“It’s Game Time” Football Themed Party

Leave a Comment / Party, Tablescapes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweetenTheSpread #CollectiveBiasScreen Shot 2016-01-17 at 4.23.59 PMScreen Shot 2016-01-18 at 12.54.01 AMScreen Shot 2016-01-18 at 12.56.04 AMI LOVE parties so much I could use any reason to throw one. Football is a great example, I’m not a diehard football fan, I’ll literally cheer for whichever team is winning. My husband on the other hand, well the guy LOVES football and LOVES his team. To me, it’s the perfect occasion to throw a beautifully decorated party (with delicious eats) to celebrate watching the game together with some of our favorite people.

Because football is more of my husbands thing, I wanted this spread to have the snacks he loved, and be beautiful arranged so I could enjoy looking at it. The menu included: hotdogs with mustard, chips with onion dip, veggies, apples with a creamy caramel dip (this stuff is to die for), homemade Snickers pudding trifles (could this day get any better?), a Skittles soda bar, and extra Snickers and Skittles candies to munch. I was able to get almost everything for this party from Target (Target= Chelsey’s Happy place) and save a few dollars with the Cartwheel App, there are deals for snacks starting today through 2/6/16 too. I actually created a few new recipes just for this party, and although there were some iffy moments, I’m really happy to share how everything turned out! Take a peek and remember I’ve got you covered with all of the recipes and tutorials you’ll need later in the post.
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Football Wreath

Since my wreath blew away last month, and was sadly never recovered (may she rest in peace, or pieces), I needed to make a new one. I thought I could kill two birds with one stone by making a football themed wreath that would let any passerby know, we might be VERY serious football fans. I’m more of a serious wreath fan, and since copper spray paint was involved, I was all over this project.Screen Shot 2016-01-17 at 11.21.29 PMFor this project you’ll need:

  • a junior sized football
  • copper spray paint
  • a grape vine wreath
  • leafy greenery
  • ribbon
  • hot glue
  • jute
  • wire cutters Screen Shot 2016-01-17 at 11.51.42 PM

Paint the football copper with spray paint and allow time to dry. Bend your greenery to fit onto the wreath. Using one piece at a time, hold it into place with hot glue. Using a little jute, secure it into place by tying the greenery down in a few spots. Layer, glue and tie the rest of the greenery until it looks how you like. Tie the ribbon in the middle of the wreath and tie it into a bow. Trim the edges of the ribbon at an angle on both sides. Hot glue the copper football into place and hold it in place until it dries. Hang it on your door proudly. It might be the “best wreath” you’ve ever made (according to your football loving hubby.)

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Skittles Soda Bar

Last December I served build-your-own Italian sodas at a party and it was a HUGE hit! I thought it would be a clever idea to do the same idea with ground Skittles. Then you’d have Skittle flavored Italian style sodas, what a great idea, right?! Screen Shot 2016-01-18 at 12.59.08 AMScreen Shot 2016-01-17 at 11.21.06 PMIngredients:

  • Market Pantry (fruit flavored) sparkling water
  • Ground Skittles
  • Prepared whipped cream
  • Paper straws

Start by separating the Skittles by color. I had approximately 1 cup worth of each color once I separated out two 14oz bags. Place one color into a (very dry) food processor and mix. WARNING: This will be so incredibly loud that your child may start yelling at you to stop because it hurts her ears. It’s pretty loud. Repeat and grind each color, consider why you don’t have ear plugs in the house, add them to your list for your next Target run.

Tip: If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of cleaning the food processor in between colors, grind them up in the order of the rainbow: green, yellow, orange, red and purple. I’d still recommend that you dump the remaining dust into the sink in between colors, but do not wet the food processor bowl unless you plan to completely dry it before starting a new color.

Screen Shot 2016-01-17 at 11.47.52 PMOnce you have your Skittle “dust”, place the powder (leaving behind any big pieces) and fill the cutest little jars you can find. These were found on the party isle at Target.Screen Shot 2016-01-18 at 12.56.58 AMScreen Shot 2016-01-18 at 1.15.46 AM Fill a glass with your choice of fruit flavored sparkling water and ice. Add the desired amount of Skittle dust and mix very well. Before you freak-out about the foamy looking floaties on the top, just know that I’ve got your back and have already done all of the freaking out for you. You can do what I did in this order: panic, wonder why this recipe is fighting you, mix a few other colors (its just a fluke right?) and get the same result, calm yourself down and think of solutions. Think Chelsey, think!

Or you could just cover those bad boys up with some whipped cream and garnish with a little more Skittle dust and a cute paper straw. Once you stir it all together they dissolve and go away. So there were a few hiccups with this recipe, it was nothing that couldn’t be remedied with whipped cream and more Skittles. Ta-da!
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Creamy Caramel Dip

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 8oz cream cheese, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Screen Shot 2016-01-18 at 2.23.17 AMInstructions:

Place brown sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow sugar mixture to cook 7-10 minutes until it thickens into a syrup, stirring consistently. Set aside to cool. Using a hand mixer, combine butter and cream cheese until it is a uniform consistency. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar, one cup at at time until fully incorporated. Slowly add the cooled syrup and fold in with a spatula. Pour into a bowl and cool in fridge until ready to serve. Use 1 cup of this mixture for the Snickers Trifle recipe below.Screen Shot 2016-01-17 at 3.55.54 PMHomemade Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 4 tsp cornstarch
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

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Instructions:

Put 1 1/2 cups of milk, sugar, and cocoa in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. After the ingredients have combined, remove from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, cornstarch, egg yolks and vanilla together. Slowly combine the egg mixture with the chocolate mixture constantly whisking. Cook over medium-high heat, constantly whisking until the pudding thickens, about 2-3 minutes. Enjoy a spoonful or two (quality control) and set aside for Snickers trifle.

Snickers Trifle

Ingredients:

  • creamy caramel dip
  • 1 cup peanuts
  • prepared caramel sauce (found in the ice cream topping section)
  • homemade chocolate pudding
  • prepared whipped cream
  • chopped Snickers bar and peanuts for garnish

Place the creamy caramel dip in a plastic baggie and cut the corner to use as a piping bag. Pipe a small amount into four miniature trifle dishes. Next layer peanuts and drizzle a little caramel topping on the top. Carefully spoon in homemade chocolate pudding, smooth the top. Garnish with whipped cream, chopped peanuts and chopped Snickers bar. Enjoy!Screen Shot 2016-01-18 at 12.16.11 AM

This party was so much fun and our guests loved all of the food. To recreate these recipes and tablescape for your next party, head over to Targetyoursweettooth.com for inspirations, then run into Target, make sure to look for an enormous football (on an end cap), you’ll find all of the ingredients you need.

What recipes will you be serving for your next football watching party?

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