Your Ultimate Tailgate Toolkit

Tailgate season in the Midwest can be defined as any month between January and December of a given year. Peak pre-game however starts in spring, when parking lots open their gates and pickups drop their tailgates. Winter play-off football, church Christmas services, and children’s show choir performances notwithstanding, the warmer pre-parties of baseball and football season are professional grade, and we’re getting our festivity kits ready with the following helpful checklist.  

Staying Fueled

You’re not getting through the day without sustenance, so pack well, and don’t forget the periphery needs. You may not need a fork for your brat, but you’ll definitely need napkins, and if you’re smart, you’ll need horseradish. A car bumper is nowhere anyone wants to dress their burger, so bring a workspace to lay out your condiments. And make your chef happy with all the necessary hardware. If there’s anyone to please, it’s whomever is turning the meats.

Dinnerware – plates/bowls, eating and serving utensils, napkins, disposable cups, koozies, servings dishes

Cookware – grill, charcoal & lighter fluid/propane tank (+1 spare), pans, foil, oven mitts, grill brush, spatulas

Main entrees, side dishes, snacks, desserts, condiments, soda, water bottles, canned spirits, kid-friendly drinks

Coolers and ice

Folding tables

Optional upgrade: a fully catered tailgate, from set-up to clean-up with All Occasions Catering

Comforts of Home

To attend any sporting event from your sofa is to do so in sweatpants, while intermittently “resting your eyes.” But the parking lot in the Midwest is its own gridiron of fluctuating temperatures and all definitions of precipitation. Party comfortably despite rain, snow, and suffocating humidity with the following tenets of coziness.

Folding chairs, one per attendee +2 for unexpected guests

Easy-up tent/umbrellas, handheld or free-standing

Blankets 

Optional upgrade: industrial fan or outdoor heater, extra-long extension cords/generator

The Warm-Up Act

You showed up at dawn to get a good spot. The grounds crew isn’t even out of bed yet. The game is seven hours away. You can’t nap in your hatchback all day. What are you going to do with yourself? Pump up your crew, make friends with your neighbors, and extend your fun using these tried and true entertaining essentials. 

Music – extra-vehicular speaker/boom box to save on battery 

Playlist or CD carousel. Avoid offensive or divisive tracks. Keep the vibe friendly.

Games – Bags/Cornhole set-up(s), Ladder Golf

Kid-friendly Activities – footballs/baseballs to toss, sidewalk chalk

Folding table for Flip-Cup, Beer Pong, red disposable cups, ping pong ball 

Optional upgrade: karaoke machine, Giant Jenga 

And Then a Hero Comes Along

If you’re the sort of the person to seek out a tailgate checklist in the first place, one has to imagine you’re the general lifesaver of your crew. You tend to plan the road trips, have a Halloween costume planned months in advance, and when a neighbor needs to borrow a ladder, you ask “what size?” and hold it steady for him. This is your wheelhouse, so it only goes to follow you’re the person who thinks of the stuff everyone else wishes they’d brought. Here, the details that make the difference.

Heat retaining thermos filled with coffee, cups, cream and sugar

Bottle openers

Trash bags, one bag labeled “Recycling”

Gallon jugs of water, hand sanitizer, paper towels

Ice – so commonly forgotten, we’re listing it twice on the checklist

Heat safe pail for used charcoal

Sunblock

First aid kit, antacid, pain reliever

Clear purse/bag for easy stadium entry 

Represent!

Whether you’re tailgating your preferred NFL team, your kid’s high school swim meet, or the grand opening of a Kwik Trip, it’s important everyone in the parking lot know who you’re there to see. So don’t forget your flair, and remember there is no limit to the amount or method of displaying your team pride. 

Themed flags and banners

Team apparel

Rally signs and pom pons

Window chalk markers and streamers for your vehicle

Download of team fight songs

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