Super Bowl Party Ideas
February 7, 2010, Kickoff 6:28 EST
New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts

It all started in 1960 when the American Football League(AFL) was first established. You see, the National Football League(NFL) was 40 years its senior, and the two leagues immediately began battling over players. They started outbidding each other in order to attract key players and it got really ugly.

Then in 1966, Al Davis, the new AFL commissioner, really started cranking up the heat. Reportedly, eight NFL quarterbacks were being courted by the AFL and something drastic needed to be done.

Quick Jump Links

The NFL really had no choice but to sign a merger agreement with the AFL on June 8, 1966. The agreement called for a common draft and the immediate establishment of an annual championship game between the two leagues which would eventually become known as

For anything you could possibly want to know about the Super Bowl, check out this link to the NFL Super Bowl web site.

I especially enjoyed reading the history page which gives details on every game played since 1967.

Football Pool

What is a football pool? MSN Encarta defines one as "a form of gambling in which the participants, usually work colleagues, bet on the results of college, university, or professional football games. The collected wagers are pooled and divided among the winners."

To organize a pool for Super Bowl, you will need a Football Pool Sheet with squares where people can fill in their names.

Second, you will need Instructions on how to set it up, how to determine winners and how to pay out the pot.

You can either buy a football pool package (see below) or you can download one for free.

If you would like to download one for free, click here to go to our
Free Football Pool Sheet web page and request the link.

You will receive an Ebook ABSOLUTELY FREE which includes:

• An 8-1/2 x 11 blank Football Pool Sheet. Print it on cardstock to make it extra durable.
• An example of a pool sheet filled in

• Set up a football pool
• Determine who wins
• Split up the pot

• Party Queen Ezine--A free subscription to our newsletter which is filled with all sorts of party ideas and new recipes for you to try, periodically delivered directly to your email in box.

If you would rather buy a Football Pool Package that includes (1) Game Sheet (measures approximately 17.5" wide x 27" high), (4) Award Ribbons, (1) Sheet of Numbers and complete instructions, BuyCostumes.com offers this one for only $4.99 while supplies last.

Super Bowl Invitations Start Here

There are three choices available if you want to mail your own party invitations:

• Search around in your local stores for holiday invitations and fill them out by hand
• Order blank invitation stock on line and then fill them out by hand, or my personal favorite
• Use an on line service to design your own invitations that you receive in the mail

If you decide to use an on line service or order Super Bowl Invitations, I highly recommend using Vistaprints (Save up to 90% + get FREE Shipping). I recently ordered some personal items and was very impressed with how easy it was to completely design them myself.

Everything was easy to follow and navigation from screen to screen was very straightforward so I didn't feel lost halfway through the process.

Each step was clearly marked from beginning to end, unlike some other services I have used.

If you don't want to completely design everything yourself, you can use one of their templates (like the one above) and just fill in the wording, like "Time of Party" "Date" and so forth. Steps are as follows:

• Select Invitations from NavBar
• Select a Category like "Birthday" (tons under "General Party")
• Select a template
• Add your content--front of the invitation and inside
• Proof your invitation and initial
• Specify quantity
• Billing and shipping information
• Shipment arrives, you address and mail

Special Limited Time Offer at VistaPrint.com

• 50% to 75% Off Custom Printed Invitations & Announcements

Once you arrive on this screen, choose the category you prefer ("Birthday" "Christmas" or whatever), choose the template and then proceed with the other steps.

I especially love the ease of creating mass amounts of free invitations very easily using Microsoft Powerpoint and then mailing them or emailing them directly to my guests.

When I am in a hurry, I can not afford to waste time hand addressing invitations or waiting for them to come in the mail.

I taught myself how to create very basic free invitations in Powerpoint and I use this method several times a year as most of my parties are casual.

To learn how to create free invitations in Powerpoint, click here to go to my Design Powerpoint Invitations page. Watch a video of me doing it!

If you plan on sending your invitations through the mail, the easiest way to get them addressed is to create address labels in Microsoft Word.

Go to this page to learn how to Create Address Labels in Microsoft Word. Look for the link at the top of the page to go directly to that section.

Once you get your invitations in the envelopes with the address labels attached, make sure you have a return address in the upper left corner of every envelope. Each year I get a few holiday letters and Christmas party invitations back in the mail because, for whatever reason, they were undeliverable.

Choose either FREE Return Address Labels from VistaPrint.com like the one above or use a Self-Inking Rubber Stamp like the one to the right to make
this job a snap.

VistaPrint.com is my chosen vendor for both as they have several designs to choose from and they offer special pricing on certain products and shipping expenses throughout the year. Easy to use interface with deep discounts and great service.

The only thing I don't like about them is immediately after completing the order process, they hit you with 2 or 3 screens trying to get you to buy more products. I just clicked my way through those and moved on.

Special Limited Time Offers at VistaPrint.com

Party Supplies Start Here

BuyCostumes.com sells football party packages that include matching plates, napkins and cutlery.

This particular Football Party Package also includes a green grass plastic table cover, an 18-inch foil balloon, a 12-inch referee tray and a football centerpiece.

You will find this Football Party Package at this link as well as an ala carte menu of football items that you can purchase separately.

Below are a few more of my favorite football party supplies. Click on the images or links for more information.

$14.99 Inflatable Football Cooler	$13.99 & Up Football TShirts	$11.99 Beer Pong Game
$3.99 Football Headband	$5.99 Football Chip Bowl	$31.46 Stadium Bundt Pan

Click here for more NFL Football Party Supplies.

Super Bowl Recipes

Having people over to watch a football game during the season is one thing, but for the Super Bowl, there is some serious partying going on!

Invitations are sent out, houses are decorated, people dress up in their favorite team attire, and of course, there is always A LOT of food and drinks at a Super Bowl party.

You can almost always count on chili being served at a football party. I like this Chicken Chili recipe because it's out of the ordinary and it's a little bit healthier than the beef variety.

Along with the chili, I recommend serving a bunch of appetizers and desserts. Did you see that Stadium Bundt Cake in the party supplies section above? That is a fun cake to make and eat!

Try some of the party appetizers and desserts below at your next Super Bowl Party:

Appetizers

Desserts

Click here for more party recipes including some special cocktails and party punches that would be great at any football party.

Click here to share your favorite Football Appetizer and Snack Recipes and see what other Theme Party Queen visitors have submitted.