Gather ’em Up for GAME DAY with Family Dollar {GIVEAWAY closed}

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Family Dollar, in connection with the P&G and Pepsi NFL program, provided me with a prize pack and gift card to facilitate my review, along with the prize pack and gift card to give away to a lucky reader. As always, all opinions are my own

Do you love to host parties, but sometimes it’s just not in your budget?

Now that football season is in full swing, we like to invite our friends and family over to watch our favorite teams play. Sometimes they play each other, but more often than not we’re trying to catch more than one game in a day. So we’ll have a “viewing party” and I’ll whip up some treats, snacks, drinks and plenty of finger foods (have you checked out my recent wing recipes?).

I usually have a great time at these parties, laughing and smack talking about our opposing teams. It’s the days leading up to our game days that can be stressful. Buying plenty of food and drinks, and cleaning the house in preparation for guests!

Since I’m a food blogger, the kitchen is always where I focus my attention. More often than not there’s either dirty dishes in the sink or dishes in the dishwasher waiting to be put away. The counters always need to be wiped down and the stove always needs to be cleaned. Of course, I clean all of this before I start preparing for the food and drinks we serve our guests.. and then I have to clean again before everyone arrives – and again after they leave. That’s not even mentioning the rest of the cleaning for our house! We have all tile floors downstairs and hardwood stairs in our home, so we have to sweep and mop a lot of area to make sure it’s clean – with no sticky residue either! Since we have little ones in our house, there’s almost always something bound to be on the floor, whether it’s toys, shoes, crayons or video games. In addition to that, we need to dust, make sure the bathrooms are clean and there’s fresh linens (hello laundry!) and most importantly, clean any fingerprints that might be on the tv! Not just that, I also like my home to smell delicious and inviting. Whether it’s candles or an air freshener, it’s definitely a must on my list.

This is where Family Dollar has saved me! I purchased plenty of cleaning supplies and caffeine to prepare me for my cleaning binge before our nest big game day party. For the longest time I had never even been to a Family Dollar store because there weren’t any nearby, but recently a new one opened that wasn’t too far away and I was instantly ecstatic. Cleaning supplies are not cheap, so when I find them on the cheap somewhere without having to clip coupons or jump through hoops I’m a happy camper.

Now, Family Dollar has a lot more than cleaning supplies. In fact they have many items you can use to get game day ready, including snacks, drinks, toiletries, BBQ essentials and even small appliances like coffee pots and toasters. You can also purchase items to have on hand for those party accidents like spills and crumbs so your real attention can focus on what’s important, the game!

Now, for my party I’ll be printing out a custom welcome sign, as well as team logo pennants for our favorite teams. I’m a 49ers fan, along with two of our kids. My husband is a Raiders fan and so is one of our kids, and then one of our little ones didn’t want to choose sides, so he has his own favorite team – the Seahawks! So I’ll be decorating with all three team pennants, as well as our custom welcome sign! You can download the printable pennants for your favorite team(s) here, and customize your own welcome sign too!

I’ve included a few tips on how to have a stress free game day party:

• Potlucks! Even if you’re the hostess with the mostest, sometimes it can be stressful to prepare a ton of food to entertain your guests. So ask them to bring something, and all you have to do is prepare a dish or two. The best thing is that most of the time people bring food in disposable containers, so the clean up is easier too. Score!
• Prepare. Whether it’s extra paper towels for spills or extra toilet paper for the bathroom, you want to be prepared for anything. Nothing is worse than a guest spilling chocolate chip cookies on your white carpet, or getting stuck in the bathroom with no toilet paper.
• Decorate. I love a good party, and sometimes what makes it come together is fun little decorations. Whether it’s a tablecloth, napkins, balloons or even fun games, sometimes it just brings it all together and makes game day memorable. Try these fun printables where you can create your own welcome sign and print pennants for your favorite teams. Best thing? They’re all F-R-E-E!

Now I have something extra special to share. I’m offering one lucky reader a party pack to host their own game day fun. To get you started it includes one roll of Bounty paper towels, Dawn dish detergent and Tide pods PLUS a $25 gift card to Family Dollar!

Here’s how to enter:

Prize: One (1) party pack consisting of one (1) sample each of Tide, Bounty and Dawn PLUS one (1) $25 gift card to Family Dollar.

Giveaway runs through the evening of September 30th.

Eligibility: Winners are limited to the continental United States and must be 18 years of age or older. See full contest rules in the rafflecopter form. You will be notified via the email you used in the rafflecopter form if you win, and you will have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen.

Enter using the rafflecopter form below. You can sign into the form with Facebook, or you can use your name and email address. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway