How We Celebrate the Big Game (In Our Own Little Way)

You guys know by now that while I am admittedly not much of a sports fan (at all), I love all of the other things that go along with what is known to sports lovers as the "Big Game." And by all of the other things, I mean hang out sessions with family and/or friends, and food. For years, Robbie and I would attend annual Gameday parties, during which I would rarely even look at the television and would instead spend most of the time thoroughly enjoying myself socializing and eating in the corner. I always brought some sort of dish or dessert too - something I loved to plan. These days, Big Game celebrations are a little different, as they happen here at our house with just us and the kids. Regardless, we still make a big deal of them by putting together mini parties of our own.

Planning the menu for our Game Day mini parties (and enjoying the food on the big day) is still the biggest (and best) part of it for me. Since a 3 year old and 12 month old are joining in on the festivities, the menu calls for more than beer and veggie hot wings (although those are usually included too). Some fruit and cut up cheese usually keep the little ones happy, along with chips and fresh guac for the whole family to enjoy.

I like to keep some of the snacks traditional (as traditional as one would consider vegetarian hot wings, anyway), but I also try to get creative. One example of this is my Mexican style loaded baked potato dip recipe that I recently shared here, which is a combination of mashed potatoes with taco style dip (and man is it good). Another creative favorite that is always a major hit is an I Love Ice Cream Cake. We switch up the style (for our most recent celebration Essley insisted on the Hello Kitty® cake, and considering we had to cancel her birthday party due to a bad case of the flu and it's pretty much the cutest cake ever, I certainly wasn't going to disagree), but our personal family favorite for getting into the Game Day spirit is the Carvel® Game Ball® Ice Cream Cake. This football-shaped ice cream cake is made with seriously delicious layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, chocolate crunchies and fresh whipped frosting. (Some of their other styles we love are the Carvel® line, Peanuts®, OREO®, and their Jon Donaire® selections. So much goodness.) The best part about I Love Ice Cream Cakes though is that they're super easy and convenient (you can grab one from the bakery or frozen section at grocery stores nationwide), and something you know everyone will rush the table (get it? get it?) to enjoy - whether you're hosting or attending a large party or having a small, family celebration at home like us.

Aside from the food aspect of our family Big Game parties, we celebrate in simple but undeniably fun ways by just hanging out together. Robbie usually (okay, always) pays the most attention to the game itself, while Essley and I tend to mostly just watch the commercials and half time shows (along with incorporating our own dance parties, obviously). Essley and Emmett also get into the spirit by playing with their football and pretending to be part of the game - which for me is infinitely more entertaining than the game itself, if we're being honest here. We make up fun little games along the way (Essley's favorite is counting how many dogs we see in the commercials), snuggle under blankets, cheer loudly (even when we have no idea what's going on), and create our own special party - which is more than alright by me.

For those of you who watch (or like me, don't really watch but still partake in) the Big Game, how do you celebrate? Do you host and/or attend big parties, or keep your celebrations small and at home?

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