You probably have a lot of avid football fans among your guests, whether they’re college or NFL fans (or both), so the last thing you want to do is to have them make the tough decision: Do we stay home this weekend to watch the game or go camping? The best way to avoid that dilemma is to turn your park into a tailgating heaven. Here are a few ways to do that:

1. Decide where fans can watch games at your park. Is it at your recreation center? On a field with a big screen? Or will they watch games on their own devices at their campsites, thanks to your excellent Wi-Fi service? Whatever the options are, communicate them to your guests so they’ll know what to expect.

 

2. Let them know if you’ll have specific area(s) allocated for tailgating and at what times. Also, decide if you’ll provide different areas for fans of the local college team and regional NFL team.

 

3. Make it festive. If there’s one big team most people in your area follow, put up banners and other decorations in the team colors. If not, use generic football-themed decorations to help create a fun atmosphere.

 

4. Make it fun. For the tailgating activities, put out any games you already have like corn hole, ladder ball, Connect 4 and giant Jenga. Or set up a little friendly competition with a football toss contest, a touch football game or a football trivia game. If your budget allows, throw in some fun prizes (or at least bragging rights!).

 

5. Be prepared. It’s inevitable that someone will forget something they need for their tailgating party, so keep some extra items like spatulas, bottle openers, can openers and basting brushes on hand. If you have any extra folding tables or pop-up canopies you can put out, your guests will appreciate those, too.

 

The main goal here (pun intended) is to make sure your guests have so much fun that they wouldn’t think of watching their favorite games anywhere else!