TAKE PRE-GAMING TO THE BACKYARD

-Take the timing seriously! Invite your crew over about two hours before kickoff. That’ll give everyone plenty of time to eat, drink, play backyard games—and enjoy the fire pit, of course.

-Make it festive! Game day is an occasion, so decorate accordingly. Deck out your patio with streamers and balloons in your team’s colors. And of course, stock up on Duraflame OUTDOOR firelogs to get everyone fired up. There’s nothing like a flickering fire to create atmosphere and keep the crowd warm on crisp fall nights. Make planning and shopping easy by buying them online and picking them up in store!

-Just say cheese! Encourage everyone to make memories with a fun photo booth. Load up an instant-print film camera, like the Instax, and designate an area just for shooting pics. Foam fingers? Team jerseys? Face paint? Pom-poms? The sky’s the limit!

-Pump up the jams! Craft a game-day playlist that includes everyone. Pre-party, encourage all guests to submit their current favorites, and during the pre-game festivities, turn up the volume while everyone’s hanging out fireside.

-May the best chef win! When it comes to game-day noshing, everyone’s got their specialties. An heirloom chili recipe? A blue-ribbon burger? Hand out aprons and ingredients and challenge the crew to a pre-kickoff cook-off.

-Game on! Chances are that not every attendee is planning to be glued to the big screen throughout the game. Make sure everyone has a good time by preparing plenty of lawn games for those who aren’t wild about football. Giant Jenga, cornhole and badminton are all easy to set up, fun to play and provide hours of entertainment for adults and kids alike.