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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For us, it is always a barbecue when there are big football tournaments on. Lots of burgers, steaks, sausages and salads, dips etc plus beer and wine for the big guests and soft drinks for little ones. Also it's great to have a lot of outdoor toys and games which are often as much fun for the adults as the kids.

If it is a kids party where they want to play football then head off somewhere with lots of space and take a picnic! If it is watching the game on TV then arranging the room so that everyone can see the screen and planning a buffet of nibbles is good.

Don't do it, can't think of anything worse.

There are some great football party supplies here to make it a great themed party for kids and adults www.partypieces.co.uk/kids-party-children-s-parties-party-supplies/kids-party-themes/football-party-1.html Foodwise just order a pizza & do snacks like cheese footballs

food from the different countries playing in the world cup is a good idea and makes a change from the usual food you might have.

Big tv and simple snacks that take no prep time so that everyone gets a chance to be glued to the screen

You need plenty of finger food, someone willing to miss some of the match to do the BBQ, and plenty of refreshments.
As well as some footballs to kick around in the garden afterwards.

Same as any party, finger party food

We tend to get goals, balls etc for the garden and make football themed foods. Football cupcakes. Green spaghetti and "footballs" (meatballs) :D

Football is a big thing in our household and we can't wait for the World Cup. We usually ask our friends to bring along a dish from one of the countries playing when we host a party, it's exciting to try something different. I also dress up the coffee table with football themed decorations and put down bowls of crisps, dips and chocolates for everyone to snack on during the game.

Plenty of drink, bbq food, snacks and a the biggest TV you have ready for the World cup!

Love a good BBQ for football parties and some fresh veg, salads and snacks. Our boys have a large football goal with target screen in the garden, so we can get competitive for party activity :)

Jugs of team coloured drinks (a drop of food colouring in water for the healthier guests!), plenty of nibbles and a quiet spot in the house hived of for those of us not interested in the match to go and have a good catch up!

Beer, burgers and hotdogs with plenty of snacks and games for the kids

This household is buzzing for the football coming up and we have already planned numerous football-themed parties! If it's nice (which we hope it is) - we will be hosting BBQ's with lots of food and drinks. The kids can have a whale of a time in the pool or playing with their football set, whilst we watch the action. Nibbles and good company are essential for any party!

The World Cup is definitely an excuse to have a BBQ and invite friends and family over. It's a fun occasion to eat, drink and be merry. We often have football themed competitions with prizes for the kids as well which keeps them entertained.

Plenty of snackie food crisp, etc and a simple BBQ tools and burgers and plenty of drinks

We through a great party for the World Cup a few years ago. I got hold of some lovely vintage looking Ladybird Books football items - blowers, whistles, cups and plates, etc. - even a banner or two. The room looked great and we just did finger snacks so everyone could help themselves whilst watching. Lidl were great for the snacks - their pizzas were yummy!

A BBQ with lots of snacks, crisps, chocolate etc :)

have plenty of buffet food to keep them going

Provide nothing which will stain if it gets knocked over (which happens a lot in his house with goal-scoring excitement!) or at least have some kitchen roll at the ready!

send all the football watchers out into the garden with a portable tv , then us non-football fans can have our own party :)

Don't go over the top, football themed tablecloth, plates and cups, easy food that you can just pop in the oven and something fun for the garden - lay down several dustins (borrow them from the neighbours) and have a game of kicking the balls into the respective bins and small prizes.

I assume we are talking about the under 10s here. I would mix the teams up and play several 10 min games, changing and swapping the players around each time, so that no two matches were the same, it shoudl be about the playing and not the winning

I add a few decor items that can be used throughout the season such as a football field table runner. I made one out of artificial grass and some white painter’s tape, it literally took me minutes to make and I will be using it all season long. Simply cut the grass to size and add strips of tape, it’s really that easy.