Tailgating at Home

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Tailgating at Home.  Are you ready for Game Day?  Do you host a party or go to a party?  We usually invite a few friends over to watch the game.  Since we all have kiddos, it’s super important to make sure we have foods and activities to entertain the big and little kids.  

Before any party, I think about my guest list and party details.  What time is the party?  Will I need to serve a full meal or are finger foods ok?  Kids? Adults? Then, I brainstorm food and activity ideas with my husband or my kids.  I make a list, and I head to Target.  This party is no different.  I know we will primarily serve finger foods and snacks, I know we will have kids from little to big, and adults.  I grabbed juice, fresh fruits and veggies, and everyone’s favorite snack, Goldfish® crackers for the kids tables.  Goldfish have been a family favorite for as long as I can remember.  They are The Snack That Smiles Back®, can you say it without singing it? I also love that they are wholesome and delicious.  Even my big kid eats them by the handful.  With four kids in the house, not including guests, I was thrilled to find Goldfish crackers in the bulk boxes at Target on Cartwheel!  (Be sure to download the app to start saving today!  I cannot even begin to tell you how much this app has saved me.)  I also know not everyone will be entertained by the game on the big screen, so I created an activity table for the (big and) little kids to entertain themselves with.

A quick trip to Target and a game of hide and go seek in my craft area is all I needed to put the snack and activity tables together.  I pre poured all of the juice in paper cups and placed them on a galvanized cake stand on a small table.  I also used decorated treat cups and filled them with Goldfish crackers, and fresh fruits and veggies.  I placed the cups in and around a galvanized serving tray, and I left the bulk boxes of Goldfish crackers on the table so the kids could get more as they needed them.

I set up the activity table near the kids table.  I thought it would be fun to make a tabletop corn hole game and have the kids (and adults) toss the Goldfish crackers instead of corn bags.  Everyone LOVED playing!  I made my corn hole boards with card stock paper, hot glue, and chipboard legs.

Each board is 1/4 regulation size.  (12″ long, 6″ wide, and a 1.5″ hole 2.25″ down from the top in the center.  There is a 1″ skirt around the board, and 3″ chipboard legs in the back.)  I used my die cutting machine to cut the paper, but you could hand cut it, or even use a shoe box top or light weight wood to make yours.  (The cut file for the board is here.  You will need to use 12″x24″ paper) Once I had my papers cut, I folded them along the score lines and hot glued the flaps to create a “box lid”.  Next, I hot glued the chipboard legs to the corn hole board on either side across from the hole.  

Now, my corn hole boards were ready, I just needed to get my table ready.  A small folding table was covered with a tablecloth and astroturf, and a small football was placed in the middle of the table to keep the kids from reaching too far.  Each player had a cup of Goldfish crackers to toss across the table and try to sink in the corn hold board hole, just like traditional corn hole.  I used the Goldfish Cheddar 30 oz. Carton and the Xtra Cheddar Flavor Blasted Goldfish 30 oz. Cartons. This was by far the favorite activity at the party, and I think I will make a more permanent version for future parties!

What do you have planned for the Big Game?  Check out some big game entertaining inspiration from Goldfish crackers here, and recipe ideas here.  Download the free printable football banner from the Spring 2016 issue of EPM here.

This fun football themed game isn’t the only way you can get creative with your child this winter. Right now you can enter to win $5000 with your child by creating your own Goldfish Tales Animation Xperience at GoldfishSmiles.com.  

Tags : Big Game, Bowl Games, Football, Goldfish Crackers, SEC, Super Bowl, Superbowl