My most successful adult birthday party was my most recent one. For my 35th year, I had friends and family gather in my newly-acquired backyard for eating, drinking, and general merriment. It was a potluck with a very simple theme: Dips & Drinks.
I told every guest to bring a dip and/or drink to share with other guests, and they did just that. I didn’t tell anyone what kind of dip or drink to bring, or try and prevent dip or drink overlap in any way, and yet there was only one instance of two people bringing the same dip (onion), and both were very good.
This format works well for birthday parties and holiday parties alike, but for a Super Bowl party? That’s a slam dunk, my friend. A home run. A bullseye. Dips are the best football watching food. You don’t need cutlery, and dip can be consumed in a shoveling motion, so you can keep eating while your eyes are glued to the halftime show or the commercials (or the game).
A lot of football-watching favorite snacks are already dips—guacamole, spinach and artichoke dip, cowboy caviar, cheese dip—and those that aren’t can be fashioned into one without too much trouble. (Pizza dip is good, as are any of the Buffalo variety.)
Hosting a Dips & Drinks Super Bowl party gives your guests a slightly competitive focus. People will get creative if you give them a framework, and dip is the most delicious framework of all.
I will admit that people tend to focus on the dip aspect of a Dips & Drinks party more than the drinks, but that’s okay. Everyone will bring their favorite six-pack, you can supplement the cheap beer with cheap, lowercase-c champagne. And at least one person will show up with a themed cocktail. (That person is a nerd, but a nerd with a beautiful bar cart.)