You know it's tailgate party season when the air turns chilly,
conversation turns to football and you begin to crave a hot bowl of
chili. It doesn't matter whether you're going to a game or watching it
on TV, you can host a winning tailgate party with your family, friends
and football fans using the following tips.
Invitations
Buy miniature or inflatable footballs from a party store, write the party
details in permanent marker, and mail them to your guests. Ask them
to bring their football invitations to the party for some armchair
quarterback fun.
Costumes
Encourage the guests to support the home team and dress as fanatical
fans, sporting their favorite team's colors, jerseys and caps. When
they arrive, offer accessories including giant foam fingers, whistles,
team flags and small mascots.
Decorations
While most tailgate parties are held in the event parking lot, you can
also host a party at home in your own driveway. Give your at-home
tailgate party some pizzazz with a few simple, but colorful touches:
- Corner off the area with a string of helium balloons, to let
everyone know where the party is. Tie more balloons to the
corners of the tables, the backs of cars, and other nearby posts
or trees to mark your party zone.
- Set up several portable tables and cover them with paper
tablecloths in team colors. Add paper products in complementary
colors.
- Keep the party casual or make it formal with an eye toward the
table decorations and centerpieces. If your party is casual, set
out sports equipment, trading cards and personalized can cozies.
If you want elegance, arrange fresh flowers, silver serving bowls
and imitation trophies.
- Don't forget tailgate party essentials: chairs, corkscrews, bottle
openers, paper towels, napkins, trash bags, condiments, ice,
coolers, blankets, sun screen, grills, a radio, flashlights and
tickets to the sporting event.
Games & Activities
The "big game" will provide most of the entertainment, but here are a
few suggestions for activities before and after the event, as well as
during halftime:
Paint Your Face!
Get out the face paints and let the guests
apply their festive "war paint" with team colors or eye black.
Award prizes for the best face paintings.
Show Your Support!
Buy large sheets of paper or poster board
and provide paints or color markers. Divide the group into teams
and have the players create their own banners. Hang them up
for all to see when they're finished.
Play Ball!
Bring along the miniature football invitations and toss
them around. Or have the players do stunts with them, such as
toss them into the cooler or catch them with one hand. Also
bring along some regular footballs or Frisbees for fun.
Refreshments
Food is half the fun at a tailgate party! Here are some quick and easy
ways to keep the fans fed and full:
- Grill up some hot dogs, Polish sausages and bratwurst on a
portable barbeque. Serve them with a variety of condiments.
- Serve easy-to-eat finger foods, such as small sandwiches, veggie
sticks and dips, meat skewers, cheese and crackers and nachos.
- Chili is traditional at sporting events, so cook up a pot of your
favorite recipe and serve it with a hunk of cornbread. Or for a
warm and filling change, make jambalaya, pork and beans, beef
stew or mac and cheese.
- To round out the meal, serve potato salad, macaroni salad, or
cole slaw, along with a slice of garlic or French bread on the side.
- Don't forget dessert! Have a cake made to look like the gridiron,
cupcakes decorated like mini-footballs, or a platter of All-
American fudge brownies and chocolate chip cookies.
Favors
Send the fans home with memories of a good time - team hats,
banners, shirts, can cozies, inexpensive sports equipment or player
bobbleheads. Go team!
Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author
and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16
specific to parties. Additionally, Warner writes a weekly newspaper
column on family life, penned a column for Sesame Street Parents
magazine and has appeared on several regional and national TV morning
programs. Her latest book, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, debuted in
February 2010 from NAL/Penguin.
Balloon Time is the leading brand of consumer helium balloon kits
in North America. Balloon Time kits feature a helium-filled tank, latex
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