Tips For Tailgate Parties
For many people, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is all about family. But for others, this weekend is all about football.
If you're planning to go to a game, you'll want to make sure your tailgate party is "Just Perfect," So, for its "Just Perfect" series, The Saturday Early Show invited Joel Weber, an associate editor of Men's Journal, to share some tips on tailgating.
To some, tailgating is a tradition that's as important as the sport itself and with a little preparation, you can ensure that yours will be a success. The "perfect" tailgate is made up of a few key elements: food and drink, seating and tables, entertainment and mood, and practical items.
GENERAL TIPS
This depends on where you live, and how hardcore you are. A good rule of thumb is that you should arrive three or four hours before the game. But two to three may suffice.
Fly a flag (you can attach it to your car) or something else like balloons so your friends can find you
FOOD AND DRINK
ood should be ready an hour or an hour and a half before the game starts to give you enough time to eat, clean up and put out any fires.
Bring your food in plastic bags or disposable containers whenever possible. That way, you can just throw the bags out. The same is true for disposable tin pans; you can just throw them out when you're done. You can both cook and serve the food in them.
Freeze hamburger patties between sheets of wax paper and put them on the grill frozen
Gear:
From Coleman.com, try the Coleman 50 Quart Wheeled Ultimate Xtreme Cooler ($32) or the Coleman 54 quart, steel-belted cooler ($110).
From Wood Flame USA, the Delecto Wood Burning Grill ($249.99) heats up instantly; no waiting for it like with charcoal and it uses hardwood to get ultimate flavor.
From GSI Outdoors, try a portable blender that you can crank by hand or plug into your car's lighter. The GSI Vortex Blender is priced at $69.95.
Don't forget paper goods, team cups, insulated can holders, a good kitchen knife, fire starter lighter and tongs, as well as miscellaneous food items like chips and dip, condiments and buns.
For something different, try a "stadium cake," made with a bundt pan ($32) from Williams-Sonoma.
Seating/Tables
Everything you take to a tailgate should be extremely portable. You want to look for stuff that you can set up and break down easily, so you can concentrate on having a good time. Remember that you'll be sitting on hard stadium chairs for a couple of hours. So you should make sure you have comfortable seating during your tailgate.
A Mini picnic table and stool set from REI.com cost $59. These fold up into a briefcase.
Hammock chairs either attach to the back of your car, or can be freestanding with a tripod. At Hammaka.com, they cost $99 for a chair, $134.99 for a tripod stand and $154.99 for a trailer hitch stand.
You can also try a swivel chair with built-in swiveling table, $92 at Crazy Creek Products.
Entertainment/Mood
Perhaps listen to the pre-game report, other games, or your favorite music. At Apple.com, iPod Hi-Fi Speakers cost $349, and you can look into Sirius Satellite Radio FOR "Game Zone" and "Game Alerts."
Try to find useful items emblazoned with your team's logo at such Web sites as NFL Team Paraphernalia and Cincinnati Bengals Pro Shop.
Want to throw around something other than a football? Try the bean-bag toss game ($99.95) at Baggo.com.
Finally, be prepared with such items as water to help put out the fire, as well as for cleanup; trash bags, paper towels and wet naps, a bottle opener, jumper cables, toilet paper, ice, rain gear (like the Ibex rain suit for $44.99 at Columbia Sportswear Company) or shelter like the shade house for $160 at Kelty.com, and antacid.
Finally, don't ruin a tailgate that's just perfect by leaving your tickets at home!
(To demonstrate the tailgate party, The Saturday Early Show used Ford Vehicles.)