25Jan
By: velocitybrands On: January 25, 2017 In: Nightlife Comments: 0

Your friends and family will be voting you the MVT (Most Valuable Tailgater) with these tips for making your tailgate the highlight of the day… aside from your team completely dominating the field, of course!

  1. Be Organized – Do you think the top coaches go into the big game without a plan? Hell no! Make two lists: one for the grocery store, and one for actually packing up on the big day. Check items off as they are purchased or loaded up.
  2. Pre Everything – Anything and everything you can do ahead of time, do it. Chop, slice, marinate, skewer, season, mix, and plate everything you possibly can before packing it up. Not only will it be easier to prep in your kitchen, but it will give you more time to have fun.
  3. Coolers, So Many Coolers – Make sure you have plenty of coolers to transport your goodies to the game. Label them so everything is easy for you and your guests to find. Also, make sure to use one cooler for all of your raw meat and nothing else. What would be worse than your team losing? Food poisoning; that could be worse.
  4. Keep Stuff Warm – Want to keep your delicious homemade chili warm? Use a cooler! Wrap the inside of a cooler with tinfoil. Then, wrap some bricks in tinfoil and warm them in your oven. Place some wet towels on the bottom of the lined cooler, and then put the warm tinfoil-wrapped bricks on top, followed by another layer of wet towels. Tah-dah! Now you have a portable warmer.
  5. Mark Your Territory – Get there early to find the best spot to set up. Look for parking near a greenbelt or on the end of a row to give you and your tailgating friends more space to spread out. Fly a unique flag or balloon to help everyone find you. Definitely deck out your space with the team colors, but also add one item that helps you stand out. “We’re at the end of aisle G under the giant pirate flag.”
  6. Double Duty – Freeze bottles of water and use them in place of ice in some of your coolers (not the raw meat cooler). As they thaw you’ll have plenty of ice cold waters for all!
  7. Tools of the Trade – Use a tool box to organize all of your grilling and serving utensils. At the end of the day, just toss everything back into the easy-to-clean container and head out.
  8. Condiment Pack – Put your condiments into an empty six pack container for easy travel and passing around the party.
  9. Keep It Simple – Don’t kill yourself trying to make everything from scratch. It’s okay to buy some pre-made items. If you really want to you can add some final touches to pre-made and make it your own. At the end of the day, it’s all about fun, and if you’re stressed you’re not having fun!
  10. Take a Seat – Bring extra folding chairs so that guests aren’t forced to half-sit with others on the coolers.
  11. Keep It Clean – If you’re gonna be handling raw meat, you’ll want to wash your hands. Fill an empty laundry detergent bottle with water and bring some soap for convenient hand washing. Some hand sanitizer and paper towels are must-haves as well.
  12. Be the Hero – Pack a mini first-aid kit, extra sunscreen, antacids, trash bags to use as ponchos if it rains, and jumper cables. It’s a better day if you don’t need to use these, but if you end up needing something your guests will sure be glad that you’re prepared.
  13. Be Responsible – Before heading into the stadium, make sure your coals are completely extinguished and that you’ve cleaned up your space.