Gathering for the “big game” during football season is always a fun day to gather with friends and family. Regardless if your fan club is large or small, local or across the country, we’ve got some great ideas to help you celebrate anything from the first game of pre-season to the NFC-AFC World Championship.
Check out these awesome ways to get your game on.
Pre-Game
The host should have a game plan. Make a guest list and choose an arrival time. Send out invites via text, create a Facebook event, or get an email invite to those you would like to attend. Pitch-in style menus take some pressure off of you to feed the whole crew and allow others to bring something they KNOW they’ll like, so let your guests know what they can bring. With enough notice and planning, everyone will have a memorable and fun Sunday Sunday Sunday!
Super Plates For Your Party
Meal Prep
Make meal prep a group activity and invite your guests to arrive early to whip up a spread of delicious snacks. Gather your ingredients to cook and then grill and bake together. Share laughs and memories while you prepare a feast for your fans. Even if only a handful of your party guests can come ahead of time to participate, this is a great way to extend the festivities into a full-day event.
Take Inspiration From Stadium Food
Let all the classic food offerings of a football stadium inspire your menu for the Big Game. Foil-wrapped hot dogs, popcorn bags, cotton candy, bags of peanuts, fried chicken, chips, and a homemade 7-layer dip are all sure to be crowd-pleasers. The possibilities are endless really. Add fun drinks and dessert too!
Make Life Simple With Take Out
Instead of cooking and baking for all your guests or asking others to bring snack contributions, it may actually be more time and cost-effective to order from the local BBQ or pizza place. Have guests order their own or cover the entire bill yourself. Order together and have one person take on pick-up duty for the whole crowd or spring for a meal-delivery service like Doordash or Uber Eats.
Charcuterie Board Competition
Have guests make their own spreads with whatever they want. Be as creative as building a stadium platter or as simple as cheese and crackers. Kids love bite-sized food and these boards are easy to cater to your family’s tastes.
Dessert Decorating
Keep the little ones (or the less fanatical adults) entertained during the game with some cookie or cupcake decorating! Make or purchase plain sugar cookies or cupcakes ahead of time. Use icing, sprinkles, and candy to create the most creative football-themed dessert. Alternatively, work together to use Cocoa Krispies to make a huge football-shaped rice cereal and marshmallow treat. Use team colors or the mascot likeness to inspire you.
Wine or Beer Tasting
If you have a few adult beverage connoisseurs attending your party, have a beer or wine tasting. Buy a few varieties of wine or individual bottles of beer that you’ve never had before and sample some sips.
Trivia
Old Commercial Trivia
As the host, have a prepared list of questions ready to go. Google has plenty of question-and-answer options. Give guests a buzzer or bell to use when they’re ready to answer one of the fun, memorable commercials that were once shown during the big game.
Super Sunday History Quizzes
Set this quiz up like the trivia game above or read off the questions to all the guests at once and have them write their answers down. Show the correct (or incorrect) guess on a screen for all to see. Who won the game in 1986? Who was the MVP of the 1999 game? Depending on your guest list, this could be a challenging or easy break from the TV.
Name That Team
Only using the two teams playing the last game of the season, quiz your guests on specific facts. Which team has the most yards… the most sacks… the longest field goal… so far this season. A quick internet search should yield accurate results. Feel free to incorporate this current season or all-time facts and figures.
Would You Rather
A fun and thought-provoking game for fans of all ages. Questions like “Would you rather run fast or jump high?” or “Would you rather watch a championship game from the rafters or a regular season game on the sidelines?” Check out these PlayBuzz.com questions if you need some help coming up with questions.
Halftime Bowl
Halftime Show Bingo
The Halftime Show can be as entertaining as the game itself. Print out and email bingo cards for guests to play along. Not feeling creative? Then find some pre-made cards online. Bingo Baker has some great premade options ready to print. Bingo is great for all ages and of any level of game interest.
