Kick Off Australian Open of Surfing in Potluck Style

What’s equally fun as going and watching a global sporting event as spectacular as Australian Open of Surfing? There can only be one way to enjoy the big sporting event. Gather your friends together for a potluck pre-game party where everyone can bet on their favorite team or player but no one ends up as loser in terms of food and fun. As host, all that’s left for you is to think of a great theme prior to sending out the invites. What’s even better is you can source all your party needs from an online shop and have them set up before the sporting battles begin.

Theme and Decors

If you want to sprinkle the party with inspirations from Australian Open of Surfing, you need to dig deeper to get facts about the annual surf, skate, fashion, art and music event. For this year, the multi-faceted affair returns to Sydney’s iconic Manly Beach from February 8 to 16. It is owned by IMG and ASP sanctions the contests wherein men and women athletes from all over the world compete to display their best in surfing and skateboarding. There are also other youth events in other disciplines, which are expected to attract over 175,000 spectators during the nine days extravaganza.

Picking a theme makes your party more cohesive from decors to food and favors. If you were using Australian Open of Surfing as a theme, the most appropriate motif would be Hawaiian or anything beach-related. Create a casual and relaxing ambiance to bring your guests to the Manly Beach whether or not you’re there. After all, you have your creative imagination and ready supply of party essentials at hand to decorate the venue. Welcome guests with colorful Hawaiian leis as you lead them into your make-believe beach filled with surfer street signs, giant tiki scene setters and Aussie beach inflatable surfboards. Scattering mini and large seashells is a nice touch that can add outdoor appeal even if you’re partying at home.

Invitations, Food and Drinks

A potluck party can only be successful by inviting friends you know who are willing to share a flavorful dish from their own kitchen. Nevertheless, before you can expect them to bring something, let them know about the theme by sending nifty invitations that spells potluck. Paste flip flop beach napkins onto card stock and write the details inside. Include a RSVP card where the guest could fill out a section to indicate what type of dish they are sharing so you can take note and give advice or suggestions to prevent double dishes.

Encourage friends to bring popular game foods and drinks such as pizza rolls, nachos and cheese, nuts, pretzels, beef jerky, colas, and energy drinks. As host, you are responsible for the main courses. Kick things off right by teasing the palate with baked Buffalo wings. If you’re serving barbeques, fire up the grill to make your guests drool over the tangy and tender meaty ribs. Provide an assortment of condiments for your bratty pack. Surely, your potluck party game time will set a new world record on the buffet table.

Games and Activities

Like in any beach setting, guests can play ballgames or badminton. However, you can put a twist by using water balloons to make the games more exciting and even hilarious. Instead of tossing and catching the balloons with their hands, guest must use beach towels instead. Alternatively, you can organize a bowling tournament using pineapples as pins and coconuts to serve as bowling balls. If there are children, reserve a safe area for a game or two of flip flop piñata hitting. Fill the piñata with an assortment of party favours to impress upon kids that an Australian Open of Surfing party is not only for adults. Other games that can be played by young and old alike are limbo and tug of war.

The time has come to end of the party while the games are just starting to heat up. You can see all your guests are beaming with delight at how the potluck party went on. You provided the venue, mood, and party supplies while they brought in the food and drinks. Why don’t you send them off on a sweet note to thank them for coming and sharing? Let them carry home a loot bag as blue as Australia’s surfing water and fill it with special tea and essential oils they can use to relax their body from a tiring but fun-filled day of partying.