This morning, somewhere between 10am and 11am, I will be on Great Day Green Country on Fox 23 talking about decorating your table for the “Big Game” on Sunday. Hope you can check it out!
If you did…thanks! If you didn’t, no worries, here are some snap shots of the simple ideas.
The main idea is to keep it S I M P L E !!! Let’s face it…the guys do not care what your table and food looks like. All they care about is the game and the fact that the food tastes good. So, don’t stress over every last detail days before and don’t clean up for hours on end afterwards. I mean, it is a Sunday night which means work the next morning! Hopefully these ideas will help you create a quick, festive setting for minimal expense.
Work with the team colors. Go with a solid color table cloth in a team color (blue or red this year). If you don’t have one, like me, then head down to your local fabric store and buy a couple yards of fabric. The blue fabric was $2.99 a yard. Then I went over to the framing department and had them tear me off about 6 – 8 feet of brown paper (I think they charged me $1.50 or so total!). The brown paper does double duty by first keeping the table cloth clean and second you can write the names of the 15 different dips that you have created! At the end of the night you just roll it up and toss it away. Down the center of the table I used a wide ribbon in red to bring in the second main color.
For plates, go with your plain jane plastic or paper colored plates. There is no need for fine china….or anything that is breakable for that matter! With this years main colors being red and blue I just picked up some good ‘ol Solo plates in the two colors.
Make sure you have plenty of paper towels on hand! No need for cutesy napkins. They will not be appreciated by this football crowd. Stick with simple white paper towels and have a couple rolls that can easily be passed around along with all the messy wings, nachos, and pizza.
Chocolate dipped pretzel sticks are the easiest treat ever, and they are fun to make. Would be a great pre-game activity for the kids!
Sports drinks are great because of their perfect colors and because they are much better for the kids than soda. Of course…the adults need their beverages as well! Having a drink bucket makes it easy to refill and keep drinks nice and cool throughout the night. I found this one at Target.
And finally, the cupcakes. Another yummy and easy way to incorporate the team colors…and satisfy the sweet tooth. This is a Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Cupcake with white icing, sprinkles, and a toothpick with a foam football stuck to it. I found the football at the craft store. You could spend hours making the cupcakes look like footballs themselves or helmets, or you could save yourself the time and go the old fashioned route. I guarantee you the guys won’t mind!
Here is the recipe for these delicious cupcakes…
Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
1 yellow cake mix
2 packages instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 bag chocolate chips
Mix all ingredients together. Fill cupcake liners half way with the mix. These rise a lot, so don’t over fill! Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20-30 minutes….or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Let cool and then frost.
This recipe is actually my mom’s Chocolate Pound Cake….you do the exact same thing except you bake it in a bundt pan for about an hour. Anywhere you take this you will get rave reviews! If you try it as a pound cake, for the icing simply melt 1/2 – 3/4 of a bag of chocolate chips and add enough milk until it is the right consistency to drizzle over the top of the cake. You can sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Hope everyone has a fun “Big Game” Sunday!
AlaynaB
Alayna is a lifestyle photographer who also practices commercial and residential interior design. She loves utilizing vibrant color in both her designs and her photography. She also has a passion for travel, seeking out new experiences, places and cultures to capture with her camera and to influence her designs. Alayna married her high school sweetheart and loves to cook, finding joy in family favorites as well as her own creations. A bargain hunter by nature, she thinks that good design can come in all mediums, price points and styles and should be available to everyone.
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