Are You Ready for Some Football?

I don't get a chance to talk about it much on here, but I like football. A lot. It's pretty much our Sunday ritual around here, leading up to Downton Abbey/Mad Men/Breaking Bad/whatever show is in season. (Or rather, it was, because after this weekend there aren't any more games...) The Super Bowl is this Sunday and although it's not our year to host the party--that honor goes to another couple we're pals with--I thought I'd take a second to look at some recipes and games anyway because I'm excited.

sandwich bar playbook  //  pineapple salsa  //  commercial bingo

Let's do the games first. I've never played one at a Super Bowl party before, but that's because I actually watch the football. Our group always ends up REALLY invested in the outcome, so we pay attention. But I think having some games on hand is a good option for people who are less maniacal interested than we are. I found a version of bingo for the commercials and another version for things that happen during the actual game. Both are made to print at home, and you can just cross off the spaces with a pen. These would be great for keeping kids entertained, too.

As for the food, I'm going to break it down into two categories: things that are relatively healthy and things that are... not. I think it's nice to have a mix of both.

mini meatball sandwiches  //  seven-layer dip

On the healthy side of the coin, I found some pineapple salsa (which is pictured in the first group--I want to lick my screen), roasted poblano guacamole, and a seven-layer dip that gets bonus points for the idea of serving it in individual cups. I'm also a fan of a sandwich bar, mainly for the sake of customizing my food, and you can add playbook symbols to the table cloth as a way of labeling the ingredients.

It wouldn't be the Super Bowl if I didn't tell you about greasy stuff, too, so I also found some recipes for mini meatball sandwiches, sausage and pepperoni pizza puffs, and buffalo wings. And just because they're adorable, some chocolate-covered strawberries that look like tiny footballs. Cuuuute.

So are you excited about the game? Are you having people over? What stuff do you like to eat at these parties?