Your Game Day Checklist

If your household is going all-out for the big game, make sure you avoid rookie mistakes. We have the game day essentials you need along with tips to ensure your party is as exciting as the on-screen action!

Football Party Food and Prep Work

- Clean the house 2-3 days before so you can have one whole day to rearrange furniture, prep food, and decorate.

- Organize the viewing area and prepare seating arrangements.

- Decide on your food and drink menu. Will it be strictly finger foods, or some heartier selections?

- Clear out and organize your refrigerator.

- Prepare any food and drink you can at least one day before so you have plenty of time on game day for finishing touches.

- Designate a beverage station to keep all drinks on ice in a cooler in one convenient area. If you don't have a cooler, consider leaving your beverages right outside the back door if the weather is cold enough. Keep a separate, smaller cooler or bucket for fresh ice to be used when making drinks.

- Set up a buffet or folding tables to hold all your dishes. Decorating them with football-themed table covers will give your food station a more festive look.

- If you're not into going to be able to fit all of the dirty dishes into your dishwasher, make sure you have plenty of paper plates, napkins, and utensils for the event. You may also want to purchase plastic cups for beverages and insulated paper cups for hot drinks.

- Football-themed decorations can help spruce up the event and can include tablecloths, balloons, signs, pennant banners, streamers, football cutouts, football confetti, spirit sticks, etc.

- If kids are partaking, make sure to buy some kid-friendly snacks and beverages. Juice boxes are great options, and you can keep them in a separate cooler that is accessible for the children, so they can easily grab them without bothering Mom or Dad.

- Check your TV and make sure it's ready for the big day. If you're streaming the game on a streaming service, rather than watching on cable, make sure you're signed in and ready to go at start time.

- If your kids are lukewarm on watching the actual game, think about setting up different types of games and possibly some music in another area. If you have a television that won't be broadcasting the game, a video game console with football-themed video games like Madden is a great alternative!

- Have something planned for halftime. Get up and moving, and if you can get outside, do! Toss around a ball or play a quick game of flag football to keep with the spirit of the day.

- Consolidate food, clean up around the drink station, and replace trash bins with new garbage bags that have become full after halftime.

- Leftovers are even better the next day, so be sure to wrap everything up and stash it in the fridge for later enjoyment.

Enjoy the game!