This Is How We Do Football Game Parties Frugal Style

My family is a big football family.  So the “Big Game” is a a big event in our family. Every year we have a Big Game party no matter what teams are playing. So the Patriots vs Falcon game was no different.  Each year our parties consist of family, significant others, and a few friends.  No less than about 18 and have been upwards of 25 people.  This year, if my count was right, we had 22 people at our house for the Big Game.  So how do we throw big game parties that makes them ask “Can we have it at your house again this year?” and not break that bank doing it?  I’m  here to share some tips.

Facebook Events

LOVE using Facebook events pages to invite people, keep people up to date, and keep track of info.  No having to buy paper invites for an informal party. Facebook sends them event reminders when the event gets closer and people are more apt to RSVP I’ve found.  AND…it’s free

Cover Dish

Don’t spend loads of money and stress out for two days over a big party.  Tell everyone it’s cover dish and ask them what they’d like to bring.  If people aren’t sure what to bring you can either appoint them items or give them a choice of a couple things to bring.  I know my dad doesn’t cook much but usually has a steady supply of drink boxes and soda on hand so I usually appoint him that.  Some have signature dishes like my cousin’s vegetable pizza or my aunt’s cheeseball.  You can even tell people to bring chips and pretzels if you know they’re probably too busy to make anything or don’t want to put a more expensive item on their plate.  If you take the Facebook Events tip and use it, you can create a “cover dish” thread so people can see what others are bringing and have an idea of what’s needed instead of getting phone calls asking what they should bring or ending up with 3 people bringing buffalo chicken dip.

We chose to supply the beer, buffalo chicken dip, and cupcakes.

Party Supplies and decorations

Sure you don’t have to have decorations but things like plates, napkins, utensils, and cups might be a necessity. I’m a couponer so coupon for some stuff. BUT I like to give those little extra touches that make the day seem a little more special.  You can see in the picture in the cover dish section. I found super cute football plates, napkins, and cups at Oriental Trading.

I also got some paper football straws at Oriental Trading. The kids loved them.  I think all the kids had them in their drinks.

The thing that got the most comments was the super cute football stadium cupcake stand I got from Oriental Trading. It was only $9.49, sturdy enough to hold 2 dozen cupcakes, and I’ll be able to use it again.  I’ve made cupcakes for events before but they never went as fast at these did. I really think it had something to do with the presentation!

I also got the matching football cupcake wrappers and chocolate footballs from Oriental Trading!  I got a big roll of disposable table cloth that looked like a football field too. It covered 2 – 6 ft tables plus the little 3 x 3 table we had and I still have plenty left for another football themed party or too. It made clean up so much easier too!

So to recap, I got: football field table cloth roll, football field cupcake stand, a big bag of chocolate footballs, football cupcake wrappers, 2 packs of football straws, a pack of 24 football cups, 2 packs of football napkins and 3 packs of football plates for $60!  They have team specific supplies as well if your having a party when your favorite team is playing.

With the cost of the food/drinks we supplied and the party supplies from Oriental Trading we were able to host a great Super Bowl party for 22 people for about $125.  That breaks down to only about $5.69 per person for what came out of our pockets!

 

I received the above mentioned products at no cost in order to complete an honest review. Any opinions expressed are my own.