Tips to host the Perfect Super Bowl Party

Super Bowl is around the corner, and with just about a week to go, I'm sure everyone is on a planning spree! Whether you are throwing a party at your place, or have been invited to one at a friend's place, deciding on the menu and organizing everything so you are enjoying the game rather than stressing yourself out at the last minute is always a good idea. Super Bowl is not a formal party event; it's just a bunch of sports-lovers getting together, cheering their favorites, jeering at the losers, and having fun together. So don't stress yourself out and try to be more relaxed about. I scoured the net and magazines for some fun ideas and thought it would be great to share these with you. Basically, a big-screen TV, lots of finger food, chips and salsa, and chilled frozen beers would do the trick! But if you want to play the perfect host, here are some additional tips!:)

Invite Friends and Family
Duh!! That's so obvious:) but still, no game night party can be fun when there's just the 2 or 3 of you sitting in front of the TV. To get the real excitement going, invite as many friends as you like, the more the merrier!! You need friends for cheering, passing comments, jumping up and down, shouting with glee or cussing the player for a stupid move, and finally, to share the joy of victory or lend a shoulder to cry on when your favorite team loses!! This is what makes the game more fun, right!

Food and Drinks
Once you are done with the invitations, the next thing obviously is the Food, because that's what we all love!!! To make things simpler, you can always arrange a pot-luck, and ask each or some of your friends to bring in one entree. Division of work is easier and can often work out well. But if you are like me, you'd like to take the cooking-forefront yourself, so it's necessary to plan ahead. Food needs to be simple, so sandwiches, finger-food, chips, dips, and cookies work out the best. You don't want to spend time cooking or heating up food while the others are enjoying the game!! Ordering pizzas or long foot-long subways works great too. You can also find tonnes of super-bowl recipes on Rachel Ray's emag site! You'll also find some nice recipes right on this site, in the Entrees/Snacks section:) Keep you snack table simple for this night, and leave your gourmet stuff for some other time!

Setting the Mood
It always helps if you have sme props and table settings to compliment the game. Use stuff like megaphones, miniature footballs, and whistles for calling penalties. It can be fun for the kids too. Clear your seating area of ornate furniture. Some comfortable chairs, bean-bags or a rug spread on the ground with pillows and cusions would work best! Planning simple fotball trivia games with small themed prizes add a lot more fun to the event. You can organize this before the game or during half-time to keep the momentum going. And lastly, if there are kids, it's always a good idea to keep some toys out for them so they don't feel neglected:)

Setting the Buffet Table
Game Nights always have to be buffet nights, so set two tables, one for all the appetizers, drinks and beer cans, and the other for the food. It's advisable to use aluminium containers that you can pop into the oven when required; for meat and chicken, you might even go for the warming trays. Paper plates and plastic cutlery with packs of napkins should be stacked at one end of the table. Make sure you have enough ice to survive the game, and ask people to re-use their glaases and pitchers by marking them with their initials. This can be fun too:)

Wrapping It Up
Once the game is over, and all the hugging and crying has subsided, it's time to clean up! There's nothing wrong in asking your friends to help clean up. Dump stuff into large trash bags and take their help in loading the dishwasher, as well as moving back the furniture! Trust me, you'll feel way more relaxed when all this is cleared immediately, rather than getting to it later.

Always remember that parties are a time for fun, and that includes the hosts too. Pre-planning will help a lot in keeping things organised, and you will not be stressed at the end of it all. Follow these simple tips and hope you have a blasting Super Bowl Party!!