Planning a Super Bowl Party

Now that February is under way and the boredom of January is behind us, let’s kick off the new month with a winner: your very own Super Bowl XLV Party! This is one party where you can let loose with the planning and focus on simply having fun. Let’s begin by tackling some of the best ways to make sure your party is worthy of championship celebration.

The two most important ingredients are lots of food and drinks and a TV or two. Whether you or your guests gather for the love of the game or not, these are the essentials.

A buffet table of simple, portable foods is your best bet. You don’t want to commit a penalty by asking your guests to sit around a table for entrees when they’d rather be shouting at the TV and jumping around in celebration or despair. If you plan on having a large gathering, set up as many TVs as you have available around your party area for easier viewing for everyone.

Regarding the foods to prepare: keep it simple. Avoid a menu full of items that require intensive preparation that will keep you in the kitchen the whole time. Make sure you get to enjoy your own party as well.

Chips, an assortment of dips, salsa, chili, chicken wings, cheeses, pizza, mini sausages, and basically any high-fat finger foods that are easy to serve, eat, and enjoy while watching the game are perfect menu items. For drinks, be sure to have a variety of sodas and beer kept on ice.

For the most part, these are foods and drinks that everyone loves and enjoys worry- and guilt-free or hurting their diets as long as it is during a Super Bowl party. However, for your more health conscious guests who are not into football as much or simply don’t want to overindulge, have some carrots and celery with fat-free ranch dip and some water and wine for them to enjoy.

To further accommodate the hardcore fans from the casual partygoers who aren’t interested in the game, have a room set aside for the game and another where guests can have a quieter place to talk without disturbing the fans with idle chatter.

For an added feel at your party, decorate in team colors or jerseys if you have them handy and various football props such as goal posts, footballs, whistles and so on. Since most guests will be more interested in the quality of your TV’s reception, you shouldn’t worry too much about decorating heavily for visual appeal.

Football games, especially the Super Bowl, are known for the betting pools they create. Whether it’s the outcome of the game, isolated quarters or plays of the game, or even proposition bets such as who will score first, how long the national anthem will last or if there will be a halftime show costume malfunction, which commercial will play the most, etc., there are plenty of wagers that may come up. So keep a little spare change and small bills handy to have some fun with these best as they pop up.

After all this fun and excitement, you will surely have a lot of cleaning up to do. Have lots of paper towels and napkins for guests throughout the party to avoid dirtying furniture and such. Also, be prepared to bring out the vacuum and rug cleaner solutions to take care of the messes that will be created during exciting plays. Have a big trash bag to help make cleanup easier at the end of the party as well.

All in all, a Super Bowl party planning should not be a hassle, but a fun and exciting ordeal. Keep it simple and keep it fun. Just make sure to invite some guests that will stick around and help with the cleanup afterwards.

Good luck with your party and the game should you be a fan of either team this year!