Great Ideas for a Football Themed Gathering

Home field advantage
Even if you’re a football rookie, just stick to the basics—location, decorations, food and favors—and infuse your sports theme where appropriate in creative, unexpected ways.

• Home Field: Take a cue from the host city to create decorations and add personality to your party. For example, if the game is in Florida, spread shore-inspired items across your food table, like tiny palm trees and seashells painted in your favorite team’s colors. Give your beverages a festive touch with paper drink umbrellas—everyone will forget all about chilly weather outside!

• Level playing field: Start your serving table off right with football-themed table runners. Use green artificial turf mats and create yard lines with white spray paint or tape, then finish your look with small white number stickers for a faux field everyone will love.

• Play your own game: Before kick-off, amp up the competition with Pick-a-Player, an easy game everyone can play. On a piece of paper, each guest writes down their favorite player on the field—whoever predicts the night’s MVP wins a special prize! Get creative with your rewards—maybe it’s a small trophy, tickets to a local sporting event, or a football autographed by all your guests as a special memento.
  
  For football fanatics, try a few rounds of Great Moments in Football Trivia. Use books, friends and the Internet as resources for compiling your questions. You can concoct general football questions—“When was the first American football game played?”—Or tailor them specifically to the main event. On decorative paper, write the question on one side and the answer on the other. Pass cards out to guests and you can all partake in stumping each other!

• Outdoor opportunities: Feeling a bit crowded? If you live in a milder climate, take advantage of the warm weather and move your party outside. And as long as you’re all hanging out in the driveway, why not pop your car trunks and do some impromptu tailgating?

Enough to feed a football team
What would the big game be without the food? Show off your culinary skills with quick and simple crowd favorites, like spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip and our Super Sub Sandwich loaded with meats, cheeses and veggies.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
All the spice and zing of your favorite wings, minus the time and mess.

INGREDIENTS
4 cans (12 ounces) of canned white meat chicken
10 ounces buffalo wing sauce
1 block spreadable cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup bleu cheese dressing
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spread cream cheese generously in the bottom of a 9”x13” pan.
3. Combine the chicken, buffalo sauce and bleu cheese in a medium mixing bowl, and then pour over the cream cheese.
4. Top with cheddar cheese.
5. Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

Super Sub Sandwich
It’s sure to please with a variety of condiment options, like Dijon mustard and horseradish sauce. And at this size, you can anticipate plenty of leftovers for lunch.

INGREDIENTS
1 1-pound loaf of French bread, halved lengthwise
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 pound sliced ham
1 pound sliced turkey
1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
1 pound sliced provolone cheese
3 tomatoes, sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
½ cup black olives, pitted and sliced
½ cup banana peppers, sliced
½ cup roasted red peppers, sliced
Mayonnaise
Horseradish sauce
Yellow mustard
Dijon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. In a small bowl, mix together butter, garlic and oregano. Spread garlic butter on both halves of the bread, and then sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese.
3. Place bread in pre-heated oven until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
4. On the bottom half on the bread, apply shredded lettuce.
5. Alternating between meat and cheese, arrange layers of ham, turkey, mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Top with tomatoes and onions.
6. Add the remaining half of bread, and then apply wooden sandwich skewers across the sandwich in even intervals. Slice between the skewers to create individual servings.
7. Serve chopped vegetables, mayonnaise, horseradish sauce, and yellow and Dijon mustards in small serving dishes as optional toppings. Don’t forget serving spoons and knives!

This year, turn a quiet Sunday afternoon or evening into the most exciting time of the week with inspired décor ideas, delicious recipes and festive games. They’re simple, easy and sure to score a touchdown.