Attention all rugby league fans, it’s State of Origin time again where the Blues and the Maroons battle it out over three epic games in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. If you haven’t managed to get a ticket for the matches, then watching at home with your mates (preferably on a large screen TV with surround sound) is the next best thing. For an event this important you’ll want to make a bit of effort to set the right atmosphere, so check out our top tips for planning the ultimate State of Origin party.
Football e-vites
Don’t just email or text a bunch of people a few days before the game and hope they turn up. Chances are there might be a few State of Origin parties on offer so you’ll need to make yours stand out. So get creative with an e-invite – there are heaps on free sites online that make it easy to add photos, images and text and to send out the invite to multiple people at once. The vital stats of where and when make it easy for people to see at a glance and don’t forget a RSVP date, so you know how many are coming.
Set Up the Room
We recommend inviting people to arrive an hour before kickoff, so you’ve got time to set up the room and get the food organised. You might want to push the furniture back and hire some cheap plastic chairs to arrange bleacher style, especially if you’ve got 20 to 30 people coming. Remove any breakable objects from the room out of harms way. Noisemakers and party poppers, inflatable rugby balls and decorations in your team’s colours are fun and easily obtained at your local $2 shop. If you’re worried about the potential noise, you might want to warn the neighbours and/or invite them over.
Football Food
The State of Origin games don’t kick-off until after the national anthem, so you’re looking at around 8.15pm for the actual start of the match. Unless you’ve asked people to ‘bring a plate’ on the invite, you’ll be providing the food. So no one’s blotto before the game starts (and when half-time rolls around) feed up your guests with these top rugby watching snacks, the easier to hold in one hand the better:
- Mini meat pies
- Hot chips with tomato sauce
- Sausage rolls
- Spicy chicken wings
- Wedges and dip
Whether your team wins or loses State of Origin, at least you know your guests will have had a great time at your party. So no one misses a thing on screen get in touch with us, we’ve got a range of high-quality widescreen TVs perfect for watching the game!
