Countdown to The Super Bowl Party - shopping for the party

Shopping for your Super Bowl Party should begin today, since the stores may be crowded toward the end of the week.I was in a party store on Monday that was completely sold out of Super Bowl plates, napkins and decorations with Giants logos. Patriots supplies however were aplenty.
Place your orders for deli trays and large sandwiches early. Since over 29 billion pounds of chips will be eaten this weekend, make sure you have your supply handy! Cheese items for dips, Mexican dishes, and pizzas will go up by 32% this Sunday, so shop early for what you'll need. This Sunday Americans will eat more salty snacks such as pretzels, chips, nuts and popcorn than any other time during the year. And what is the most popular snack? Popcorn!
Have a great Super Bowl Party and enjoy whatever you serve: pigs in blankets, potato skins, nachos, salsa, bruschetta, guacamole, dips, quesadillas, crabmeat spreads, meatballs, chicken wings, spinach balls, spareribs, hot dogs, Fenway franks, corn dogs, hamburgers, hero sandwiches, New England clam chowders, baked beans, lobster rolls, black beans, onion blossoms or whatever you enjoy....and enjoy the game and the party!

Countdown to The Super Bowl Party - decorations and games

There will probably be more Giants Fans at your Super Bowl Party than Patriots, but Super Bowl parties are usually very democratic. Decorate one side of the room where you'll be watching the game for the Giants, the other side for the Patriots. If you have a large table decorate this with a green cloth, add some white lines to indicate the field, some football shaped confetti, 2 goal posts with the NY Giants on one end and the NE Patriots at the other. If you can find those large helmets for chips, even better! Your guests will most likely come dressed in football jerseys or colors of their team. (If you want to be really creative, make little jerseys out of felt and hang them around the room.) Have a large board with squares for the teams and quarters for betting. In addition to the quarterly scores you could include the time the game will end, the MVP, winner of coin toss, team for first touchdown before the playing really begins. For young children present purchase some new footballs as favors for them. Make sure you have "kid-friendly" snacks and food for them, perhaps make up a "word search" game using traditional football words such as "goal," "touchdown," and "quarterback" for them. Popcorn is the number one snack of choice on this most snacked day of the year, so make sure you have plenty! Enjoy!

Countdown to The Super Bowl Party - food

This year the Super Bowl Party is especially important with the NY Giants playing! Generally speaking, hosting a Superbowl Party is relatively easy; it's a casual atmospher with casual food. You need a room (or several) with tvs set up for watching the game. You can do it yourself with standard snacks, such as chips, pretzels, dips, spreads and more hearty fare for half-time or make it even easier with having a "potluck" supper where everyone will contribute. You can have others bring the beverages (beer, wine and soft drinks.) Why not decorate with a Southwest flair since the game will be played in Arizona? Colorful decorations and a Southwest menu of guacamole, nachos, tacos, a hearty chili, chicken quesadillas, Mexican pizza, stuffed jalapenos to name a few. You could serve margaritas in addition to beer and wine and make it more festive. Be creative and have fun with it!

Alternatives for the Ladies on Superbowl Sunday

This is for those ladies who are not die-hard football fans: Why not a trip to a day spa on Superbowl Sunday? Take in a Broadway show? A movie? Lunch? How about trying a "Re-Gifting Party? The stores will not be crowded, why not a shopping spree with some like-minded friends? Head to a museum. You can always meet up later at a Superbowl Party, say around half-time? I've seen Superbowl parties with a "Bridge Room" where those who were interested played bridge and mingled with the crowd at half-time. Game room? Many of you in the retail industry will most likely be at the NY International Gift Show that opens that weekend in Manhattan. How many of you have alternative plans for The Big Game? Any good ideas???

An Accessories Re-Gifting Party

How about an idea for an alternative to the Super Bowl party? With the success of our Re-Gifting party it was decided we should have another one. It's in the planning stage and will be held in February. This one will be an Accessories Re-Gifting party with the items being scarves, belts, purses, and costume jewelry. How many of these do we have that we really don't want to throw out...but have grown tired of, seldom wear and maybe someone else would see the item differently? How would this work for some football widows who really don't care about the big game? Simple! As we learned from the last one, lump the items together eliminating the cost factor and everyone gets a turn to "shop!" Ours will be after Super Bowl weekend, why not try yours that day? Maybe those interested are sequestered in another room while the game is going on? Meet for the snacks at half time. Who's game for this?

"Former Bridesmaids" Party

With the new movie coming out about all the bridesmaid dresses in one closet, why not throw a party and show off some of those creations? How many of us still have a bridesmaid dress (or two or three....) in our closet that we haven't parted with? (guilty!) Some may have been recycled. I know of one such dress that was a lovely light purple (actually it was periwinkle, the color that looks good on everyone!) that was recycled for a Halloween costume of Miss Piggy! (The former bride was not in attendance.) We were all told that we would wear them again...so why not all at once - with a party? This could be a great alternative to a Superbowl party!?! You don't have to actually wear them to the Superbowl gathering (although, why not?)

That Re-Gifting Party

I decided after hearing and blogging about a "Re-Gifting Party" to throw one. I invited some friends for the first Friday evening after the New Year. We met at my home last night for a light supper and refreshments - 9 women and one male, Jack Daniels. We all brought our unwrapped "treasures" to be re-gifted. There were 4 places to put the items: one table for the $0-10 items, another $10-25, another $25-50 and one more spot for the $50. and up. We had a meeting to determine how we were going to do this. My original premise was that depending on the price point one would receive a ticket to "shop" at that table. Vetoed! It was decided that no one cared what the price point was, we didn't want the stuff back and who cared if someone got something they chose that happened to be more or less than what they brought. So, names were called one by one and that person "shopped" for one item, another name was called and she "shopped" for an item until we all had mutiple turns to "shop" and the items were gone! Well, almost all... there are 2 very small items left which will be donated to charity. Interesting comments when gifts were put on the tables "Can you believe someone actually gave this to me?" A moment later: "Oh, I love this!" (concerning the same item!) It's amazing how many gifts were originally given by relatives!! We had a lot of laughs and it was decided that we wanted to continue to meet, so a monthly book club was formed. Our first meeting will be the end of January.
I highly recommend this "Re-Gifting Party!" The adage "someone's trash is another's treasure" definitely applied!