Superbowl Sunday Budget-Friendly Party Planning Tips

Super Bowl Party Planning Tips
Planning a Fab Football Party for $100 or less

Food & Drink:

Football shaped cookies:

I buy a role of gingerbread cookie dough (I use gingerbread as the color is closer to that of a football) and cut them into football shapes and pipe with white icing (which can even be made from scratch with confectioner’s sugar and water). I personally buy the generic brand of pre-made sugar cookies, because I find they taste the same as name brand, and are at least $2 cheaper. These can be done a day ahead and you can have your kiddos help with decorations.

Football Sandwiches:

These are super easy and cost effective. Cookie cutters are a Party Diva’s best friend. They can transform any ordinary food into a themed item with very little cost.  I use pumpernickel bread because A) it is sturdier bread for cutting the shapes, and B) it is darker and closer to the color of a football.  Simply build your favorite sandwiches and cut with football cookie cutter and decorate with slivers of cucumber to create the lacing and lines on a football.

Stadium Popcorn:

So for a fun snack to go along with those football sandwiches, I took mason jars that I already had around my house and I created (in Microsoft Word) football field bands to go around the jars. All I needed was some glue, paper, a printer and some creativity. I then filled each jar with popcorn, which is a super economical snack and can be made in large batches.  Who doesn’t love popcorn?

Drinks:

I don’t know about you, but I seem to loose my glass at every party I go to. For Super Bowl Parties I simply got scrapbook stickers with numbers and put my favorite players numbers on each glass. After the party is over, you simply peel the stickers off! Easy cleanup!

Decorations:

So there are tons of party decorations at your local party store but they can be very pricy and let’s face it not very personal or original.  Here are a few creative DIY projects to make your Super Bowl Party a bit more fun and creative:

Centerpieces:

So being the girly girl who loves football, I wanted to think of a way to bring a bit of glam to my football party without breaking the bank.  I created beer mug centerpieces (above) by going to my local discount store (think Marshalls or TJ max) and purchased two sets of pint size beer mugs with handles (plastic or glass will work).  I then filled the mugs with acrylic gems in an amber color (these are super inexpensive from hobby lobby or any craft store) to mimic ice cubes, and then I topped it with white carnations ($4 a bunch) for beer foam.  To make the flowers stay I cut a circle of floral foam out with a knife, soaked it in water, and simply stuck my carnations into the foam and then inserted it in the mug. I lined the mug with some ribbon to mask the green floral foam.

What you need:

• Mugs: (I bought 6) Plastic or glass.
• Floral Foam: I bought a pack of 3 bricks at my local craft store.
• White Ribbon: I bought ribbon in the clearance section of my local fabric store. Since it is white it doesn’t all have to be the same.
• Carnations: 3 bunches made 6 arrangements. Carnations are usually $3-5 a bunch.
• Amber Acrylic beads: Can be found at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s.

Chair covers:

To spruce up my mismatched chairs, I made these cute chair covers with pillowcases and black electrical tape. Again for purchasing the pillowcases I turned to my trusty discount stores for those (Marshalls, TJ Maxx & Big Lots).

What you need:

• 1 white standard size pillowcase per chair
• Black electrical tape (25 feet per pillow case, a standard roll has 60 feet)
• ½ sheet black felt (found at any local craft store)
• White craft glue
• Scissors
• Sport whistle on a neck string (Oriental Trading is an inexpensive source for these)

Instructions:

1. Lay the pillowcase out on a flat surface. We will refer to the open end of the pillowcase as the bottom and the closed end as the top.
2. Add black stripes, about 1” apart, to pillowcase using black electrical tape, overlapping tape at both top and bottom of the pillowcase. You should get about ten stripes.
3. Cut two triangles, about 4” long and 2” wide, from the black felt. Cut two thin strips from the felt, about 4” x ¼”.
4. Fold down all the ends of the tape from the stripes.
5. Place the triangles, point side down, next to each other at the top center of the pillowcase. Lay the thin strips underneath the triangles, these will form the neckline and the triangles are the collar. The thin strips should come together in a point below the collar.
6. Carefully remove the section of tape that is running through the center of the neckline and trim with scissors.
7. Use the glue to attach the collar and neckline to the pillowcase.
8. Place the whistle necklace on the pillowcase, positioning it around the “neck”. Holding the necklace and the pillowcase, fold the top of the pillowcase over itself and tape the necklace string to the back of the pillowcase.
9. Carefully fit the pillowcase over the back of your chair.

Tips:

• Taping the whistle necklace in place allows you to remove the whistle and give it away as a souvenir to your guests.
• Make everything removable by attaching the felt pieces with washable fabric glue. Remove the tape and toss the pillowcase in the washing machine, the felt will come off in the wash. Who doesn’t need some extra pillowcases around the house right?

Whistles can be found in the sports department of a discount department store for under $2.00 or online at Oriental Trading Company.

Happy Superbowl Sunday, Everyone!

To see Keri’s Superbowl tips featured in Mint.com’s “Frugal Foodie” blog, hop on over to the article here.