Super Bowl Party Guide

The Super Bowl is a football fan’s favorite time of year. From huge Super Bowl party blow outs to smaller, more intimate viewing parties, Super Bowl Sunday is a time to drink, eat and be entertained. Whether you are looking for football party games, a Super Bowl tailgate party, or good Super Bowl recipes, this guide will take you step by step through great ideas to entertain your guests without a lot of fuss so that you can enjoy the big game as well. For a guide as to when and what teams are playing at the most recent Super Bowl, visit SuperBowl.com. For a history of the Super Bowl, visit Super Bowl Answers.

How to Throw a Football Party

First thing you have to decide is whether or not you are throwing a big tailgate or a smaller viewing party at your house or a venue. It’s a matter of space and the resources you have: the most important part of a Super Bowl Party is the equipment to watch the big game. Regardless of where you are hosting, make sure to have a big table for people to play card games or drinking games leading up to the big game.

If you’re throwing a tailgate party…

Even if you don’t have tickets to the Super Bowl, you can still throw a party like you are at a tailgate. The food and beverages do not have to change, but you definitely need to put more thought into the electric equipment. If you have a projector, make sure that you find a nice white area that you can project the big game upon. Make sure ahead of time that your equipment works. The last thing you want to do is to arrive at your tailgate site and for your television or projector to not work, then have to scramble all of your refreshments and guests to a different location.

If you’re throwing a viewing party…

Viewing parties are fun even though they are not as authentic as a tailgate party. Make sure to decorate the rooms where you will be entertaining properly. Hang banners, pull out football memorabilia, and make sure that you have enough seating to accommodate for as many guests as you have. Also, make sure that you have a good enough surface area in the same room as the television to lay out your refreshments. People do not want to leave the room to get more food, and you don’t want to be left with too many leftovers.

Super Bowl Food Ideas

When throwing a Super Bowl party, you want to make sure the food and drinks are appropriate. You also want to break up the food by the game halves. Here is a great way to serve food throughout the entire game so that your guests stay full and happy, and you don’t have to worry about missing the game.

Pre-Game and First Half Finger Foods and Appetizers

Good Super Bowl recipes can be made ahead of time and don’t spoil when sitting out at room temperature. For the pre-game and first half, stick to appetizers and finger foods. Chips and dips are great ways to satisfy your guests. Try this bean dip recipe, this quesadilla recipe and this guacamole recipe for a zesty south-of-the-border theme to your Super Bowl theme party. Other healthy side dishes, fondue and pizza are great alternatives to Mexican food if you’re looking to mix it up.

Bring out the BBQ at Half-Time

Half-time is perfect for bringing out the big meats to satisfy your guests after the carbohydrates of the first-half of the game. Remember to keep it easy – sometimes cutlery is not the easiest when guests are eating standing up or eating on the couch. Wow them with succulent grilled chicken, tri-tip steak, beef steaks or BBQ ribs. Don’t forget to make your own BBQ sauce for full authenticity. If the weather does not permit you to barbecue outside, crispy fried chicken, burritos, carnitas and fajitas are great alternatives that your guests will love.

The Second-Half is for Desserts

If your guests aren’t too full from the delicious foods from the first half and half-time, dessert is perfect for the second half of the game. Vary your desserts since everyone’s sweet tooth is different. From sugar cookies to snickerdoodles to chocolate chip cookies, it’s always a good idea to have light and fluffy cookies that your guests can pick at and snack on throughout the second half. Cookies are a very low-maintenance dessert that you can cook ahead of time. Also have an assortment of cheesecake, chocolate desserts, and strawberry desserts. The fruit will be surprisingly refreshing for your guests.

Super Bowl Party Drinks

It’s all about keeping your guests hydrated. There are two ways to go about serving drinks at your Super Bowl party. You can either provide individual drinks in bottles or cans, or you can provide a big punch bowl or bottles of beverages and have your guests serve themselves in cups.

Whether or not your party is non-alcoholic, you definitely want to have bottles of water, juices, and soft drinks to mix with alcohol or to have on their own. Keep these beverages laid out so that your guests can help themselves and you aren’t stuck playing bartender.

As far as a bar goes, you definitely want to have one of everything for your guests to mix with sodas and tonics: whiskey, vodka, tequila and rum. Also keep a cooler full of cans and bottles of beer for your guests because nothing goes better with football than beer. Make sure to have ingredients for classic drinks like the Manhattan cocktail or the perfect vodka martini. For more fantastic drink recipes, read more bartending articles.