Show your colors! Pick streamers, balloons, paper plates and napkins in your team's colors. Make sure to find out which team your guests are rooting for so you can have both sides represented. If it's going to be a "mixed crowd," consider decorating opposite sides of your TV room for each team. If you're feeling generous, that is. Otherwise, it's your place, so your team rules.

Protect your big screen by having some yellow flags and soft foam bricks guests can toss when upset at the refs. And don't forget pom-poms. Whether as decorations or as party props, they can add to the fun.

It's a good idea to set up a second TV in the kitchen or another room besides your living room. Some of your guests may be there for the social aspects, and this will give them a place to chat while others are focused on the game.

For maximum indulgence (and laziness), rent a mini fridge to keep cold drinks at the ready. If you're having a lots of guests, use a bathtub to hold ice and beverages -- it keeps the bottles and cans cold and out of your way, and cleanup couldn't be easier.

Call it a costume or simply required game-day attire, but some of your die-hard guests will already be decked out in team jerseys, whether you suggest they come that way or not.

Have team-colored accessories handy for those who want to go the extra couple yards:

• Plastic bead necklaces • Whistles, rattles and other noisemakers (look for cheap post-New Year's Eve stuff)

• Glow sticks • Foam fingers • Big round sunglasses

Start your party before game time so you can psych everyone up. Everyone loves to root for their favorite player, so up the stakes a bit by having everyone draft a Super Bowl fantasy player: Have a bowl with star players' numbers written down on pieces of paper. When guests arrive, they pick a player to cheer on (again, separate the teams into two bowls so fans aren't rooting for the wrong team).

You can have small door prizes for the lucky guest who picked the game's MVP or the player with the most points scored, total yards or interceptions. Combine this with a traditional football pool and give your guests plenty of reasons to cheer.

And with the commercials getting crazier and crazier each year, pass out "commercial score cards," and have your guests rate each of the big commercials on a 1-5 star scale. After the game, tally up the winners.

If your group is the wagering kind, play Super Bowl® Squares. This game is a sure way to keep all your guests, even those who couldn't care less about the game, totally involved. Don't be surprised when those apathetic viewers start screaming for teams to go for it on 4th and 1.

You have the chips. You have the wings. You have the dip. But don’t forget that the Super Bowl is about more than just savory snacks! Add a touch of sweetness to your shindig with strategically placed bowls of M&M’S® in your fave team’s colors.

Want to get fancy? Check out these scrumptiously simple concoctions to keep your guests hovering around the refreshment table way past the end of the game!

Featured Super Bowl Party Recipes from M&M’S®

Party Pizza Cookie

Marbled Brownies

Super Caramel Popcorn

Really, you just can't go wrong at a Super Bowl® party with a bunch of beer. You may want to ask guests to bring their favorite six-pack so you can have a nice selection, although if you choose this option have at least a 12-pack to start things off.

Your guests will also appreciate a Bloody Mary Bar where each can create a drink to his or her own taste. Start with a standard Bloody Mary mix. Then guests can add in their own vodka, hot sauce and cracked pepper. For even more customization, mix chilled tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt and sea salt. Be creative with your garnishes. In addition to the standard celery stalks, put out bowls of blue-cheese-stuffed green olives, lemon wedges or wheels, cherry tomatoes, chili peppers and cocktail onions, and let guests skewer their own garnish.

If you want to get fancy with a specialty cocktail, go for the extra point with this recipe:

Touchdown Tea • 1 part vodka • 1 part tequila • 1 part rum • 1 part gin • 1 part triple sec • 1 1/2 parts lemon-lime Gatorade • and a splash of Coke for color

Non-Alcoholic - Soda is a safe standard, but how about shot glasses or tiny paper cups filled with Gatorade? Most people will enjoy taking a sip even if they don't want a full glass of sports drink.

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