Never Draft Drunk: A Fantasy Football Party

Holly Hulke
Aug 27, 2017
3 min read

It might be sad that summer is coming to an end, but let's be honest, I LOVE fall! Fall means football season is back! There is nothing like tailgating before a college game or throwing some chili in the crockpot and having a lazy Sunday afternoon on the couch watching your favorite NFL team.

One of the first inklings of fall and football season around our house is Fantasy Football draft time. My husband is a part of three different leagues this year (apparently he only did two last year because of our wedding) and we love to host at least one of the drafts at our house.

Last year, we put together a fun table spread that the guys really loved. So, of course, this year, I had to come up with something a little different! Lucky for me, I was able to work with the talented Jennifer of BellaGrey Designs to create the fun "Never Draft Drunk" theme.

We were originally hoping to host the party outside, but alas, the weather did not cooperate. Sometimes you just have to be flexible with party planning and make it work regardless of the location!

We used our dining room wall to create a fun backdrop with a football field inspired table cloth and Jennifer's fun "Never Draft Drunk" poster. My hubby insisted on adding the "Define Drunk" as there are certainly a few drinks consumed each year. Don't worry--- no one got crazy! Everyone drafted responsibly!

The dining room table got pushed back to the wall and we moved all of the chairs out of the way. I covered the table with a disposable football field tablecloth from Walmart. The main feature of the table was a blow up football field buffet cooler! I grabbed this gem from Goodwill for only $2.99 and it was brand new in the box. If you don't get that lucky, you can find a similar one on Oriental Trading for $11.99. Because we were inside, I decided to skip using it as a true cooler and used it as the main station for many of the snacks.

There were chips and veggies to use as dippers and my husband made his famous Chex Mix that we put into a football shaped bowl I picked up at the Dollar Tree last year. I saw they have these and many other football goodies in stock for this year, too!

I picked up the plates from Walmart as well for just $1.97. The napkins were leftovers from another party, but you can pick up low price yellow napkins or in this case "penalty flags" at Dollar Tree or Walmart. The fun plastic cups were a Walmart find last year during football season and they've made an appearance during March Madness as well. I love when you can reuse party supplies!

What's a football party without some cocktail smokies and dips? We kept the messy crockpot goodies on the counter. Jennifer's printable food labels made the crockpot as cute as it could be. If you have some vegetarians in your life, sub-out the chicken with navy beans and you'll still have a delicious buffalo dip! We used beans this time around and the guys were still scarfing it down.

Pro tip: I love having a triple crock pot for events like this. It's a great gift idea for the entertainer in your life.

To make dessert a little easier, I picked up some pre-made cupcakes at a local grocery store and added mini NFL helmets and Jennifer's printable cupcake toppers. I was able to find a set of 10 helmets for about $5, but sadly, it looks like the seller is currently out of stock. You can grab the helmets for all 32 teams for a few more dollars. I think they'll come in handy around Super Bowl time, too!

I also had some bottles of water with custom labels from Jennifer for the guys to grab on the go! I know I'm always thirsty for some water after all of those salty snacks!

The table was finished off with the Draft Day banner and a football I picked up from Goodwill as well. Don't forget to check thrift stores when planning your next party!