| Tailgate Party Suggestions |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-701 |
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Q: Can you give me some ideas for taking my tailgating beyond grilling a good burger? A: (Jeanne Benedict, DIY entertaining expert) If you want to take your next party on wheels, here are some fun suggestions.
- Consider using helium balloons for decoration (figure A). Balloons not only add a colorful touch, they can serve to help your friends locate your tailgate party in a crowded parking lot.
- Carry the motif further with car-flags. Or, use a prefabricated car-flag as a pattern to create your own custom flags from sheets of colorful foam (figure B). Simply cut the foam according to your pattern, and fold over the back edge and glue it down so that it forms a sleeve that will fit over the flagpole.
- Use window-paint markers to write messages on your car-windows (figure C). These car-paints are available from craft or party stores. Note: These paints are generally designed for writing on the glass only -- not on the painted surface of your car.
- Finally, for football tailgating, consider using creating a decorative serving surface modeled after a football field. Ours was actually made from a sheet of Astroturf (TM), and was custom-made to fit in the flat bed of a pickup truck (figure D).
- Masking tape was used to lay out and mark off the "yard lines" on the turf surface, and the lines were painted on using spray paint (figure E). Stencils were used to make the numbers for the yard markers on the field. Astroturf can be purchased at most hardware stores or home centers.
Safety Alert: Always use spray paint only in a well ventilated area.
- To complete the football field motif, fashion a goal post out of PVC pipe, elbow connectors and T-joints (figure F). To build the goal post, PVC pipe can be cut to suitable lengths using a hack saw. Our goal post was mounted on a piece of scrap plywood for a base.
- Tip: For keeping food cold in a cooler -- without the problem of melting ice causing the food to get soggy -- fill water bottles 3/4-full with filtered water, and freeze them in your freezer. Once frozen, fill the remainder of each bottle with filtered water. Pack the partially frozen bottles of water in your cooler along with the food.
- Tip: If you're cooking out, you'll be dealing with various foodstuffs, and things can get messy. Keep trash bags and antibacterial wipes on hand for cleaning up and keeping hands clean (figure G). Designate one trash bags for recyclables, one for dirty utensils and one for non-recyclable trash.
RESOURCES :
Pick a Party: The Big Book of Party Themes and Occasions
Model: 0671521233
Author: Patty Sachs
(September 1997); 204 pages
Any Excuse for a Party!: Hundreds of Fantastic Themes, Invitations. . .
Model: 0787115657
Author: K. Callan
Big Book Of Balloons: Create Almost Anything For Every Party And Holiday
Model: 0806519207
Author: Captain Visual
(1998)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Citadel Press
Sacramento, CA 95820
Phone: 916-456-6000
Fax: 916-732-2070
Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party
Model: 002863974X
Author: Patty Sachs and Phyllis Cambria
(October, 2000)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Macmillan / Alpha Books
Website: www.macmillan.com
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