Be the MVP of Your Super Bowl XLI Party

It’s that super time of year again! Super Bowl XLI is right around the corner. Millions of people are already planning their menu for the big game. Why do so many people have Super Bowl parties, anyway? Maybe it’s because the Super Bowl offers something for everyone…football fans get to watch the biggest game of the year, television fans get to view funny commercials, and food fans get to eat all day. What super reasons to throw a big bash! Make your Super Bowl XLI party the bash of the year with these football party tips. You’ll be sure to score a touchdown with your biggest fans.

Invitations: Create a unique Super Bowl ticket invitation. Print the invitations on cardstock cut out to look like event tickets. List pertinent party information as it would appear on a real ticket. Make it fun by listing your home as “Your Name Stadium” and ask guests to decorate themselves in their favorite team’s colors.

Decorations: Create a giant football player by cutting a silhouette out of a large refrigerator box. Paint the player in your team’s colors and place him in the yard to greet your guests. If you have a large entryway or foyer, use masking tape to create a miniature football field. Mark off yard lines with strips of tape and block numbers. Move your biggest television into the party room and your second biggest television into the kitchen. Lay a big piece of turf on the buffet table and place a football tee and football in the center. Place bouquets of helium balloons of both team’s colors around the party room.

Food: Set up one table for snack foods and another table for sweets. Serve finger foods only. Hot dogs and chicken wings are easy to eat and require no utensils. Cut hero sandwiches to look like footballs and stick toothpick pennants in them. Serve several dips with many different types of chips and crackers. Arrange a vegetable tray with several crudités and a fruit and cheese tray with bite-sized fruit pieces. On the dessert table make a centerpiece of football-shaped cupcakes or a sheet cake decorated to look like a football field. Set out a plate of brownies and an assortment of cookies. Set up a drink station in the kitchen with plenty of soda, beer and bottled water.

Activities: Set up a betting pool before the game starts. (A pool will give the non-football fans a reason to watch the game.) Hand out pom-poms for guests to shake. Throw around small, soft footballs to get the crowd going.

A Super Bowl bash is one of the easiest parties to throw because the football game and the commercials do the entertaining for you. The only thing you really need to worry about is the eating and the drinking. Provide enough snacks and drinks to last four hours (watching football tends to make people want to eat and drink) and make the party room look as football-festive as possible. Of course it helps if you have a big screen TV. If you don’t have a big screen, consider renting a projector for the day…everyone will love watching the big game on the big wall! Most of all relax and enjoy the big game. And may the best team win!

write by Annabella