Top 6 Frugal Family Tailgating Fun Tips

by Sami

This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission when you make a purchase at NO additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site in this way!

tailgating

photo courtesy TailgatersUnited.com

Have you ever considered tailgating with your entire family? Well look no further, I have the top 6 Frugal Family Fall Tailgating tips you’ll need to get the party started without breaking the bank!

Fall is here and that means it’s time for some of our favorite sports! Here are just a few ways to save on this unique style of fall, family fun:

1. Why not tailgate with other families at your kids’ sporting events?
Create great family memories with fun ways to involve the whole family (not to mention share the cost). Plan on getting to your kids’ games a little earlier or even go to a local high school football game with another family to start your own tradition!

2. If you are going to a pro event, take advantage of what local teams are already offering.
For example, here in Nashville, our pro hockey team (the Predators) offer a Plaza Party that begins 2 hours before every home game. There’s a great crowd that comes out, and on weekend games they have a band, kids activities, face painters and more. Many NFL & NBA teams do something similar.

folding-chair-cooler

3. If you’re going to invest in tailgating gear, find multi-purpose items to spend your money on.
(for example my favorite piece is a folding chair that doubles as a cooler from Rakuten’s Buy.com)

*** On 10/11 only, click on Rakuten’s Buy.com HALLOWEEN PROMOTION where you get 15% back on your order in Rakuten Super Points PLUS another $5 off your order of $50 or more! ***

4. Use your stockpile to supply basics for your party food (drinks, meat, crackers, etc.), then build the rest of your menu around that.
Or pick items that will double duty. For instance, I had a lot of taco kits & barbeque sauce on hand already, so I bought a pork roast that I slow cooked with BBQ sauce and Coke that can double as BBQ pork sandwiches (with cole slaw) as well as BBQ pork tacos! (Recipes found in Ultimate SEC cookbook).

5. When you do plan the rest of your party food, pick a fun focal point:
A great dip in a football bowl, cups guests can take home, cupcakes with team logo, etc.

6. Have games for the kids to keep them busy while the big game is going on…even if you’re just ‘tailgating’ at home! (flag football, cornhole, etc)

What are your favorite ways to tailgate with your family, especially when kids are involved?

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post, but only for things I’d buy myself!

You may also like

2 comments

Parker October 13, 2012 - 8:00 am

Thanks for these great tips! Though it’ll be at the house and not an actual tailgate party, I’m having a huge get together for the game this weekend for all my coworkers and friends at DISH, and I’ve been looking for just these kinds of ideas! We’re going to have tacos, a six-foot sub, giant nacho platter, and three pony kegs. Then with my Hopper, I’ll hook up three TVs in our living room. The Hopper has three tuners, so that will allow us to watch three different games at the same time in full HD! These other tips will come in handy, too! Thanks again!

sami October 13, 2012 - 2:29 pm

So glad they helped, Parker – have fun!

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy