PRIME TIME WITH KIDS: Super Bowl LII fun and food

By Donna Erickson

For a special sweet treat, make football-shaped cookies.

The new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis isn’t the only place where cheers, chants and songs of loyal fans will be raising the roof for the 52nd Super Bowl, also known as Super Bowl LII, on Feb. 4. For most fans of the event without Super Bowl tickets, including locals like my Minnesota family, the enthusiasm will be running equally high in living rooms and family rooms all over the country.

With a little planning, you and your kids can bring home the stadium with these fun family activities and eats to root on your favorite team to victory:

MAKE YOUR OWN SUPER BOWL TICKETS

Gather construction paper, scissors and markers, and cut out shapes to resemble tickets. Write the seating for your imaginary home stadium on each ticket:

“Blue chair — 20 yard line, Sofa — 50 yard line, etc.” Your kids can distribute the tickets when spectators enter the room to watch the game. No matter where you sit, it will be a bargain compared to the many thousands of dollars you would spend for a seat in the U.S. Bank Stadium.

VOTE ON ADS TO ADD TO THE FUN

Sometimes, Super Bowl commercials can be more entertaining than the game. Vote on your favorites on ballots that kids distribute. Tally them up at the end of the game.

ENJOY TRADITIONAL FOOTBALL STADIUM FARE

Prepare brats and hot dogs and wrap them in parchment or butcher paper, serve beverages in decorated “sports” cups, and scoop bowls of popcorn and peanuts in small paper bags.

PASS THE COOKIES

For a special sweet treat, make football-shaped cookies. Roll out chocolate cookie dough on a breadboard and cut out football shapes with a simple homemade cookie cutter. For the cutter, just bend the rim of a small or medium-size empty soup can (without sharp edges) with your hand until it is in the shape of a football. Place cookies on cookie sheets and bake according to the package or recipe instructions.

When the cookies are baked and cool, make stitching marks and laces with white frosting in squeeze tubes. Or, make or use a can of white frosting and spoon it into a plastic sandwich bag. Cut a small hole in one bottom corner and squeeze the frosting through the hole. Write the name of the team you are rooting for on large cookies. Arrange on a platter.

Or, bake a batch of thin brownies on a rimmed cookie sheet and cut out football shapes with the football-shaped “can” cutter when slightly cooled. Decorate with white frosting stitching designs.

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Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

(c) 2018 Donna Erickson; Distributed by King Features Syndicate

 

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS: Super Bowl LII fun and food–