Kick off Your Super Bowl Party

Super Bowl LVI is heading our way this Sunday, with an exciting match-up between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.  

Some people watch the football, some people watch the commercials, but all of us eat the food. The Super Bowl means wings and cheese and any other food that goes with sitting on the couch. We put together a master list to make your Super Bowl Party super-fun. We’ve got foods that will make you smile even if your team is losing, DIY décor to add some fun to your celebration, and of course - a few drinks that you’ll want either way.  

In our opinion, the key for any themed party is something that’s cute while only requiring a small amount of work. We think these are perfect. Everything here is probably in your house or easy to grab at the grocery or liquor store. (Note: We did find a craft that requires astroturf. It was not included because this writer does not know where one would buy astroturf.) 

Décor ideas:  

If you wish Super Bowl decorations weren’t all made of foam, we have a solution for you.

• This upcycled football vase is a relatively easy DIY project that only requires sacrificing one football. 
• And for those of us who barely watch the game, a printable bingo card. 
• Last but not least, these adorable football coasters are made from burlap and a little white paint. These provide a great way to helpfully suggest that maybe people shouldn’t put their drinks down right on your nice wooden coffee table. 

Super snacks:

Maybe you buy wings or pizza or maybe you make them yourself. But it’s always nice to have some Super Bowl snacks to munch on. For apps, try these delicious pigs in a pretzel blanket, which can be made Super Bowl-themed if you put them in this adorable arrangement. 

Pigs in a Pretzel Blanket

We followed this recipe from Tasty and made a few tweaks.

It may be against traditional pretzel rules, but we decided to salt and pepper these. It was delicious. Try this at your own risk.

The recipe suggests baking for 15-20 minutes, which we do not recommend. At 15 minutes and 1 second, they were… well-cooked. One might even say burnt. We recommend that if you have a convection oven, you turn the heat down a bit (we did 400 degrees for the second batch) and watch them closely! For us, it ended up being about 12 minutes. 

We made 52 pigs in a blanket out of two tubes of pizza dough and a large package of cocktail franks. After the first batch got burnt, we ended up with 27. Turns out that is enough to make a football! 

Ingredients
Serves 10
1 package cocktail franks, mini hot dogs
1 lb pizza dough, 1 ball
5 cups water
¼ cup baking soda
1 egg, beaten
Sea salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste (optional)

Directions: 
Bring pizza dough to room temperature. Cut the dough into strips and stretch/roll out.

Roll up mini hotdogs in pizza dough so the dough wraps around twice - leaving the ends sticking out and cutting off any excess.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet until ready to boil. Bring water to a light boil. Add in baking soda.

Once dissolved, boil wrapped hot dogs in water mixture for 20-30 seconds each (working in small batches).

Remove and place back on baking tray. Brush each lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake in a preheated oven at 425˚F for 15-20 minutes until the dough is nicely browned. (Note: We recommend watching these closely – check them after 10 minutes or so! Ours were perfect after 12 minutes.) 

Dessert and drinks:

For dessert, try these football brownies. Just use your favorite brownie recipe or boxed mix, cut the brownies into football shapes, and add a little icing detail on top (we like Ghirardelli Double Chocolate)!

And one of the most crucial parts of any party - our alcoholic beverages!  If you’re making drinks for a few people, you might want to try one of these spiked punches. 

• We’re planning on making “Tailgate Tea” – sweet tea spiked with bourbon and combined with orange juice, pineapple juice, and lemon juice. 
• But if you want to honor the traditional Super Bowl beer, try this Super Bowl Punch, which includes with beer, vodka, limeade, and club soda. 
• If your gathering is a little smaller, try this for an individual drink - Superbowl Slammer Cocktail with Dr. Pepper, apple flavored whiskey, and grenadine. For bonus points, you can try making the mason jar glasses featured in the article. But we won’t tell if you just put them in normal glasses. 

 
Whoever you’re cheering for, sit back, relax, and… well, don’t forget Valentine’s Day is the next day. Have fun out there!