Ideas for Hosting a Super Bowl Party

With the big game day approaching, many people are having friends, family, and fellow footballs fans over for a Super Bowl party. Such a gathering doesn't have to just involve ordering a pizza and sitting around drinking cans of beer while watching the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Green Bay Packers!

Super Bowl Party Invitations
Sure, it's perfectfly acceptable to send your friends a text message or Facebook email with the details of the party, but if you're going to do your invitations electronically, why not set the tone with a football themed e-invitation sent to guests' inboxes? Sites like Evite offer a variety of football themed e-vites that can be customized for your Super Bowl soiree.

Super Bowl Party Decorations
Set the buffet table with a green tablecloth. If you can't find a green tablecloth, visit your local craft store and purchase either enough felt or Astroturf to cover your surface. Yard lines can be marked using white masking tape, or by cutting white strips of felt that are glued to the tablecloth with a hot glue gun. Hang football shaped paper lanterns like these from Oriental Trading around the party space. The same site offers football shaped plates and matching napkins, as well as Super Bowl specific cups and plates. If you don't have access to specialty plates and napkins, go with brown plates and green napkins. You can also use plates and napkins that match the colors of the team you hope wins the Super Bowl. Set little football figurines around the table, adding some visual appeal to go along with the food and drink spread. Serve food on white platters and serving dishes, which can usually be found on the cheap at retail or dollar stores. You can also splurge and buy more expensive serving dishes to use for future parties.

Super Bowl Party Food
Because the main attraction at the party will be the game, you can stick to appetizers and simple beverages. Hot wings are a staple at most football and tailgate parties, and there is no shortage of recipes for making hot wings, as seen here at All Recipes. Pigs in a blanket, meatball sliders, chips with spinach dip, mozzarella sticks, and potato skins are great football game appetizers. If you feel like your guests might want food with a little more substance, serve chili, homemade pizza, or hot dogs with a variety of toppings. For dessert, have cupcakes wrapped in black and white striped cupcake wrappers, topped with football toppers or decadent S'mores Cheesecake Bars. To save money, have your guests bring their own beer, just make sure to have some frosty mugs on hand. If you're looking for something more potent to serve, try this "Touchdown Tea" from Celebrations, which is based on Long Island Iced Tea.

Sources:
Allrecipes.com
Evite.com
FoodNetwork.com