How to Host a Super Bowl Party

The invite should answer the questions people would otherwise text you on the day.

• The arrival time, about an hour before kickoff, and roughly when it ends.
• The address, where to park, and which door to use.
• What you're providing, so nobody doubles up on the main.
• Where to say what they're bringing.
• Whether kids are welcome, and whether to bring a chair.
• A question about allergies, if you're feeding a crowd you don't know well.

On Joinue, the invite carries the time, the address with a parking note and a photo of the door, and the bring list, on one link guests open without an account.

Game-day food is eaten standing up, one hand free, over four hours. Pick things that hold on a counter or in a slow cooker, and skip anything that needs a knife and a plate on your lap.

• The host: the main event (wings, a big pot of chili or pizza on order), plus plates, napkins, ice and trash bags.
• Dips, as a line several people can join: queso, seven-layer, spinach and artichoke, buffalo chicken.
• Chips, pretzels and crackers, more than seems reasonable.
• Something hot and filling: sliders, meatballs, pulled pork, nachos.
• Something fresh: a veggie tray, fruit, a big salad for the people who want one.
• Dessert that needs no fork: brownies, cookies, a sheet cake sliced ahead.
• Drinks, with plenty that has no alcohol, and ice.

On Joinue, a game-day potluck offers dishes like wings, chili and sliders as one-tap ideas for the bring list, and each one is claimed once, so two people don't both turn up with the seven-layer dip.

People graze for the whole game and eat more than they would at a dinner. These are common rules of thumb for adults.

• Wings: eight to ten per person, more if wings are the main.
• Pizza: about three slices per person.
• Sliders or meatballs: two or three per person.
• Dip: a quarter to a half cup per person, across all the dips.
• Chips: a big bag for every five or six people.
• Drinks: two per person in the first hour, then one an hour after that.
• Ice: one to two pounds per person, more if coolers are doing the work of a fridge.

On Joinue, a dish can carry a count, like wings ×50, so whoever claims it knows how many to bring.

Most of the eating happens before kickoff and at halftime. Plan the food in two waves, not one big spread that sits out for four hours.

1. Ninety minutes out: set up the food table, turn on the slow cookers, chill the drinks.
2. An hour before kickoff: people arrive. Put out chips, dips and the cold food.
3. Thirty minutes before: the hot food comes out, so everyone has a plate when the game starts.
4. First half: keep things warm and refill the dips during breaks.
5. Halftime, which runs longer than usual: the second wave of hot food, then clear the empties.
6. Fourth quarter: dessert and coffee, and last call on alcohol.

Some guests come for the game, some for the commercials and the halftime show, and some for the food. Timing the food around the breaks in play keeps all three happy.

• Count seats against the headcount. Floor cushions and borrowed folding chairs count.
• Arrange seats so nobody watches from behind someone's head. Put the screen at eye level if you can.
• Keep the food away from the screen, so a trip to the table never blocks the view.
• Test the TV, the stream or the antenna the day before, not at kickoff.
• Turn captions on. A full room is loud, and the commercials are half the fun.
• If you can, leave a second room with the sound low for people who want to talk.

On Joinue, borrowed chairs can go on the bring list next to the dips, so somebody says they'll bring four.

A four-hour party on a Sunday night needs a plan for the end as much as the start.

• Offer real alternatives to beer: sparkling water, soda, a pitcher of something nonalcoholic.
• Keep water out the whole time.
• Keep food coming in the second half, and stop serving alcohol in the fourth quarter.
• Ask who's driving before the game starts, and line up a designated driver or a rideshare for anyone who needs one.
• Have a couch or a spare bed ready, and say so out loud.

Kids last about one quarter of football. Plan for the other three.

• A kids' corner or room with a movie, crafts or a building set.
• Milder food at their height: plain sliders, fruit, cheese and crackers, juice boxes.
• A game of catch in the yard at halftime, while the adults refill plates.
• Dessert a little earlier for them, and a quiet place for the youngest to fall asleep.

Ask on the invite whether kids are coming and how many, so the food and the corner are sized right.