Disclosure: We’re letting you know that this post contains sponsored links which The Smart Wallet receives compensation for, which may impact their order of appearance. This site doesn’t include all available offers.Now that football season is back so is your excuse to tailgate. But nobody wants to sit around on coolers staring at each other until the coin flip. Use these tips to make an epic tailgate party with memories to carry you through to the Superbowl.
Forget the Pumpkin Spice Latte frenzy. Hey, autumn – we’re here for the sports!
An Epic Playlist
Music makes or breaks a party, period. You can’t exactly get your crew geared up for a win with depressing country heartbreak songs.
Use Apple Music as your secret weapon for an epic playlist that sets the tone of your tailgate. Apple Music offers a few different (and affordable) subscriptions that give you access to more than 50 million songs and some other major perks:
- Unlimited skips
- Full access to your personal music library
- Offline listening
- Curated playlists based on your listening habits
- Access to playlists shared by other users
Don’t worry, you don’t need to create your music ideas from scratch. Apple Music offers a wide selection of gameday and tailgate playlists you can use for inspiration. From Lil Jon’s “Turn Down For What” to Luke Bryan’s “Kick the Dust Up”, your playlist is guaranteed to be a hit.
An Epic Spread
Other than the football itself, there’s nothing more important to a tailgate party than the food. You need an epic spread of choices to please your guests and keep everybody munching until the game begins.
Use these crowd-pleasing ideas to get started:
- Turkey and Pepper Jack Roll Ups: Roll turkey and pepper jack cheese into crescent roll dough to create a simple yet savory snack.
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza: It’s hard to go wrong with this favorite. Make it from scratch or order it from a nearby pizzeria.
- Pretzels and Beer Cheese Dip: Use this variation of the classic with pull-apart soft pretzels and beer cheese dip- can you think of a better combo? Neither can we.
- Walking Tacos: Let your guests help themselves to this clever on-the-go meal. Provide snack-size bags of Fritos or Doritos next to the standard taco fixin’s.
Also, don’t forget to use Ibotta to get cash back on your groceries and Fetch Rewards to get free gift cards!
Every Game on TV
A tailgate inherently centers around sports, and there’s no better way to play the most important games than ESPN+. This new streaming service creates an easy way to access ESPN content and live programming on your mobile device. At only $5.00 per month, you can snag access to MLB, NHL, NBA, MLS, college sports, PGA golf, and other games with the login information from your paid TV subscription.
Through the ESPN+ app, you get immediately see scores and news, play sports radio or podcasts, and play every game on TV at 60 frames per second.
Side Games
You have the music, the good food, and the sports – now you need tailgate games (the game outside the game) to keep your guests having fun. A little competition never hurt, right? Depending on the location of your tailgate and the type of crowd you invite, a few of these ideas may provide the ultimate entertainment:
- Ladderball
- LED Ring Toss (for evening tailgates)
- Giant Checkers
- Frisbee Disc Toss
- Cornhole (a classic!)
- Mistplay for Android users (get paid to play new games!)
- Solitaire Cube for iOS users
Whether you’re tailgating at your alma mater before the big Homecoming game or joining your crew to watch your NFL team square off against the competition, now you know what you need to make your tailgate party undeniably epic.
