How to Not Overspend On Your Super Bowl Day Fun

From Everything Finance

How to Not Overspend On Your Super Bowl Day Fun is a post originally published on: Everything Finance – Everything Finance – Its all about Money!

With the Super Bowl right around the corner, it’s time to start planning an epic party. This year will probably be more important to have a great party than other years. Courtesy of the pandemic, the chances of anyone being there live is slim to none. This also means you will need to have a smaller party than usual and continue to social distance. This ultimately means you’ll probably spend less money on food, drinks and supplies also. I can’t argue with having a great party and not spending as much money to put it on!

Since we can’t be there, then everything you choose to have at the party should be meant to make you, and your guests feel as much like they are at the Super Bowl as possible. This list will obviously be a bit different for everyone, but there are some general rules we can start with.

Super Bowl Party Food

First and foremost, we need to start with the Super Bowl food. There are a few things seem to be regular fare at any super bowl party. Some of the food items I regularly run across include:

• Chicken wings
• Chili
• Chips and dip (many different dips, to be precise)
• Cocktail weenies
• Football shaped cookies
• Hamburgers
• Hot dogs
• Meatballs
• Nachos
• Potato skins
• Sliders

Of course, everyone has their signature dish, so don’t forget to include that. And do your best to utilize ingredients in multiple dishes. This not only makes cooking easier but can also help reduce your overall party costs.

On top of the food, having the right serving platters is key to any Super Bowl party. Some of my favorite platters to have on hand are: 

• Crock- Pot – for keeping the meatballs and weenies warm
• Football Shaped Chip and Dip Platter – possibly two of these, depending upon how many dips you have
• Football Platter – for a veggie tray, sliders, hamburgers or hot dogs
• Large Round Football Themed Platter – for chicken wings, potato skins, etc
• Tiered Serving Stands – I like these for desserts or mini potato skins

No matter which serving platters you choose, make sure you have enough to effectively serve all of the Super Bowl food. And, whenever possible, try to get serving platters that you can use year round. This will help offset the overall cost.

RELATED: Save Money with These Super Bowl Party Tricks

Super Bowl Beverages

No Super Bowl party is complete without some good beverage options. I usually think of beer when I think about a Super Bowl party, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only option. There just happen to be some fabulous Super Bowl themed craft cocktails also. And some of them are extremely easy to make, but look and taste awesome! Some great craft cocktail options are:

• Dilly Dilly  – Vodka, Limeade, Bud Light, Lime
• Super Bowl Slammer – Apple flavored Whiskey, Dr. Pepper, Grenadine
• Super Sunday Punch – Bourbon, Apple Brandy, Sweet Tea, Red Grapefruit Juice, Honey, Cinnamon Sticks, Cloves, Allspice
• Touchdown Punch – Prosecco, Blue Curacao, Lemon, Sprite
• Yellow Hammer Slammer – Vodka, Rum, Amaretto, Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice, Maraschino Cherries

It might be a good idea to only have one of these options in addition to beer to help cut the overall costs. But, if some of your guests want to participate in the party planning, you could entreat some of them to choose a drink they might like and bring the ingredients.

Other than having football themed craft cocktails, beer options are simply a must. This doesn’t mean you have to provide all of the beer (we certainly don’t). Since it can get so expensive, I would suggest having a few different choices to please as many guests as possible. Or you could potentially get a pony keg of your favorite option and ask guests to bring some beer they like to share. That way all the guests can get a chance to try a few different beer offerings. 

Once you have decided which beverage offerings to serve, then you have to figure out the cups. Here are a few different options that are also pretty cost effective:

• Football Themed Cups – (72) 16 oz cups (Disposable)
• Creative Plastic Football Cup – (1) 22 oz cup (More of a souvenir that your guests can reuse and take home)
• Stadium Cups – (10) 22 oz cups (Heavy duty reusable plastic cups, stadium size)

No matter which option you choose, make sure you have enough for people to have multiple drinks, because they will. Or, better yet, use a marker to put their names on the cups so that they can reuse them the whole time. That will save more plastic from being thrown away and keep more money in your pocket so you won’t have to buy as many cups. Which ultimately helps your bottom line, since everything for this Super Bowl party should be coming out of your entertainment budget.

Grill

Having the right grill is an essential part of any super bowl party. In fact, having at least one good grill for regular all year use is a good idea anyway. If you don’t already have a decent grill for regular use, then that is the best place to start.

How much grilling you plan to do throughout the year should determine the size of your grill. But, you also have to decide if you prefer charcoal or propane grills. I grew up as a charcoal grill lover, so that is still where I reside. I just prefer the charcoal flavor on the food over the propane gas flavor any day. But, not everybody feels that way. And charcoal grills tend to make more of a mess and usually take more work to get started. So, propane grills certainly have their place. There are also some hybrid options now that are charcoal grills with propane starters. So, if you want the best of both worlds, that might be the right choice for you.

Either way, here are my three favorite options for each type of grill mentioned:

• Charcoal Grill 
• Propane Grill
• Hybrid Charcoal Grill with Propane Starter

Once you get the larger grill figured out, it’s time to consider a smaller tabletop grill. These are usually much cheaper, and easier to store when not in use. Plus they heat up pretty quickly so they work exceptionally well for parties when you need a bit more grilling space.

• Cheaper Tabletop Propane Grill – also great for camping!
• More Expensive Tabletop Propane Grill

RELATED: Save Money With These BBQ Tips

Grilling Tools

Once you have your grill situation nailed down, grilling tools are next. These can range between pretty darn cheap to fairly darn expensive. So, ultimately, a lot of the cost here will come down to your personal preference and how often you think you will actually use them.

For us, we keep two sets of grilling tools on hand. A much smaller set for kitchen use and a much larger, more elaborate set for our outdoor grilling needs. And the outdoor set has a nice case that everything can be stored in, so that way we can leave the set under our grill. It makes things much easier to find when the time comes for grilling, as well as when the time comes for a party, such as the Super Bowl. 

Therefore, here are a few suggestions for grilling tools that won’t cost you an arm and a leg but will still get the job done:

• 3-Piece Grilling Set
• 3-Piece Grilling Set With Grill Glove  
• 20-Piece SS Grilling Set With Case
• Mac Daddy 34-Piece Grilling Set With Case

No matter which grilling set(s) you choose, just make sure that the set has everything you need, for regular use and for party time.

These are some awesome tips to host a great Super Bowl party and not overspend!
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When it comes time for Super Bowl, you can be ready to host one killer party all while not killing your budget. The steps to do so are fairly simple. Just make sure to have great party food, a few beverage choices, a great grill or two, good grilling tools and awesome serving platters and cups. Once you have all that, you’ll be ready for the big game!

What are some ways you plan to enjoy a Super Bowl party and not overspend?

How to Not Overspend On Your Super Bowl Day Fun is a post originally published on: Everything Finance – Everything Finance – Its all about Money!

This post was published on Everything Finance