3 keys to making your tailgating party family-friendly
If you pack juice boxes, make sure they are actually juice, and not just sugar bombs.
By Aimee Heckel
Some parents won’t bring their young children into a professional football stadium, and for good reason. There’s often shouting, vulgar hoots, rowdy crowds and occasionally fights.
Not to mention the fans.
But if you’re a football freak with season tickets, it might not be realistic to go kid-free every Sunday this fall. Plus, involving your miniyous in your favorite American past-time can make for great memories. Not to mention important training for their future fantasy football leagues.
Even if you don’t want to bring your kids into the stadium (or buy them an expensive pair of season tickets, yikes!), the tailgating can be half the fun.
Here are three keys to making your tailgating party family-friendly.
1. Pack food that your kids will enjoy.
If you can’t go without those extra-super-burning-death-sun hot wings, pack some mild wings, chicken fingers or a few hot dogs, too. Although you might feel tempted to pack greasy chips and sour-cream-and-onion chip dip (mmmm…. dip), throw in some healthy snacks for the kids, too, such as a bowl of watermelon, cantaloupe and grapes — otherwise, you’re going to be dealing with grumpy, malnourished mini-fan monsters all day.
2. Pack plenty of hydrating beverages.
Hydrating. Beer is not hydrating, guys. Neither is soda. Don’t just throw a few sodas in the cooler as an after-thought. Plenty of bottled water and fresh-squeezed juice, not from concentrate, will keep your kids feeling good (and not whiny). Look for juice boxes that actually contain juice. Most don’t.
Try Hansen’s Natural Juice Boxes, which contain 100 percent natural juice, 17 vitamins and minerals, no added sugar, no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives and no gluten. Find Hansen’s online at Rakuten.com. Take advantage of more than 50 Rakuten coupons (like free shipping) and pair them with up to 4 percent Cash Back from ShopAtHome.com.
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3. Provide shade.
You might be able to stand all day in the sunshine (although you shouldn’t, ahem), but don’t subject your kids to it. Make sure you are all wearing sunscreen, yes, year-round. Try to find a parking spot in the shade, or bring a pop-up tent.
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