Green Your Superbowl Party

Super Bowl Party Invitations and Decorations

First things first, most Super Bowl parties don’t involve paper invitations, so you haven’t wasted any paper yet. Just in case, send an email invitation and your guests can have your address right on their smartphone without having to print off a map.

Consider easy ways to “green” your decorations. My favorite is both a game and a decoration - penalty flags. You simply wrap a yellow napkin or cloth square around a ping pong or quarter-sized amount of beans, tie it off and throw it if you see any football or party fouls! You can make other decorations too. Consider turning your party platters into edible decorations, decorating some old soup cans for utensil holders, even hang your favorite jerseys next to the television. Everyone will appreciate the ingenuity and you haven’t wasted money on streamers, tablecloths or plates that will be outdated before the morning rolls around.

Super Bowl Party Tableware

Keep the paper to a minimum as much as possible. You’ve already sent a green invitation, now you need to focus on keeping the paper and plastic products to a minimum. Focus first on reusables and sustainable serverware. Serve as much as you can on reusables. That nice platter that you never get out - use it. Those eco-conscious plates and napkins or any of the other biodegradable tableware you’ve been dying to try out - get them. Your sink will thank you and so will the environment. If you want to go the extra mile, use all reusables, but depending on the size of your party, you may be stuck in the kitchen all night.

Also consider what kind of glassware you will be using. If you choose to go with disposable cups, make sure you have a marker next to the cups for easy labeling. A new popular way to label drinks is by using chalk paint on both pint glasses and wine glasses. These glasses can be found readily at many stores today or you can make your own with some chalk paint from the local craft store. Once your chalkboard glasses are ready, simply set out some chalk for your guests to mark their glasses. No more wasted plastic cups!

Super Bowl Party Food and Drinks

Now that you have your plates and cups figured out, what should you prepare to eat and drink? Let’s start by using as many local vendors as possible. Source local and eco-conscious foods and help reduce your carbon footprint over the mega-chain grocery stores. Do the same for beverages. Many beers are made in an eco-conscious manner; locally produced beers will have less of a carbon footprint than many of the national conglomerates. You probably won’t see any ads for them during the game, though. By using local vendors like farmers markets and co-ops, you will not only get the freshest produce, but you will also reduce the waste that packaging produces and save money in many cases. You can make your own party platters, pizzas, anything you want and still have leftovers.

Don’t forget to buy beverages in bulk if possible, 2-liter bottles will produce less waste for the landfills than the six or more cans it would take to equal the same amount of soda. You will save money and the environment in one fell swoop. Even if you do opt for cans, make sure to put your recycling bins out. Your guests can’t recycle if they don’t know how and where.

Also consider limiting your hot items in order to reduce energy consumption while your food just sits on the table or counter. Besides, your food will be less likely to go bad if it doesn't need to be pampered in the first place. In addition to chips and salsa, try veggie sticks and dip, hummus even pigs-in-a-blanket. How can your guests resist?

Super Bowl Party Games

It’s time to eat, drink and watch some Super Bowl commercials, so let’s play some games! Here are some of my Super Bowl party game favorites. I’ve already mentioned the penalty flags to throw at your television or guests when you see them commit a foul. An oldie but goody is football squares, just don’t make lots of copies and waste all the paper you just saved from the landfills. You can also play a football or Super Bowl trivia game - everything from the serious to the inane.

Most entertaining are the games surrounding the game and commercials. You can make a Super Bowl commercial bingo game either of the brands or devices used in the commercials Audi, Budweiser and Pepsi would be examples of brands you may see. Devices used in the commercials might include animals acting like humans, tugs at your heartstrings, gratuitous celebrity appearance/pitch. You can also place friendly “prop” bets on things like which team will have the most interceptions, who will be the MVP or win the coin toss, will there be a wardrobe malfunction, will the halftime show be lip-synced, how long before the first commercial that makes someone cry and more. Everyone will have fun and enjoy the game more if you liven it up with some friendly (and zany) competition. Do you have any favorite Super Bowl party games?

Super Bowl Cleanup 

You’ve already chosen biodegradable options that you can compost and recycled everything else. Don’t forget to send leftovers home with your guests so your extra food doesn’t end up in the landfill. Make up the guest bed in case you have a guest who is not safe to get in their car. They can sleep it off and you will all be happier and healthier for it. Enjoy your Super Sunday; Monday will roll around soon enough!
 

About the Author

Jennifer Lanning is owner of the Dallas-based meeting and event planning company Planning by Lanning. She knows we can all make an eco-difference, big or small. Jennifer focuses on the adornments for all of your special days, and enjoys making memories one event at a time.