Feb 6, 2023

game's on!

Monday, February 6, 2023

Welcome back! We are glad you are here!

As some of you have noticed,

we’ve been BUSY revamping the homepage of our site to best express our blog’s intent...

What do you think? Do you like the updated home page?

We’re also excited to share that our newly created Facebook page is up and running!

Along with our Instagram site,

we hope that these two platforms will provide options for our readers!

If you haven’t checked them out, please do!

We’d also love it if you shared our site with other Grands who may enjoy our content! THANK YOU!

Moving on to today’s topic…

The BIG game is next weekend!

Will you and your family be watching the Super Bowl?

While our favorite team is out of the running yet again,

we are looking forward to the game ahead!

Especially exciting this year, is that, for the first time ever,

brothers will be playing on the two competing teams!

We can only wonder… how will that mama be feeling on Super Bowl Sunday???

We know that we will definitely be cheering her on at kickoff!!!

In today’s post, Laura will share our suggestions for a Super Bowl celebration,

Including decor/prep ideas, activities for all ages and a few menu options to consider!

Whether you are hosting a Grand family gathering

or joining friends to watch the game,

we've got you covered!

Are you ready for some Super Bowl Fun?

🏈 Use the Two Teams’ Colors to Decorate!

This may be a no-brainer, but incredibly easy! If using paper products, choose plates, napkins and cups to represent both teams! Balloons and crepe paper are always fun, too… especially for the Littles on your guest list!

🏈 Decorate Mason Jars to Hold Beverages or as Vases!

We often use mason jars to hold beverages for parties we host. We also use them as vases for flowers! To add a festive touchdown touch, I’ve used white electrical tape to replicate the stitching you’d find on the side of a football! As a bonus, to prevent possible mix-ups, your guests can write their names on the electrical tape, too!

🏈 Make your own pompoms and megaphones!

Mini Megaphones - We made these years ago as a Fun Friday project in kindergarten! Each Little needs a paper cup and some paper shreds. I also had some black and white striped scrapbook paper that I’d cut into strips (you can also use white paper and then draw black stripes or a checkered pattern on it). To prep for this project ahead of time, you will need to use an exacto knife to cut the bottoms out of the paper cups. Once this is done, your Littles can glue the black and white paper around the cup as shown (or draw some black stripes on the cup as an easy alternative.) Finally, you can glue (or hot glue gun) the paper shred to the top of the cup. Once dry, your Littles and their megaphones will be ready for game time!

Homemade Pompoms - I found inexpensive pompom sets at Dollar Tree last week and picked up a few for our Littles! If you are interested, check it out! Or, if you prefer to make your own (or have your older Littles do so), here’s a link from Dazzling Daily Deals, with simple directions for doing so!

🏈 Have Temporary Tattoos or Face Paint Available for Added Fun!

If your Littles will be attending your party, they’d love this addition! We found these and these available on Amazon!

🏈 Make Pennants to Add to Your Decor!

Place them around your home or at your serving area! Use straws or wooden skewers and then cut out triangle shapes from construction paper (in team colors) and decorate with markers… OR google images for the two teams, screenshot each image and then copy and print these before cutting out!

You can even make tiny pennants, too, using toothpicks to decorate your appetizer platters!

🏈 What’s Your Prediction?

We’ve kept the best for last! This activity provides decor for your celebration and at the same time is a fun and ongoing activity for all your guests! As everyone arrives, they make a prediction about the game’s outcome! Each person chooses and blows up a balloon to match the color of the team they predict will win the game.

Once the balloon is blown up, the person writes his/her name on the balloon as well as their prediction for the final score of the game! Use a permanent marker! Then, using a clothespin, the balloon is added to a string garland that is displayed (by a window, a doorway, the fireplace, etc).

As game play continues, when a score has passed or is no longer possible, the person with that prediction must find their balloon on the garland, remove it and pop it! The last balloon hanging from the garland (the closest score) wins!

Pin the Football to the Goalpost! (Toddlers and Older)

This would be such an easy game to set up for your Littles! All you need is some strips of paper to tape onto a door or wall in the shape of a goal post. You will also need paper footballs cut out (one for each person participating), a marker and some tape. Of course, you’ll need a scarf to use as a blindfold, as well! Have each person write their name on a football and then take turns, blindfolding a player, spinning him/her around and then watching to see where each football lands! Your Miiddles and the Grands might even enjoy taking a turn! Who will score that extra point?

(Sadly, we didn't take our own photo of this activity - photo from CrazyLou Creations)

Cheerleader Dance Along! (Toddlers and Older)

(This photo above is from Laurie’s kindergarten class.)

