Top Notch Tailgating!
- In last fall’s Tip of the Week, Try Tailgating, I encouraged Busy Bee readers to cook up some pre-game fun by hosting a tailgating party! Generally speaking, tailgating is a terrific and inexpensive way to entertain, but if you want to take it up a notch, here are some clever enhancements!
Invitations
Paperbuzz – for a great assortment of tailgating invitations, take a look at Paperbuzz for designs which include a die-cut football and a really cute football field with goal post! For adults, I just love the invitation featuring a bloody mary with a football on its stirrer! This card can be printed at home or by Paper Buzz!
DIY Invitations
- Die-cut Football – Consider creating your own by cutting football shapes out of corrugated cardboard. Write the party details on the back and trim the card with white shoe laces woven
through punched holes! - 3-D Box – In the “over the top” category, purchase small square cardboard boxes, line the bottom with Astroturf cut to fit and add small, toy football figurines. Write the party specifics on the inside of the lid, toss in some football confetti and seal the box with clear strapping tape. Address the outside of the box and send your creation through the U.S. mail!
- Felt Pennant – You could also make a pennant out of felt with the tailgate information written on the back.
- Plastic Footballs – Lastly, try using a permanent marker to draft invitations onto small plastic footballs, picked up from the Dollar Store!
Serving Ware
- Amazon has some Footbal themed serving pieces that are really appealing. There is a dolomite chip bowl where the interior sides depict fans in the bleachers and the bottom is a field! Dip is served in the included football shaped bowl! (Football Stadium Chip Dip Serving Tray, $39.95)
- Mariposa also has covered the “football field!” This company, one of my personal favorites, offers finely crafted aluminum football shaped serving bowls, in three sizes. ($40 to $124) I also really like the square cocktail napkin box bearing a 3-D football to weigh down the napkins ($42) and the football dip spreader! ($17) All are available at Silver Impressions.
- On Your Own – In the “no cost” category, consider serving your snacks inside of a plastic megaphone or an upended football helmet!
Cookbooks
If you’re looking for some new recipes for your upcoming tailgate, take a look at these two resources:
- Fan Fare by Debbie Moose (Fan Fare: A Playbook of Great Recipes for Tailgating or Watching the Game at Home, $10.17)
- Fox Sports Tailgating Handbook by Stephen Linn. (Fox Sports Tailgating Handbook
for about $12)
Desserts
- Clever Cake – Bake a football stadium shaped cake! This clever cake mold will allow you to bake an adorable and easy dessert that can be decorated in team colors! (Nordic Ware Stadium Pan, $31.50)
- Custom Cookies – Serve custom made cookies from Super Cookie! This site offers an assortment of football themed cookies such as helmets, shoulder pads and yard markers, along with a single oversized football cookie! ($15.99/tub of 23 small cookies or $30 for the large football at Super Cookie)
Get Comfortable
Stadium seats and blankets are really the icing on the cake!
- Stadium Seats – Pick up several of the practical and comfortable stadium seats! These seats are crafted of padded canvas, provide full back support, have a convenient carry strap and can also be used as a tote bag with thermo-guard insulation! (Stadium Seat
, $25)
- Stadium Blankets – This red and blue plaid fleece blanket features a waterproof backing and convenient carrying strap! (Picnic Gift, Fleece Picnic Blanket Tote, $28.99)
)
Party Favors
- For the kids – fill a basket with color coordinated pom-poms, small footballs, and plastic megaphones. (Football Assortment
, $9.99 for 50 pieces)
- For anyone – fill cellophane bags with solid chocolate, foil wrapped footballs! Tie the bags with team colored ribbon! (Chocolate Footballs, $32.20 for a 5 lb bag)
I am always on the look out for exciting products and ideas and I hope that some of my “finds” inspire you to take tailgating to the next level! Consider “claiming” a fall tailgate as your signature event that family and friends will look forward to every year! Happy Game Day!
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Love this…am helping with my son’s “house football” tailgate. Hamill House’s team colors are blue and white, so I will definitely be on the lookout for the blue and white poms and other decorating ideas. Their big rivalry game against Kennedy house is early November, wish us luck! I’m thinking hot cider and custom cookies. Thanks for the great ideas.
There’s some great ideas here. I really need a lot of help when it comes to my Tailgating food so I’ll be picking up one of those cookbooks. Actually I botched everything on my first tailgating party, it was awful. I had a difficult time getting the TV set up—or rather the old satellite dish on a tripod to get the TV signal—it took way too long and only got a standard definition signal. Then came the food, which I always struggle with anyway, but when my grill stopped working halfway through, there wasn’t anything I could do at that point. Things are better now, for the most part at least. I got a new grill, a handy table that hooks into my tow-hitch, and my TV is way easier to get set up (and get HD signals), thanks to this awesome little cooler looking dish from my employer, DISH Network. It’s called the Tailgater, and my favorite part about it is that it finds the signals by itself. It’s been the biggest conversation piece out of all my new stuff, even though it was less expensive than my grill, and I highly recommend it for Tailgaters, or people who like to take their TV with them camping. Now if I can just get people talking about my food too.