Make Monday: Prepping for the Super Bowl

Having a party on Sunday? Here's a few tips to having a great party that will make your guests come back, year after year.

Be sure to have enough food. Yes, it is about the game (and commercials) but it's also about the food. You can have the traditional wings, dips and potato skins, but you can also make it a theme. I'm going to attempt to make Pierogis and Wisconsin Cheese Soup in honor of the two teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. Just make sure you make enough!!

You can find inexpensive decorations at your local dollar store or, if you're a planner, on clearance the year before. Paper football field plates, plenty of forks and fun football decorations will create a sporty atmosphere that will get everyone amped up for the game.




Games to play at your party:


The can't say "football" game. At the beginning of halftime, give your guests two small paper footballs to stick onto their chests with double-sided tape. This is also a good project if you've got a preschooler who needs to work on his cutting paper skills. Let him cut the footballs out, after you've traced them. Tell everyone they're not allowed to say the word "football" while in conversation during halftime. If a guest hears someone use the word, they can take the football from the one who said it. The person who collects the most footballs before the beginning of the third quarter is the game winner.

Commercial fans? 

The commercials shown during the Super Bowl are often as exciting as the game itself.  Make a game out of it by ranking the commercials from greatest to lamest. Even guests who aren't football fans will have fun!

1. Give everyone a sheet of paper and a pen.
2. As commercials come on, make a note of the ones that stand out, whether they're good or bad. If they're funny or not.
3. After the game, add up which commercials got the best and worst votes. Everyone has to tell why they gave a thumbs up or thumbs down--or a ranking from 1-10. You may be surprised at how funny and loud the debate will get!

Guess the score

Before the game, have everyone write down what they think the score will be each quarter. At the end of every quarter, compare scores. Have a "gift" (we use a football necklace) for the winner to wear each quarter. At the end of the game, who ever has guessed the score closest to the actual score gets to take home the necklace. Make sure they bring it back next year. The "floating" necklace trophy has been a fun tradition of ours for years!

 With just a little bit of planning, you can make this Superbowl a game to remember!!