How To Throw A Great Super Bowl Party Even If You Don't Like Football (Slideshow)

How to Throw a Great Super Bowl Party Even if You Don’t Like Football

No matter your reason for throwing a Super Bowl party, you don't need to sweat the details. This kind of watch party is one of the easiest to pull off. Feel free to break out the chips and dip, invite over your fellow anti-sports fans, and get ready to have a great Super Bowl party.

Invite Similarly Minded Friends

The first step in pulling off any successful party is curating a flawless guest list. If you want to indulge in wings, copious amounts of alcohol, and a major cultural event but don't really understand (or care to understand) football, then make sure the people you invite to your Super Bowl party are of a similar mindset. You don't want an NFL fanatic getting frustrated because the other guests keep asking questions, getting distracted, or talking over the game.

For "8 Rules a Good Host Never Breaks," click here.

Prep Your Home

A clean home is a happy home, and it's a home ready for hosting a party. Before your non-football fan friends come over to your house, tidy up. Clean the kitchen counters, vacuum the living room, and be sure to dust your TV. The centerpiece of any Super Bowl party — even for those who don't love the game of football — is the television. So make sure your viewing area is spacious with plenty of seating. If you need to, improvise with chairs pulled in from other rooms and pillows on the floor.

To read "11 Ways to Clean Your Kitchen," click here.

Décor

Details are what set great parties apart from good parties, so don't forget the small things for your Super Bowl soirée, including decorations. Even though you don't like football, you can infuse your party with plenty of irony by filling your home with an AstroTurf table, Super Bowl-themed plates and cups, and more footballs than you can count. Or, go the classy route by decorating your home in the colors of the participating teams, flowers, and banners.

For "8 Football Decorations That Will Make Your Super Bowl Party Stand Out," click here.

Appetizers

The main reason to throw a Super Bowl party as a non-sports fan is to eat all of those classic junk foods, of course. Have an entire counter reserved for appetizers at your party. Make some of your friends' favorite dips, including a seven-layer dip, guacamole, hummus, spinach artichoke dip, and whatever else your heart desires. Don't forget to set out nachos, deviled eggs, cocktail meatballs, and potato skins. And, baby, we're just getting started.

For "20 Essential Super Bowl Party Foods and How to Make Them," click here.

Main Courses

Super Bowl Sunday is the second-biggest day of consumption in America (next to Thanksgiving), so embrace the smorgasbord. After your friends are sufficiently stuffed from appetizers, don't forget about the big game dishes. We're talking chicken wings, hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, ribs, and chili.

For "All the Wing Recipes You Could Ever Want for Super Bowl Sunday," click here.

Drinks

Your non-football Super Bowl party is all about indulgence, so don't forget the beverages. Good old-fashioned American beers (such as Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Light) are watch-party standards. But, since you're a non-traditional Super Bowl host, go non-traditional with your alcoholic selections. Since you don't care too much about watching the game, mix up some signature cocktails for your guests.

For 13 Super Bowl cocktail recipes, click here.

Betting Pool

If you're embracing the traditions of the Super Bowl for your non-traditional party, you can't forget about waging bets. You may not understand the rules of the game, but the typical football squares game is easy enough for anyone to understand. If you want to get a little creative, feel free to wager friendly bets on the length of the halftime show, how many commercials will air per segment, and who will win the coin tosses.

For "How to Set Up Your Super Bowl Betting Pool Las-Vegas-Style," click here.

Use the Game as Background Noise

Your average party would have music as the background noise, allowing guests to mingle and enjoy themselves in something other than deafening silence. For this party, use the Super Bowl as your background noise. Your guests shouldn't be forced to pay attention, so treat this as a normal weekend party, but with the TV on instead of the stereo.

To read "How to Avoid Super Bowl Party Clichés," click here.

Prime Time = Commercials and the Halftime

Non-sports fans can still appreciate the commercials and halftime show. These segments almost rival the big game itself in popularity. So, even if your friends are chatting over the second quarter and the spectator commentary, make sure they hush up in time for Lady Gaga's performance. Then, you need to throw your own little monster dance party.

To learn how to eat like Lady Gaga, click here.

Party Games and Alternative Programming

If your friends get bored with mingling and eating during the Super Bowl, have some other things planned for them to do. Feel free to switch the channel to the increasingly popular Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet, or break out some board games for people to play. If nothing else, turn the Super Bowl into a drinking game. Take a shot anytime someone scores or take a sip whenever someone gets tackled. Those concepts are basic enough for even the most ignorant Super Bowl-watcher to cheers to.

For the 11 best board games to play at a dinner party, click here.