Plan Your Tailgate Party

The fun starts before the football game with your tailgate party. Whether it's flag football, pee-wee, high school, college, semi-pro or pro, sitting in the stands is an exciting way to spend an afternoon or evening and your tailgate party will get the gang ready to cheer.

Use your computer to create a ticket with all of the party information or send a football-shaped pre-made invitation. And if it's a last-minute party plan, then get on the phone, text the information or shoot out an e-mail to invite your gridiron gang to the game.

Here are some tips to make your tailgate party a success.

- Arrive early to ensure a great spot. Many stadiums have special tailgating sections.

- Ask your guests to bring along their own chairs.

- Help friends find you by flying a special helium-filled balloon display or hang up a custom banner.

- When tailgating plan a menu of food that can be prepared ahead of time and transported in insulated containers, are partially prepared or can be cooked quickly at the game in front of your guests.

- Pre-cut foods at home and keep in separate sealed plastic containers or tightly locked plastic bags. This will not only help in preparation and cooking but will keep any meats and side dishes from contaminating each other.

- Be sure to bring along all the cooking essentials that you'll need including tongs, corkscrews, cutting knives, folding tables, tablecloths, meat forks, serving utensils, disposable or unbreakable containers, cups, flatware and plates. Don't forget about can openers, lighters or safety matches, charcoal or gas needed for your grill and anything else you might need to cook and serve your meal. Make a list and be sure to check off all of the items as you load up your vehicle. For greater game style, buy some football-designed party ware.

- Pack foods in reverse order so that the first items to be eaten are the last ones to be packed.

- Keeping things cold is going to be essential for drinks and food so buy or borrow enough ice chests and get enough ice to ensure safety and dining enjoyability.

- For ease of eating, cut foods to bite size so knives aren't required or make sure you create a "no utensils needed" menu of finger foods.

- Don't forget snacks for guests to munch on while they're waiting for the meal.

- If kids are part of your party picture, bring along games, toys and snacks specifically for them.

- Encourage guests to come in football attire or team colors. Or bring along some football-themed accessories (hats, pom-poms, noisemakers and such) to keep them in the spirit.

- Swap recipes and food with nearby tailgating neighbors.

- TV or lap trays are helpful for kid and elderly guest dining.

- For large groups, regular gatherings and cost-savings, create a potluck party or assign guests to bring along specific items such paper goods, flatware, ice, soda, side dishes, games, coolers, football decorations, alcoholic beverages, buns, snacks and so forth. You supply the main dishes and cooking apparatus and your guests will bring everything else. This will make it easier on you and won't be a financial burden on anyone.

- Light up the party at evening games with spotlights, twinkle lights or festive football novelty lights.

- Don't forget clean-up. So be sure to pack wet wipes for sticky fingers and faces and plastic bags for proper trash disposal.

Whether your team wins or loses, your guests will cheer as you win the "Most Valuable Tailgate Host" award.

(For links to purchase italicized football-themed items, click here.)

FESTIVE FALL FETE

Of course Halloween and Thanksgiving are fast approaching, but do you really need an excuse to entertain this autumn?

If you live in a colder climate, this is one of your last chances before winter sets in to enjoy the outdoors and the spectacular visual glory that Mother Nature has provided. And with that kind of scenery, who needs a lot of décor!

And if you live where it's warmer, like me, then use these ideas to pretend that you are enjoying all of the autumnal glow of the season.

So gather the gang and enjoy this fabulous fall fete.

Start with a fun invitation. Write your party facts on a fall leaf or cut out a leaf form on autumn-colored construction paper. Or send a more traditional invitation affixed with a leaf (real, silk or preserved) or roll up your invitation and tie it with raffia and a cinnamon stick.

If you live in apple-picking country, head to a local farm and pick apples. Or head to a pumpkin patch to choose your jack-o-lantern or gourds .

If fall produce isn't readily available for picking, just go out to the local forest, woods or your own backyard and gather leaves, pine cones, acorns and other fall foliage.

Not that into nature? It is, after all, football season and chances are there's a local team – high school, college, pro or semi-pro – that will provide an afternoon or cool evening of excitement. And if the weather isn't cooperating, there's always a televised game on or you can rent a football-themed movie.

Golf courses are an explosion of seasonal color. Can you think of more enjoyable weather to get out on the links?

If you're the crafty type, choose leaves to press into scrapbooks. Or use a food dehydrator to dry out apple slices to string with cinnamon sticks to make a garland. If you don't own a food dehydrator, place thin apple slices on a cookie tin and bake in a 200-225 degree over for two to three hours.

Do you like to bake? Why wait for Thanksgiving. Dig out your favorite recipe and make a pumpkin or apple pie. Or how about making some apple, nut or cinnamon muffins. Doesn't a baked apple sound delicious?

On the other hand, as I said before, I'm lazy, and I pretty much don't bake. While the taste might not be as good, a frozen pie cooking in the oven will still fill your home with a tempting aroma. And once covered with a scoop of your favorite ice cream (how about maple or cinnamon instead of the usual vanilla), no one will notice that the pie wasn't made from scratch.

Heat up cider or serve spiced tea or hot chocolate with a cinnamon stick stirrer.

If you want to serve something more hearty, put up a slow cooker filled with a hearty stew or chili. Then when you get back from your activities, dinner will be ready. Just add cornbread or a savory loaf of pumpernickel and a seasonal salad of field greens, dried cranberries, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and a cranberry vinaigrette and you'll have a stick-to-your-ribs meal that everyone will enjoy. If you're in a hurry or this is a last-minute gathering, dig out that pressure cooker and by the time you've set the table, your meal will be cooked.

If you want to add some seasonal style to your home, tie colorful ears of Indian corn to your chair backs with autumn-themed ribbon or raffia.

Fill a cornucopia with leaves, nuts, and fruits. Or, make a free-form centerpiece down the center of your dining or back yard picnic table with leaves, nuts, mini pumpkins, gourds and fruits.

A word of caution here. To ensure that you don't ruin your table's finish or get sap on your favorite tablecloth, put down a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap or a flannel-backed plastic table runner as the base of your arrangement. For evening events, you can light up your décor with candles in heat-resistant containers that's kept away from your flammable display, or better yet, highlight your arrangement with battery-operated tea lights or pop lights.

Again, for those of us in the warmer climate, preserved or silk leaves will work well and most supermarkets carry the autumn produce. Or use plastic or ceramic decorations. (After all, it's not really autumn for us. We're just pretending so we can pretend that the fruits are real too.)

So don't wait for an autumn holiday. Just plan your fall fete.