Maybe you thought you didn’t really care about the Super Bowl.
Maybe you thought that one of your friends would put together an awesome party, but no one did.
Or, maybe you just want an excuse to throw a party.
Whatever your situation, we are here to help you put together a last-minute Super Bowl party that is sure to rock the world of you and your party guests.
Since you don’t have time for too many extras, let’s focus attention on the must-haves for a successful Super Bowl party.
What You Need for Your Last-Minute Super Bowl Party
1. Solid TV and Seating
Obviously, a TV plays a major role in your Super Bowl party.
You don’t need to have a huge flat-screen (though, honestly that would be great). You just need to make sure that the TV is situated so that everyone can see it.
Sometimes, removing items from your home is necessary in order to make room for the viewing party. If this is the case for you, give Closetbox a call. Our hassle-free valet storage service will come and pick up whatever you need to get out of the way, and then bring it back once the party is over.
If you have multiple TVs to use for your party, that’s even better. You can bring them into the watching area so that everyone is guaranteed to see, or you can set up different viewing rooms — how fun!
Or, you can try this hack from Caleb Backe, Health and Wellness Expert for Maple Holistics: set up a computer or two to watch if multiple TVs are not an option.
Whether you’re watching the game on a giant flat-screen TV or on a few different computers, you want to make sure the sound is top-notch.
And with something as small and simple as the JBL Pulse 3, you’ll get that great sound without the hassle of a bunch of cords and mess.
With the Pulse 3, you’re able to connect more than 100 JBL Connect + enabled speakers with the push of one button. And, its 12-hour battery life ensures that the great sound lasts throughout the entire game (just be sure you remember to charge it ahead of time!).
And you’ll love this added bonus: the Boombox is IPX7 waterproof, so no need to stress about beer spills.
2. Food
It’s hard to determine whether more people attend a Super Bowl party for the game, or for the food.
Whether food is their number one priority, or not so important, your Super Bowl party guests are going to be digging into snacks at some point, so you want to make sure your food is on-point.
And, since your party is last-minute, you don’t have time to mess around with complicated foods.
Simplicity is key here, and Chef John Currence, author of two cookbooks and winner of the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the South, shared with us some fabulous Super Bowl recipes that are quick and easy to whip up, and are sure to please your guests.
Bourbon Apple Glazed Chicken Wings
What you need:
- 2 pounds chicken wings, trimmed
- 1 cup Maker’s Mark Bourbon
- 1 can frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 T. maple syrup
What you do:
- Combine all ingredients in medium pot
- Bring to a boil on high heat and reduce to a simmer for 30-40 minutes until wings are tender and the glaze has reduced, coating the wings
- Preheat the oven to 325 F
- Remove wings from the pot and transfer to a parchment lined sheet tray
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the wings begin to color and glaze becomes shiny
- Garnish with minced scallions and apple
Grilled Ham and Pimento Cheese Sandwich
What you need:
- ⅔ cup pimento cheese
- 4 thick slices sourdough or whole wheat bread
- 4 thin slices pit-smoked ham
- 4 slices cooked bacon
- 10-12 dill pickle slices
- 4 thin slices heirloom or hot house tomato
- ½ cup slaw
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
What you do:
- Spread pimento cheese evenly on bread slices
- On the bottom bread slices, place the ham, then bacon, pickles, tomato, and slaw
- Top with remaining bread
- Melt 2 T butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until it bubbles
- Place sandwiches in the skillet and cook until the bottoms are browned
- Add remaining 2 T butter, then flip the sandwiches and cook
- Remove sandwiches from the pan, and serve
The options are almost unlimited when it comes to food for your Super Bowl party, but the more finger-friendly the food is, the better.
“Also provide typical snacks like chips and popcorn,” advises Backe.
No one wants to be messing with forks and knives when the game starts to get intense!
Brian Worley of Bold Catering & Design loves “the idea of taking the pressure off of yourself as the host by creating a buffet of sorts. You could create a ‘Do-it-Yourself’ station for just about anything, including: Nachos, Mexican Pizzas, Chili. Also, a Crock-pot or slow cooker can be your best friend on Super Bowl Sunday. Throw all the ingredients into the pot, turn it on and let it cook.”
But, if you really aren’t feeling the cooking vibe, you can always hire catering, or order take-out. The options for that are fabulous, and are entirely stress-free so that you don’t have to deal with any level of cooking on your own.
3. Drinks
Almost as important as the food at your Super Bowl party will be the drinks.
The first thing you need to make sure of with your drink options is that you have both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
“While there are some who will want to get in the mood with beer [and other alcohol], there will also be some who don’t want to wake up hungover the next morning, so provide options for both,” insider Backe shared with us.
And we could not agree more.
Beer is an absolute must, but so are non-alcoholic drinks.
Be sure you don’t just opt for boring water — for those guests who are choosing not to drink, provide them with some sparkling water, or something that has a bit more flavor to it than plain old water (though you certainly want to have some of that, too).
And, we can count on Chef John Currence to have a fabulous drink recipe as well.
Touchdown Punch Bowl
What you need:
- 1 cup Maker’s Mark Bourbon
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Peels of 3 lemons and 1 orange
- Juice of peeled fruit
- 1 liter of strong tea (preferably green)
- 250 mL Champagne
- Freshly grated nutmeg
What you do:
- Combine sugar and citrus peels in the bottom of a punch bowl.
- Muddle together until sugar starts to clump
- Let sit for about 2 hours
- Brew the tea for about 30 minutes
- Remove loose tea or tea bags and allow to cool
- Add the juice of the peeled fruit, tea, and bourbon
- Stir
- Top with Champagne right before serving and stir
- Top with freshly grated nutmeg
To take some of the stress (and cost) off of you, you can ask your guests to bring some of their favorite drinks either for themselves, or to share with others.
4. Entertainment
Sure, the Super Bowl is the center of the party, but what about those people who want to come to the party but just aren’t into football? And what about the downtime that can sometimes happen when the game gets boring?
It’s a good idea to have board games and card games on hand for your guests to grab when they’re starting to get a bit bored.
See — it’s not that bad. You can put together a last-minute Super Bowl party with very little effort. We bet you could even do this in a matter of few hours, if necessary.
So step away from the stress, and put together a simple party that will ensure you and your guests have a blast.
