super bowl activities

One of America’s favorite annual traditions is Super Bowl Sunday. Even those who don’t follow American football the other 364 days of the year can spare an evening to enjoy the game. Fun traditions abound, from games to food to the commercials you just can’t skip.

As with all parties, a good plan will lead to success. With an online calendar, party-planning is easier than kicking an extra point. Use the following tips, so you’re ready for gameday:

Get Your Day Organized

Super Bowl 2021 is coming up this weekend — February 7th. Mark your Calendar and send out your invites today. Creating your event in your Calendar so your guests can receive an invitation and RSVP in just a few clicks.

Once you’ve established a time for guests to arrive, you can start filling in the rest of your itinerary. No one wants to miss the halftime show — The Weekend” is performing! You could even ask your guests to guess which numbers will be performed at the festivities and make it a bet!

Plan Out the Food

Every good Super Bowl party comes with its own menu. You’ll want a good assortment of food for your guests to enjoy during the game. Finger foods are easy to put together and always a hit, but a larger meal will help tide over guests throughout the duration of the event.

Ask your guests to bring a dish to add to your fun. An assortment of chips, dips, and veggie trays will take the load off your shoulders as the host. You can focus your efforts on preparing a specialty dish instead. Don’t forget the drinks!

Schedule Some Games

The football game doesn’t have to be the only game planned for the evening. Scattering some other activities throughout the evening will make the game even more entertaining, especially for those who don’t care for football. Schedule some party games throughout the night using your online calendar as a time management guide.

Here are some fresh ideas to add to your playbook:

  • Football themed trivia
  • Super Bowl Bingo
  • Hot dog eating contest
  • Super Bowl Pick ‘Em (friendly bets on outcomes of the game)
  • Cornhole tournament
  • Card games in front of the TV

My favorite is to determine the best commercial at the Super Bowl. We bet on it at work. You could guess the best commercials of the past.

Aaron Tallent at Athelong Sports says: “The airing of the expensive ads has even morphed into a competition of sorts. Since 1989,USA Todayhas used an AdMeter, a new online poll where viewers state their opinion on commercials almost as they happen that determines the best of the Super Bowl broadcast. (Anyone can sign up to do this at admeter.usatoday.com).” 

How many of the old Super Bowl ads do you remember? You can watch all the old Super Bowl ads here.

Organize Activities for the Kids

Plan for your younger family members and those of your friends and family. Mario Kart tournament qualifies as a Super Bowl game you can somehow incorporate into the evening. The point is to have fun, so think outside of the box and come up with or develop the games you will enjoy the most. For some of the smaller games, add some prizes at the end for a little injection of friendly competition.

Avoid Chaos and Plan for the Youngest Kids

You want younger children to feel the excitement of a party and to have a fun evening. Put together some activities to occupy their time. They’ll stay out of your hair while having a fun time of their own. I usually hire a couple of neighborhood babysitters to make the event fun for the kids.

While the Super Bowl is just a block of time on your Calendar, you can break it down into smaller chunks for children’s activities. Fun activities we have done in the past have been: scheduling a craft for them to do, video games, or vid competition (bowling, boxing, dance). Maybe in a separate room. A movie is always a good idea to keep the kids entertained with minimal supervision. We still keep the babysitters the whole time to ensure the kids have a great time.

Keep Safety in Mind

Even though it’s not as prevalent in the news as in months past, but Covid-19 is still an issue that needs addressing. A successful party of any kind in 2021 needs a certain level of safety and precaution. Keep a few guidelines in mind with your planning and your fun will be in safe hands.

Remember those finger foods? Include some tongs or utensils for guests to use. To encourage social distancing for traveling guests, get your seating arrangement in order before kickoff.

Last but not least, set a bottle of hand sanitizer by the door for everyone who enters to keep Covid-19 on the outside looking in.

I’m leaving antibacterial wet wipes out this year for the babysitters.

Hold a Test Run

While there are no more football games leading up to the NFL championship, you can still hold a test run to iron out your plans while watching something else. Try a basketball or a soccer game on for size. Professional sporting events are similar in length, so you’ll be able to time your meal prep and fit in some preliminary games in advance.

If you plan on cooking two meals or playing double the games, account for the needed materials in your upcoming shopping trip. Don’t forget to pick up any decorations you want and use this opportunity to figure out exactly where you want them.

Take some time a couple of days before to make sure your entertainment setup is geared up and ready to go come game time. You DO NOT want to be fussing with the equipment the day of the event.

Don’t Forget the Afterparty

There’s still plenty of stuff to do after the final whistle blows. This will primarily involve cleaning up after the night’s festivities. You don’t have to do everything immediately after, especially if you’re exhausted and have work in the morning, but tackling some of the more pressing tasks will save you some headache. Use your online calendar to coordinate your efforts.

We always ask the babysitters to stay after and help us clean up so that we don’t start Monday dragging. If you pay them well — they’ll usually be a great help to you. Make your list of what you’ll have them do. Your list may include putting the kids to bed, clean up the playrooms, gathering garbage off all the tables — and hauling the trash to the curb, loading the dishwasher, wiping up spills, etc.

This list is the same one we’ve used for years — these tasks are always the same for Super Bowl Sunday — and usually for parties where the kids are invited too.

Leverage your online calendar to make sure your Super Bowl party is a touchdown and not a fumble. Use these next couple of days to make a plan to follow, and you’ll find no reason to throw a penalty flag over the course of the night.