Upgrading Your Super Bowl Party

 I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a football fan.  Unless I'm personally invested in one of the teams, I'd rather read a book.  That being said, over the years I have grown to appreciate what the game provides besides a bunch of grown men running up and down a field chasing a ball - the opportunity for good friends to get together on a Sunday afternoon and spend a few good hours having fun....and watching cool commercials.  So, with that in mind, this year I pulled together some easy ideas to upgrade the event.  You can still serve nacho's, but here's a few ways to make them look a little better!I started with a football field table runner.  I got 3 yards of felt which was the perfect length for the Home & Family dinning table.  The width was good as is, so no cutting and, since it's felt, no sewing!  I then drew a pencil line across the felt every 10" and hot glued down a pience of 1/4" white gross grain ribbon.  Then, a few inches from the bottom, added embroidered numbers (also from the fabric store - .$89 a piece), that were self adhesive!  If I were an actual football fan (see note above), I would actually use some cotton twill instead of felt and attach the ribbon and numbers with a quick run on the sewing machine - that way it could be washed and used over and over again.

I then added some serving trays.  We had some natural wood ones laying around, so a quick hit with the white spray paint and I got a nice glossy white tray.  I fitted the bottom with astroturf we picked up at Home Depot.  Next, just cut out some numbers and a straight strip the width of the tray from self-adhesive felt and you've got a great looking football tray.  Again, if you want to make this a little more long lasting - have a piece of glass cut the size of the bottom of the tray and just place it on top for protection.

To help round out the table I painted a scrap of plywood with chalkboard paint to serve as the menu, plus it's always nice to add a vertical element to any table.  And to save on dishes without going the paper plate route, I turned white gift box tops into concession trays.  I just turned them upside down and lined the bottoms with some extra astro turf - guests can now cart their food to in front of the TV whether it's for the game....or the commercials.