There’s no day quite like game day. Football games, more than any other sport, tend to be a big production. The day starts off with a pregame party in the parking lots, followed by the actual football game, and typically finishes with an after party of some sort—especially if your team is the winning team. Every week there is a football game to look forward to, whether you’re attending high school football games, college football games, or professional football games. This football season, throw the best tailgating or pregame party thanks to Windy City Novelties! In this article, we’ll provide party tips and tricks in order to put together an impressive football tailgate party.

Start with the essentials.

Prepare for game day the night before. You may have to get up earlier than usual the day of the football game, so you don’t want to be rushing around packing the car when you’re tired in the morning. Instead, pack your car the night before with all of your game-day essentials. You are going to want a grill to cook burgers, hot dogs, and any other snacks you’ll want while tailgating. This also means you’ll need to bring a folding table to set your snacks on or eat off of. Be sure to pack any other cooking devices you may need, such as a crock pot for chili, nacho cheese, etc. You’ll also need a cooler to keep your drinks nice and cold. And last, but not least, you may want to pack activities to participate in while tailgating, such as Corn Hole, Beer Pong, or other games table games you enjoy playing.

Pack the party supplies.

Now that you have your game day essentials, you can embellish your tailgate area with fun football decorations! This will be what sets you and your tailgating group apart from other tailgaters in the parking lot. Use a football field table cover to cover your folding table, or place it on the floor of the hatchback in your SUV or on the tailgate of your truck—this will allow you to save space and use your folding table for activities. To place the table cover in the trunk of your car, fold it in half. If you are placing it on a table, use tape or table cover clips to secure it to the table.

Enhance your football-themed snack table by draping a football garland across the front of it. Or, hang the football garland decoration across the trunk of your car. Pennant banners and football go together like peanut butter and jelly, so hang a football field pennant banner in your party area. Use it as a border for your canopy, of hang it off the back of your car. Root for your team by hanging a pennant banner with your team’s colors and logo on it.

Add some final touches to your tablescape by adding centerpieces, or other table decorations. Place a football cascade centerpiece, or two, on your table to add some flair. Sprinkle metallic football confetti across the table to add some sparkle.

Top off your tailgate with some sweet treats and good eats.

Food, food and more food! Tailgating is all about the snacks, so be sure to serve yours in football-friendly servingware. Serve your delectable brownies on a football serving tray and chips, or other things of that nature, in a football bowl—just to give you a few ideas. Serve pinwheels or an array of veggies on a plastic serving tray. Other tailgate-worthy snacks include nachos or nacho dip, chili, burgers, brats, hot dogs, and pulled pork sandwiches.

Set out football-themed paper platesand napkins for your fellow tailgaters to eat off of. Serve tailgate-worthy refreshments, as well, such as a pitcher of Bloody Mary’s. Keep your beer cans and bottles cool by tossing them in a giant field goal inflatable cooler. The football cooler alone will attract many to your tailgate site! 

At Windy City Novelties, it’s our hope that this article inspires you to create a fun and unique party for your loved ones. For more helpful tips on organizing your event, email our dedicated party planning experts at [email protected]. You may also subscribe to our emails for weekly party planning ideas, featured products and more at https://www.windycitynovelties.com/customer/account/create/