Hosting a successful game day football gathering means creating an environment that enhances the experience of watching your favorite team WIN! Simple game day foods, easy/simple/fun decor, and planning for your space will ensure a great time for everyone, even YOU!
Are You Ready for Some FOOOTBAAAAALL?
Football is a religion in the south… ESPECIALLY COLLEGE FOOTBALL! It’s pretty much a denomination. Baptist, Methodist, Vegetarian, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, FOOTBALL! When our team makes it to the college football national championship, it’s a revival, y’all. Lots of people comin’ to Jesus, prayin’ to Jesus, hopin’ to Jesus, swearin’ to his daddy. To pivot from the religious metaphor in an attempt to broaden the reach for any of y’all who need Jesus, we get more excited than R. Kelly in a girls’ high school bathroom. And that’s pretty dang excited!
There are two groups of excited southern football fans in this situation: 1) the people who love to watch the game and 2) the people who love the party that comes with watching the game. As an entertainer (please read comedian, not pop star or stripper), guess which camp I usually fall into?! BUT!!! I graduated from the University of Georgia. I’ve been die hard about UGA in every.single.way since I first stepped foot on campus oh so long ago. I’ve cheered from the field when we lost more than we won, I’ve watched from the student section with some kid’s puke on my shoe, I’ve listened from the Sanford bridge when I couldn’t afford a ticket, I’ve watched from my favorite bars in Athens when games were sold out & I didn’t snag one in time. I LOVE this team, win or lose. So for this game, I’m both 1 & 2.
This is our second trip to the championship in two years. It’s a streak I’m down for.
{Unlike the streak where some random dude with no bidniz bein’ in his b-day suit runs across a sports field with his jibblies jigglin’ in front of God ‘n e’rebody. I’m NOT down for that kind.}
We’ve hosted bigger gatherings to cheer on our Dawgs, but this year it’ll just be my (mostly) sweet little family of four enjoying the event together. Even though our gathering will be small, it HAS to be memorable! Afterall, my Dawgs went 40 years between national championships so we’re not taking any victories for granted. So, while our favorite players are preparing for victory, I’m preparing to make sure my family has a good time. And if you love loving people with a good time like I do, stay tuned for some delicious food and hosting ideas that may help you make THIS National College Football Championship the BEST ONE YET without compromising your ability to enjoy the game, too!
Plan! Plan! Plan! Plan!
Bringing people together and hearing laughter, seeing smiles, experiencing friends… there’s nothing like it. Pairing that with the excitement of my GEORGIA BULLDOGS going to the National Championship AGAIN, for the second year in a row, after a 40-year dry spell is just the icing on the cake. But for the fun times to roll while tha DAWGS take the field, we (I) gotta make some decisions! Regardless of the party size (read “number of attendees”), the more planning ahead of time, the better. First things first, finalize the guest list. Next, be realistic with your capabilities, available time, budget, and resources so that you don’t bite off more than you can chew. And, finally, make sure you are able to enjoy yourself, too! Once you have those boundaries set, you’re ready to start planning.
Here are the three main questions to answer that will help guide you in your prep & bringing the vision of your party to life:
Menu
Location
Atmosphere
So, let’s get to it!
The Menu
This menu will be game day all the way. Since it’s just the four of us, it’ll be easy to make sure everyone gets at least one thing they love. One important aspect to THIS game is that I actually WANT to watch it (unlike most Super Bowls where I’m just there for the commercials or the dranks or the par-tay!) so I want to make sure the food I choose for the menu is simple enough that I won’t have to spend the entire game in the kitchen. When I need simple prep food, I get pre-prepared food from grocery stores where possible so I’m not spending all of my time cooking & I can partake in the party fun, too. Here’s the menu for Monday’s match-up:
Meatballs for my 11 yo son, Roman
Spinach & artichoke dip for my 14 yo daughter, Bella
French dip sliders for my hunky hubs, Rick
Ranch dip & chips for everyone
Veggie tray for everyone
Chocolate chip cookies for everyone
Root beer floats for the kids (and maybe me, too)
You can make serving the veggie tray, cookies, and dips (even the spinach artichoke dip) SUPER simple by purchasing all of them from your local grocer. Afterall, the game is the star here, not necessarily your culinary skills. Root beer floats can even be self-serve if your kids are old enough. That leaves the meatballs & sliders.
My family & I love BBQ meatballs. Since they’ll be slathered in that delicious sauce, the meatballs themselves aren’t the star of the show. Frozen meatballs can greatly slash the prep time. Simply purchase your preferred brand, stick them in the slow cooker still frozen, douse them in the best store-bought BBQ sauce you can find (I LOVE Sweet Baby Ray’s) so that they’re all covered, and let the slow cooker do all the work. And don’t forget the slow cooker liner to make clean up a cinch. Even if you only have Italian meatballs available in your store’s freezer section, they’ll still be delicious. I know, cuz that’s what I get ;-)
That just leaves the sliders! My family LOVES them & the recipe isn’t too time-consuming. Here is the recipe I use. You had me at King’s Hawaiian Rolls, ammirite?! You can even caramelize the onions beforehand & make the au jus ahead of time and store them both in the fridge until you’re ready to use them. Just make sure to heat up the au jus in a saucepan or microwave.
The Location
Now for location. When you’re wanting or expecting people to congregate in a particular area, give your party attendees a reason to be where you want them. If you’re planning a healthy gathering that will overwhelm one space if everyone is in the same room at once, entice people to move around by strategically placing appetizers, music, games, pictures, whatever may be interesting, delicious, or eye-catching throughout the event space. For example, if you’re hosting a birthday party for 30 people, consider having appetizers in once room, heavier food in another room close by (if serving a meal), and the cake in another adjacent space to create a flow.
We’ll be watching the game in our basement. So, all the food should be easily transportable down the stairs because our house only has one kitchen, it’s not in the basement which means I’ll need to bring the food downstairs, and (most critically) I’m a clumsy princess. We won’t really be moving around like I would plan for if I were hosting a larger party. And, since our space won’t feel cramped with too many people congregating in one area, I won’t need to give anyone a reason to venture into a different area. This means I’ll concentrate all my effort into the room with the game.
With the menu locked down and the par-tay space identified, I can now plan any decorations, lighting, etc to put the final touches on the shindig by creating ambiance. The ambiance should complement and enhance the event, not overwhelm or overpower it. For this experience, I want it to be fun and memorable but the best part, the coup de gras is the GAME! So I’ll keep the décor simple with balloons, napkins, plates in the colors of ma DAWGS! And it goes without saying that we’ll ALL be wearing our UGA jerseys (yes, even our pup), pajama pants, hats, stickers, face tattoos, hair bows (ok, ok, now I’m just getting carried away). Anyway, GO DAWGS!
So, In Conclusion…
There are plenty of opportunities to go all out (& I LOVE over-the-top celebrations) but this “party” is more about creating memories with my family than it is about showcasing my hosting skills. After MANY MANY years of creating events, hosting large & small groups, and making TONS of decisions that I wish I’d done differently, I hope this helps you create an enjoyable game day for YOU and your family. Keep in mind what’s important, be realistic about how YOU want to spend your time, & GO DAWGS!
