Mart to protect your wooden surfaces and add to the festivities! Consider taking up area rugs and runners as these are notoriously hard to wash should they be stained.
2. Parking
Often times people forget to think about this until a neighbor complains about someone parking on her lawn. Try to think ahead and put your own cars in the garage if possible. If not, it’s always courteous to give neighbors the heads-up that you’ll have people parking on the street. Who knows, maybe they’ll even offer up a spot in their driveway if they’re going to be out anyways.
3. Kids
This can be another afterthought until your niece knocks over a tray of pigsinablanket. Make sure to think ahead and plan a separate space for the kids to hang out. If available, set them up with a TV and a bunch of snacks in another room. Or, better yet, send them outside with a couple of footballs!
4. Protect your valuables
Remove any breakable decor from party areas (i.e. glass vases, breakable picture frames, family heirlooms, etc.) Clearing clutter will also make more room to place food, plates, and cups.
5. Coasters Coasters Coasters
You can also get festive, disposable coasters at any party supply store. Place several on each open surface so that people see them before they go to put their drink down on your bare mahogany end table.
6. PAPER. TOWELS.
Need we say more? We suggest placing a few rolls strategically around the room.
7. Open Seating
Chances are you don’t have room for twenty people on the couch, and guests will inevitably end up sitting on ottomans, kitchen stools, end tables, or each other. Make sure that you have appropriate seating, even if that just means throwing some larger pillows down on the floor, people will take the hint.
8. Commercials
Some of us aren’t watching the Super Bowl for the Super Bowl… For those guests that are here for the commercials, try setting some food out in the kitchen or even turning the kitchen TV on to the game if you have one. Creating multiple rooms to eat/watch in will inevitably provide areas where everyone can duck in and out to watch where they please.
9. Drink Tags
This can be a fun and utilitarian pre-game activity. Your guests can DIY football-themed tags for their drinks. Hand out some colored pens and tags and let people decorate how they like. You can pick up a spool of twine and some paper nametags in the craft section of any big box store.
10. Finger Foods
Oftentimes ‘Super Bowl food’ is more snack-centric than it is a sit-down meal. The challenge with this is how to serve foods that aren’t going to get messy while still upholding everyone’s expectations of what chili cheese dip and guacamole should taste like. *cue image of ambitious chip-dipper dropping a hunk of guacamole on your carpet*
Here are some neater options you may not have thought of:
- Mini Meatballs – consider serving these mini meatballs with toothpicks so your guests can pop them in their mouths one by one instead of pouring four meatballs on a plate covered in sauce.
- Fried Ravioli with Marinara Sauce – the key here is one-bite foods, things that your guests can dip and eat in one fell swoop. These are delicious and unique and don’t require a fork and knife.
- Bacon Cheddar Jalapeno Pinwheels – These are easy to make ahead of time and bake the day of. It’s as simple as dumping all of the ingredients on a sheet of pizza dough and rolling it up.
- Cheddar Popovers – These are irresistible, cheesy, biscuit-like bites of heaven. Prep time is around ten minutes before they spend 30 minutes in the oven, so no need to wake up early to slave away in the kitchen.
- Loaded Potato Bites – Rather than traditional potato skins that take hours to make and pose the risk of getting messy, try these mini alternatives. They only take 30-40 minutes and you don’t have to pull out your KitchenAid.