Tailgate Party Ideas: Food, Gear and What to Wear

A good tailgate is mostly planning. The food is ready before you park, the cooler is packed in the right order, somebody remembered the trash bags, and the group is easy to find in a sea of cars. The rest (games, music, the shirt you wear) is what makes people want to come back every week of football season.

This is our tailgate party checklist: food, gear, games and what to wear, plus how to turn it into a watch party for the big game on Sunday, February 14, 2027.

Step 1: Set the plan a week out

• Check the lot rules. Lots differ on opening times, grills, open flames, tents and glass. Read the stadium or school page before you buy anything.
• Pick a headcount and a menu. Ten people with burgers is a different shopping list than thirty people with a potluck.
• Split the jobs. One person on the grill, one on drinks and ice, one on chairs and the canopy, one on games and music.
• Agree on a meeting spot. A flag, a balloon or a canopy in your team color is easier than a dropped pin.

Step 2: Food that works in a parking lot

The best tailgate menus are mostly made at home. Cook or prep the night before, then grill just one or two things on site.

• Make ahead: sliders or pulled pork in a slow cooker you can plug into an inverter, pasta salad, chili in an insulated pot, pinwheels, cookies or brownies.
• Grill on site: burgers, hot dogs, sausages or chicken thighs. Pre-form the patties and season everything at home.
• Snacks that survive the heat: chips, salsa, popcorn, trail mix and whole fruit.
• One easy upgrade: a taco bar with pre-cooked meat in a warmer and toppings in a cooler, or a warm queso dip in a slow cooker.
• Drinks: set up a drink station with bottled water, lemonade or iced tea next to the drinks cooler, so nobody digs through the food cooler for a soda.

Keep the food safe

The USDA's tailgating guidance comes down to a few numbers worth writing on the cooler lid:

• Keep cold food at 40°F or below. Put an appliance thermometer in the cooler so you can check.
• Do not leave perishable food out of the cooler or off the grill for more than two hours, or one hour when it is above 90°F outside.
• Cook ground beef to 160°F and poultry to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer.
• Wrap raw meat well so its juices cannot drip onto ready-to-eat food.

A practical trick: use one cooler for drinks and a separate one for food. The drinks cooler gets opened all day; the food cooler stays closed and cold.

Step 3: The tailgate gear checklist

• Canopy or pop-up tent, plus weights or stakes for wind
• Folding table and a chair for everyone
• Grill, fuel, lighter, tongs, spatula and a food thermometer
• Two coolers, ice, and a bag for the ice that melts
• Paper plates, napkins, cups, wet wipes and hand sanitizer
• Trash bags and recycling bags (leave the spot cleaner than you found it)
• Portable speaker, phone charger or power bank
• Sunscreen for day games, blankets and hand warmers for night games
• Small first aid kit

Step 4: Tailgate games

Cornhole is the classic for a reason: it is easy to learn and you can play with a plate in one hand. Ladder toss, a football to throw around, giant yard dice and a deck of cards cover the rest. For a family tailgate, a simple trivia game about your team keeps kids and grandparents in the same conversation.

Step 5: Decorate the tailgate setup

A little decoration makes your spot easy to find and feels like a party instead of a parking space. Keep it simple and wind-proof:

• A plastic tablecloth in your team colors, clipped to the table.
• Pennants or a string banner across the front of the canopy.
• Balloons tied low so they do not fly off.
• Plates, napkins and cups in team colors, so cleanup is one bag.

Step 6: What to wear to a tailgate

Wear layers in your team color and shoes you can stand in for hours. A graphic tee with a joke on it is a good icebreaker with the next tailgate over. These are from our game day graphic tees.

For the snack table regular

• I'm Just Here For The Snacks Football wraps the line around a football in orange and blue. Honest and true for at least half of any tailgate. It comes in Bay, Berry, Black, Blossom, Blue Jean, Chambray and Flo Blue.
• I'm Just Here For The Halftime Show pairs a pink helmet, a football, stars and a pink bow with the line in pink letters. A good one for the big game watch party.

For the grill master

• King Of The Grill shows a crown, flames, grill tools, ribs and a burger around the words. It works for whoever runs the grill, and it comes in 15 colors.
• Everybody Chill Dad Is On The Grill (black) puts a round grill loaded with steaks and sausages inside the line. For the dad who will not let anyone else touch the tongs. More like these are in our BBQ and grill shirts.

For the true football fan

• Eat Sleep Football Repeat Retro stacks the four words in orange, teal and red beside a football.
• It's Football Y'all sets the line in bold blocks with a football and a helmet tucked into the letters.
• Weekends Coffee Football is for the early tailgater who shows up with a thermos before the lot opens.
• Classy Until Kickoff (coral) has "Classy" and "Kickoff" in coral script with an arrow through "until". For the friend who brings real plates.

Turning it into a big game watch party

Super Bowl LXI is scheduled for Sunday, February 14, 2027, which is also Valentine's Day. That makes a home watch party an easy way to do both. Keep the same tailgate menu, move the grill to the backyard, and set up a snack table that runs from kickoff through the halftime show. A heart-shaped cookie tray or a chocolate dessert board covers Valentine's Day without a separate dinner. Shirts with a halftime or snack joke fit the night better than anything with a team on it.

Ordering shirts for the group

Every shirt is an adult unisex tee in S to 3XL: $29.99 for S to XL, $32.99 for 2XL and $34.99 for 3XL. There are no kids sizes. Standard shipping (UPS) is $9 on orders under $49, and Economy shipping is free on orders of $49 or more, so two shirts in one cart ship free with Economy.

Every shirt is printed after it is ordered. Orders ship in 1 to 3 business days. Most orders arrive 3 to 5 business days after shipping. Count back about eight business days from the tailgate. If the whole tailgate crew wants one matching custom shirt, a group of 12 or more can send a bulk order request. Our shipping page has the full details.

Quick answers

What do you need for a tailgate party?

A canopy, chairs, a table, a grill, two coolers, a food thermometer, plates and napkins, trash bags, a speaker and a game like cornhole.

What food is easiest for a tailgate?

Food you make at home the day before: sliders, chili, pasta salad and desserts. Grill one or two things on site.

How long can tailgate food sit out?

USDA guidance says no more than two hours out of the cooler or off the grill, or one hour when it is above 90°F.

What should I wear to a tailgate?

Team colors, layers you can add or remove, comfortable shoes and a graphic tee that starts conversations.

Shop game day graphic tees