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Ideas

Party guide

A Game-Day Thanksgiving

Football on, food out all afternoon, and a real dinner at halftime. This is for the crowd that would rather graze on the couch than sit through three courses, and it's the easiest one on this list to pull off.

Host tip: Check the kickoff times the week before and plan dinner around halftime of the game your crowd cares about most.

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The menu

Starter
Buffalo chicken dip with celery and chipsRecipe from Spend With Pennies ↗
Main
Turkey sliders on Hawaiian rollsRecipe from I Heart Naptime ↗
Side
Slow-cooker chiliRecipe from Spend With Pennies ↗
A toppings bar: cheese, sour cream, scallions, jalapeños, FritosYour own
Dessert
Pumpkin pie barsRecipe from Sally's Baking Addiction ↗

Drinks and ice

  • A beer and cider bucket
  • Bourbon apple cider punch, with a batch minus the bourbon for anyone skipping: recipe

Football ice

Football-shaped silicone ice molds are cheap and make the cups feel on-theme. In the punch, use a big ring frozen from cider in a bundt pan, so it never waters down. For the beer bucket, layer the ice with coarse salt so it chills faster.

Make ahead

  1. 1 day before: Make the chili (it's better the next day). Mix the dip and refrigerate. Make the punch base and freeze the cider ring.
  2. Morning of: Chili into the slow cooker on low.
  3. Kickoff: Bake the dip and set out the toppings bar.
  4. Halftime: Assemble and bake the sliders (about 20 minutes).
  5. Fourth quarter: Pie bars out.

The music

Stadium anthems and classic rock

The 25 songs
  1. Seven Nation Army, The White Stripes
  2. We Will Rock You, Queen
  3. Eye of the Tiger, Survivor
  4. Welcome to the Jungle, Guns N' Roses
  5. Thunderstruck, AC/DC
  6. Jump, Van Halen
  7. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
  8. Kickstart My Heart, Mötley Crüe
  9. Sirius, The Alan Parsons Project
  10. Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne
  11. Enter Sandman, Metallica
  12. Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
  13. All I Do Is Win, DJ Khaled
  14. Centuries, Fall Out Boy
  15. Lose Yourself, Eminem
  16. Remember the Name, Fort Minor
  17. Zombie Nation, Kernkraft 400
  18. Start Me Up, The Rolling Stones
  19. Back in Black, AC/DC
  20. We Are the Champions, Queen
  21. Pour Some Sugar on Me, Def Leppard
  22. Hold On Loosely, .38 Special
  23. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
  24. Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky), Bill Conti
  25. Old Time Rock & Roll, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

Little touches

  • A gift for the host

    What guests can bring.

    Snacks for the next game or a six-pack of something local

  • To take home

    A little something at the door.

    Candy in a small football favor box

  • Something to do

    A pick'em sheet or a squares board for the game, with a small prize

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