We’ve all heard about Super Bowl parties, but football isn’t the only sport with big games that fans love to watch. Tennis may not be as violent or as manly as American football, but it definitely has some great matches and major events, such as the U. S. Open. So if you’re a tennis fan, why not start your own new tradition of throwing a U. S. Open party and inviting every tennis-lover you know over to watch the big game?

Planning a U. S. Open Party

First, you’re going to need invitations. The most obvious choice would be to pick invitations with a tennis theme. Here are a few perfect examples: Tennis Play, Tennis Die-Cut, Tennis Net, and Tennis Time. Once you have the invitations selected you want to find out exactly when and where you’ll be watching the matches.

The U. S. Open website provides a detailed schedule of the events, but if you’re watching at home or if you’re planning on gathering at a sports bar you’ll need to consult local listings and and/or the establishment in question to determine what will be airing and when. Make sure you take these steps several weeks in advance so you’ll be able to send out the invitations well in advance.

Tennis-Themed Refreshments

No party is complete without refreshments. And since the tennis match itself is the main entertainment for your party the refreshments are where you should focus most of your energy. One idea is to hire a bakery to create sugar cookies decorated to look like tennis balls or to bake a sheet cake decorated like a tennis court.

Most of the food you serve should be appropriate for the heat of the summer months and should be convenient to eat while guests’ eyes are glued to the television set. Pizza, for example, is a good choice as are hot dogs, finger food, and relish trays. If you want to serve a healthy alternative to cookies or cake, you could serve a fruit tray or a lemon sorbet dished out in rounded servings and sprinkled with coconut.

Besides the food, you’ll also want to have plenty of beverages available for your guests. Remember the U. S. Open occurs during the hottest parts of the summer so you don’t want to be offering hot coffee and tea to your guests. Instead, iced sodas, cold bottled water, iced coffee, sweetened ice tea, or even frozen alcoholic drinks make refreshing and fun choices for liquid refreshments.

Other Tennis Party Tips

While the game itself will be your primary source of entertainment, you may have some lag time between matches. If you’re not interested in listening to the often-boring comments of the sports anchors, then try to dream up some unique and enjoyable ways to spend that time. You could hold a trivia contest with your guests during these pockets of time and crown someone the winner at the end of the party, for example.

The bottom line is to make sure your guests not only enjoy the tennis matches but also the entire party you’ve taken the time to put together.