Your Littles will get some wiggles out by cheering along to the “Cheerleader” video below from Kidz Bop! It’s a favorite with kindergartners and older kids, but we can totally see our little Littles joining in!

Super Bowl Score It! (School-Age and Older)

This game reminds us of our own childhood! Do you remember making origami (paper folded) footballs and then flicking them around? With a few minutes of prep, you can create this game for your school-age Littles to enjoy… depending on time, they might want to help you prep the game! Using straws and tape (masking, strapping or electrical), construct one goal post for each player (or you can take turns and only make one). Here’s how to do it:

Then, make a hole in the bottom of a paper cup and push the goal post through. If you have play dough available, you can push the goal post into a ball of it under the cup for stability. . Repeat for each goal post you are making. Place the goal post(s) across the table from the player.(s).

Finally, teach your Littles how to make the paper footballs, too! You can use paper from a notebook, copy paper or craft paper (I used a lunch bag that I cut down). Your Littles may have fun decorating their paper footballs, too, so provide crayons and/or markers,. I watched the video below as a refresher. It provides easy to follow directions for making your paper flick football. You could also let your older Littles watch it on their own!

Tailgate Word Search (School-Age and Older)

When your older Littles are ready for a quiet activity while they watch the game, offer them this Tailgate Word Search to work on! Once you’ve tapped on this link from Pizzazzerie you can download and/or print the copies needed!

Judge the Commercials! (All Ages)

This activity is for ALL AGES - the Grands, the Middles and the Littles! While older infants and toddlers would probably not understand, they’d still love to participate by having their own post-it notes to play with (unless they are still putting everything in their mouths, that is)! To prep ahead of time, make a set of 3 post-it notes for each person at the gathering, as shown below. Give each person a set of post-it notes before the game begins. Then, when a commercial has aired, everyone chooses the post-it that best matches their feelings about it and posts it to their foreheads for everyone to see! Will there be some runaway favorites this year?

Face the Field Goal! (All Ages)

When you need a break from the game, this will provide lots of entertainment!

For this game, you’ll need two players at a time and several soft foam balls or these mini stuffed footballs. (You can often find soft balls at the dollar store… I have a collection of both from my years in kindergarten… imagine that! Surprisingly, they’ve come in handy many times over the years and especially now in my role as a Grand!)

Here’s how to play: Have one player stand across the room from the other player and give them a bucket of the small balls. The second player will stand with their hands upright in field goal/touchdown position. Set a timer - depending on the number of balls you have, this could be anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. When the person timing says “Go,” the first player must hike footballs (like hiking a football) underneath their legs into the field goal of the other person, without hitting them in the face. The balls only count if they go through the player’s arms, not above or around them. Record how many field goals are made. Repeat with other teams of two. You can switch places, too, and play a second round. The team with the most field goals at the end wins! ANOTHER OPTION: If you don’t have an open space available for hiking the ball, you can blindfold the “hiker” and he/she can throw the ball from a shorter distance instead! As with the other version, keep trace of field goals made!

While we often have a variety of yummy appetizers spread out to nibble on during the first half of the game, we love providing a simple alternative for our Littles. They love a POPCORN BAR (and we have to admit, we do, too)!

POPCORN BAR!

To make this Popcorn Bar more festive for the occasion,

I take brown lunch bags, cut off the top and then, using a crayon or marker,

add some football stitching details to the outside of the bag.

Once ready, your Littles (and anyone else) can grab a bag, fill it up with popcorn and add any additional goodies they’d like before shaking it all up.

Here are some of our favorite goodies - some sweet and some savory!

I usually pick 3-5 options to set out….

M & M’s (plain or peanut) or chocolate chips, chocolate covered raisins, licorice nibs, marshmallows, dried cranberries, gummy bears, cheeseballs, pretzels or bacon!

THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!

And, finally, I have three meal options to share with you.

TOUCH DOWN DEVILED EGGS!

The first is just a super simple take on a crowd favorite! Everyone on both sides of our family enjoys deviled eggs so they are requested at many gatherings! For my Super Bowl version, I added one extra touch - I cut chives into small pieces and criss-cross them on top of the eggs, as shown in the photo, to replicate the stitching on footballs… definitely a theme in my decor!

CHILE CHEESE DIP!

Family members of ALL ages LOVE this recipe! It's a year round favorite!

I try to have the ingredients on hand as it’s easy to make and oh so delicious!

It’s rich and gooey when served with tortilla chips and raw veggies...

perfect for the occasion!

LEMON BUTTER HAM & CHEESE SANDWICHES!

I have fond memories of my mom making these sandwiches! They quickly became a family favorite with both daughters and hubby requesting them often over the years! We always make extras since they make great leftovers, too!

The ingredients, all set to go!