It’s officially GAME WEEK! If you have been following my blog, you already know how excited we are about living in a college town now. Football season starts this Saturday and we can hardly wait to start tailgating again. So today I am going to share with you 5 quick and easy tips to set up your tailgate.
1. Create fun football mason jars for your drinks. These are so easy to make and are a fun way to serve up your Coca-Cola! I am sharing the step by step tutorial below, so scroll on down and make some for your tailgate.
2. Serve easy appetizers. I created a Sweet Heat Coca-Cola Marinade to use for all of my meat. One marinade used multiple ways really saves time! I am sharing my recipes for Sweet Heat Coca-Cola Buffalo Wings & Coca-Cola Pork Sliders below. When my son came in the house the other day, he immediately smelled them and devoured a full plate. So taste test proves it to be kid friendly too!
3. Keep up with your drinks with printable name tags. I always make sure to have plenty of drinks on hand, and Sam’s Club has new 28 packs of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke which are the perfect size for our gatherings. But you know what always happens….you open your Coke, take a sip, put it down, and before you know it you don’t know which one belongs to you. So use our free printable football drink tags. You can type in your guests’ names and print them out, or use the blank ones and keep a pen nearby for your guests to write their own names on them. You’ll find links to the printables after the photos.
4. Make sure you have plenty of drinks on hand. The new 28 packs of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke from Sam’s Club are great because they aren’t too big to carry to your tailgate and there are plenty for everyone.
5. Serve up sweets that can take the heat. Every tailgate needs something sweet, but in the South the heat can make most desserts a hot sticky mess. So I love to serve muffins. I picked up some Chocolate Chip muffins and then decorated them with festive cupcake cups, vintage football cake toppers, and football & flags. The grass is actually cut up fresh mint leaves. No need to worry about how long they sit out. They are so good, they don’t sit on the table long at our tailgates!
Now that you have some ideas on how to pull together your tailgate, here are the recipes and tutorials to make your own appetizers and football crafts.
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All opinions are mine alone. #ShareYourSpirit #CollectiveBias
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 1 (12 oz.) can Coca-Cola
- ½ c. brown sugar
- ½ large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1-2 T. corn starch
- Heat Coca-Cola with all ingredients (except cornstarch) in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half, about 20 minutes.
- Strain onions and garlic out through a fine mesh sieve and return the sauce to the stovetop. Stir in cornstarch, 1 T. at a time, and heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Use as marinade for pork on grill and to toss over Buffalo Hot Chicken Wings.
For the wings, I baked frozen buffalo chicken wings following the instructions on the frozen package (step 1) and then tossed them in half of the marinade while still hot (step 2). I returned the wings back to the oven for an additional 6 minutes to glaze the wings. Once they finished baking, serve them with blue cheese dressing, carrots & celery (step 3).
For the pork sliders, I used fully cooked pork slices and brushed them with the marinade (step 1). I placed them on the grill to heat them thoroughly. The heat makes the marinade become sticky and perfect (step 2). I served the pork on sliders with an apple slaw (step 3). Take a cole slaw mix and add sliced green apple and toss in cole slaw dressing. Top the pork with the apple slaw and serve on a mini sweet roll. So delicious!
Get our free printable football drink tags here. You can edit them with your guests names or you can use the blank one and just leave a pen nearby to let them write their own names. No more wondering where your drink went or which one is yours when you have your name on it!
Free Printable FOOTBALL STICKERS EDITABLE
Free Printable FOOTBALL STICKERS EDITABLE COLLEGIATE
Free Printable FOOTBALL STICKERS BLANK
These DIY football mason jars are so popular now that you can actually buy them in some local craft stores, but they can get quite expensive. Especially if you want to have multiples to serve all your guests. So I thought I’d show you how easy it is to create them yourself.
- crafting mason jars (these are plain on three sides and provide a flat surface for your tape)
- White electrical tape
- scissors
- 28 packs of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke from Sam’s Club
- free printable football stickers
Cut lengths of white electrical tape to make the laces (steps 2 & 3). Fill mason jars with your drink and a fun party straw. For the extra cans, use our free printable football name tags to help your guests keep up with their drinks (step 4).
Whoever you are rooting for this football season, #ShareYourSpirit with Coke & Sam’s Club this year! Buy now and Pick up at Sam’s Club.
So who are you cheering for? Leave me a comment and let me know how you like to tailgate and share your best tips for all of us to read.
Happy tailgating and good luck this season! Bring on fall & football!!!
Shelley Miller says
Love the ideas! Can’t wait to see them in person in 4 weeks. War Eagle!
Samantha @HealthyWifeys says
What excellent ideas! I live in a huge college football town and we’re always looking for new ideas. Can’t wait to try out these!
Shannon says
These are great, Amy! Thanks for sharing.
Amy says
Thank you Samantha!
Amy says
Thank you Shannon!
Amy says
Shelley, Me too sweet friend!
Tyvek bife says
Use these easy tailgate food tips to put on a championship party … in your own backyard or living room.
Tex Hooper says
Onion powder sounds delicious. I need to get a party set up for Friday. I’ll have to consider getting a bunch of sandwiches.