Share your top tips for throwing a great football-themed party - chance to win a £100 Lidl voucher! NOW CLOSED!

[AaronMumsnet]

Summer is finally here, and the football season is in full swing. Whether you’re celebrating your team’s big game, or you have a mini football fan on your hands who wants nothing more than for Ronaldo to be the guest of honour at their birthday party (gulp), you need to be organised to make sure you don’t score an own-goal. Who better then, than Mumsnetters to provide some play-by-play hints and tips to make sure your football-themed party gets the crowd roaring?

What recipes do you turn to when you’ve got a crowd coming round? Is the World Cup a big deal in your house or just an excuse to get the barbecue out of retirement? Chargrilled chunks of meat not your thing? What summer dishes make your squad happy. Which games and activities keep you and your team entertained during balmy summer evenings?

Share your top tips with Lidl for throwing a great football party on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky Mumsnetter will win £100 worth of Lidl vouchers (note the winner will be sent four £25 vouchers, one voucher can be redeemed per transaction).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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I would just do nibbles, buffet, not a full on bbq as people want to watch the TV so the person doing the bbq would be stuck outside on their own! Also lots of beer, pimms, nice summer drinks.

The young guests can wear football kit and enjoy a good kickabout in a large garden or public park. When they're hot and thirsty give out water bottles and individual boxed picnics. If you look at some of the bargain book websites you may be able to buy sets of football stories for going home gifts.
It's worth investigating what visits and parties your favourite team offers. Older children can be well impressed with a stadium tour.

I'd generally say don't bother. But if I'm forced to then I go with crowd pleasing bite sized snacks and finger foods. Loaded potato skins, garlic bread knots, pizza dough balls etc

The biggest hint is alcohol though. Football and a beer go hand in hand

Nobody in our house likes football so we might have a party but it wouldn't be anything related to the footie!!

I'll be doing a few jugs of Pimms, some gorgeous salads and hoping for the sun to shine so we can eat outside!

Best football party I have been to was a bbq in the garden with the game watched through the living room window.
while me and a few others lounged around on the grass drinking pimms and ignoring the game altogether and someone else was incharge of the food

Goal set up in the garden, everyone having a turn shooting and being in goal. Bunting in Football theme, tablecloth plastic like a football pitch. Football shaped food, eg scotch eggs, tomatoes. TV set up in a room playing Fifa on PS4, football themed party games such as 'pass the football' a parcel that is disguised as a football. Football themed party bags with match attax, football key rings inside. If the party was just watching the England game during the World Cup, I'd just do snacks, beer, maybe a few flags, and a big tv with comfy seats. Maybe more beer after to drown our sorrows after the inevitable England early omission from the competition!

BBQ with burgers, hotdogs, halloumi and kebabs, potato salad, couscous and coleslaw

A big tv, bbq and some vuvuzelas to annoy the neighbours with 😂

In Sheffield, you're Wednesday/United and it's pretty gritty... BBQs are a great idea in this weather. Lots of larger. Lots of crisps. Everyone needs United t-shirts and we'll try not to upset the Wednesday neighbours...

At a BBQ we try to make sure there is plenty for the kids to do so the parents can chat and eat in relative peace :-)

pizzas and crisps and lots of drink! CANT go wrong

A football themed party for kids would involve lots of fun and games- spot the ball, penalty shoot out, races using footy skills (dribbling through rows of cones etc.) as well as plenty of food and drink.

A football party if there was a big game would involve beer, food and a large screen tv.

DP isn’t really into football (thankfully!) but when an ex was I would always make sure that there was somewhere for hangers on like me who weren’t fussed about the football the sit and chat (and keep all the best nibbles for us!)

Ds2 wants a football themed birthday party this summer. So football bouncy castle and footballs instead of a party bag done!

Two families - not Football crazy but enjoy the World Cup/Euros etc At the start of a tournament, we all pick a team to follow. We each customise a big white t shirt for our country and wear this to any get togethers. Small sweepstake and the youngest are charged with scorekeeping. On a number of ‘big’ match days, we will have themed food and drink of the country participating.

DD always wins the sweepstake. She researches like crazy. I go for quirky and bizarre and rarely go beyond the pool stage.

Lidl - please say you are going to do themed World Cup Stikeez this summer!

Football themed party games! Give everyone name tags when they arrive to get them involved like referee, goalie, striker, and of course captain for the person whos party it is. Football themed food like football cookies, football pizza breads, and of course birthday cake. Decorate space in your favourite teams colours. Make a homemade paper mache football Piñata! Give everyone a football card and ref whistle in their party bags. When playing musical statues get them dancing with a whistle blow and stop when you hold up the red card!!

Rather than party bags, I have always gone for a lucky dip. For a football-themed party this might be football themed books, huge inflatable footballs, football themed stationery, etc.

I'd do a football free zone here too ideally however my son has started to share an interest in football so I would try and facilitate that.

I think it would be fun to do themed dishes from the countries that were playing. Perhaps even look at the national anthem and dress. It's probably the only way I could bare it!

Am throwing a football party for my little boy and his friends this Sunday. Hired a kids football coach that they all know locally to do an hours session with them in the park, followed by a picnic tea - chicken goujons and mini sausages (all can be cooked day before), ham, jam and cheese sandwiches, crisps and popcorn, veggie sticks, fruit, biscuits and little cupcakes (plain undecorated packs of 12 - going to put a blob of buttercream then a chocolate ball covered in football foil as decoration on top). Making cake myself, football themed. Football themed plates and napkins. Prosecco and beer in ice bucket for adults. Bottles of water for kids so they can have them through the game as well as during teatime. Panini multipack of World Cup stickers instead of party bag, as they’re all collecting.

A decent sized tv, snacks throughout game and a barbeque for half time. Comfy seating for everyone. Water or juice for the kids and some alcohol for the adults. Sweets, cakes and treats. Games for the kids like beat the goalie and football pinata (hit a target to win a prize). And you can't go wrong with some football bunting, napkins and plates to add to the theme

One of those Costco cakes that cost about £15 and are decorated as a football pitch, put Lego figured on top as players.

I'd do a theme for the game that was being watched. We have some interesting games this year. Nigeria..Belgium etc. You could try some really new and interesting food!

Footie themed party food, bbq, hire a set of goals and run competitions eg - who can score the most goals, who can keep the ball up for the longest etc

He gets to watch football, I get to knit in peace. That's all the partying we need.