Karaoke or Lip Sync Battle
Have guests pick and choose from songs that have been performed during the Halftime Shows of years past. Here is a list of some of the best Halftime Shows from the last twenty years but feel free to go back to the 1990s when the pop music acts first started headlining the show.
Commercial Break Bowl
Rate the Commercials
Create a scorecard for each guest to rate their favorites. Make simple scorecards for recording basic rating info or create your own with more colorful verbiage and creative flair. Discuss and declare a winner at the end of the night!
Bingo
Along the lines of the Halftime Show bingo, but this version can be played throughout the whole game. Find some obscure things to add to your game squares if you want the game to last longer than the first quarter. Maybe a specific color of car, a specific genre of celebrity, or a type of animal to keep the game lasting longer.
The Youngest Fans
Crafts
Pinterest is full of football-themed crafts. The options are endless, from making goalposts out of popsicle sticks–and playing tabletop football–to making their own footballs out of a paper bag. Use whatever supplies you have on hand or buy kits to keep the kids busy during the Super Duper Sunday events.
Hire Out Entertainment
A caricature or cartoon artist will surely delight guests young and old in all their fan gear! You can always hire a pro, but bonus points if you have a friend or family member who is talented and willing to share their skills.
Cookie and Canvas
Plan a Cookie and Canvas with a football theme. Find an older teen or adult not really into the game on TV to lead the activity. Provide guests with paint, markers, and paper or canvas to use. There are lots of easy-to-follow YouTube videos or if your leader is artistic, have them create something easy to follow: a padded-up football player, goalposts at the end of a field, the Roman numerals of the game, or something as easy as a football in the grass. We love the easy-to-follow videos from teacher Laura Salee.
Scavenger Hunt
Have a list of things to find around the house ready to go. Our kids love scavenger hunts on any day but we think it’ll be especially handy to have ready to go if and when they get bored watching football all day. Make your hunt list as random or as specific as possible. Have guests take turns calling out an item to find, then have the kids bring the item to the screen to show everyone. Items like a ball, a spoon, a family photo, and a stuffed animal generally work well in any household. Get creative and as a bonus, the kids will burn some energy running through the house hunting.
Gambler’s Delight
Bet on Commercials
Take friendly wagers on which category will have the most commercials during the first quarter, the first half, and the whole game. Categories could include vehicles, beer, clothing, medication… or more specifics like the brand of car, foreign vs domestic, or style (sedan, truck, sport). A specific type of food (pizza, chips, soda) or brand of beer. You’re likely to see multiple commercials from a few of the big hitters, so bonus points for whoever won that bet.
Bet on Party Guests
To keep folks interacting and socializing, make a few bets on the guests themselves. Things like who will use the bathroom first, spill a drink, yell at the TV…the list could be endless. Get silly and have fun.
Pick a Player
Before the game begins, have guests send a few bucks to the host via Venmo or PayPal. Place the names of the team players into a bowl and have each guest draw out a name. If your party is on the smaller side, only put the most popular/best athletes in the bowl. If your player gets the MVP at the end of the game, you win the pot and the host will forward you the cash.
Contests
Ultimate Fan Or Costume Contest
This is especially easy if your home team is playing. You are likely to have jerseys, hats, and face paint already. If your rival team is playing, this will be much more challenging. Host picks the most creative setup and the winner gets a small prize of the host’s choosing.
Decorating Contest
Again, much easier if your home team or your favorite team is in the championship game. You are more likely to have décor and tableware on hand. Either way, give each family a section of the party area and let them overdo the steamers, balloons, handmade signs, and color-coordinate everything. If your rivals are playing and you can’t bring yourself to decorate in their team colors, try a generic football theme or use the Roman Numerals for this year’s game of games as your focus.
Enjoy the Big Game
Last but not least WATCH THE GAME! No explanation necessary. With any die-hard football fan, none of the extra games and entertainment will be necessary.
With some planning, all your guests will have a blast watching the last game until September. Use any of these tips and be prepared for a very memorable and fun Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Go Team!
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