With football season gearing up, this tailgating essentials list is going to be vital for my survival this fall. Why? Because this year I am the mother of two high school kids, one of which is in the high school marching band. When my kids started school last week, I was prepared for early morning bus pickups, a new schedule, and the trials and tribulations of my kids making new friends. What I was NOT prepared for, however, was high school football. All of a sudden, now that I have a highschool kid in band, I am expected to show an interest in high school football. I was in the band in high school and attended every SINGLE high school football game at my school for many years. I swore I would have nothing else to do with high school football ever again but I find myself in the bleachers anyhow while my kids hang around and socialize with their friends and entertain the crowd during halftime. Lucky me! So many of my friends actually tailgate before the game and a 2-hour event turns into an all evening affair. To be honest, I haven’t done much tailgating so this tailgating essentials list is a work in progress. I have 4 more years of high school football games to survive so hopefully, a little tailgating with friends will make it more enjoyable. If you want to start tailgating this fall, here is a tailgating essentials list that might help.
Tailgating Essentials for Fall Sports Fans
SportBrella – The SportBrella is a portable umbrella that sets up in seconds and protects your entire family from wind, rain, sand and the blazing sun. Fall football starts in August here in the south and it is still well into the 90’s. Staying out of the sun is vital to my pasty white family!
Tailgating Cooler – A tailgating cooler is an ice chest, storage case and all the utensils in one portable package. Shoulder strap or handles, you decide how to carry it. There are a lot of things to lug to your football game to feed your crew and this keeps everything contained in one space.
LED Lantern – Fall football games can last HOURS and often darkness descends before the game is over. Invest in an LED Lantern to light up your space once the sun goes down.
BackPack Cooler Chair – All in one – your chair, your cooler, and your hands are free! The backpack cooler chair is a convenient place to sit so you don’t have to move to grab a drink! Make sure you add this one to your tailgating essentials list!
Football Blanket – Since childhood, sitting on the bleachers was always better with one of these wool blankets over your legs. Once the weather starts to cool off, you won’t want to sit in the stands shivering so make sure you grab a football blanket before you head out!
Grill Light – It always gets dark before you know it. Clip this almost anywhere and the flexible neck lets you point it where you need it. It is very hard to grill in the dark so add a grill light to your tailgating essentials list!
Weather Resistant Outdoor Speaker – Get the sound to everyone with a large speaker to help boost the sound of your tailgating music. A weather resistant outdoor speaker means you don’t have to panic when a storm passes through unexpectedly!
Football Claw – Now there’s the perfect place to keep that Game Ball – on the wall! Lots of young kids love to bring along a football to play with while their parents tailgate. The Football Claw will make sure you can find it every time you need it!
Stadium Seat Bleachers offer absolutely zero back support. Adding a portable stadium seat allows you to rest in comfort while watching your favorite team play!
Portable Tailgating Grill: Everyone loves grilled food while tailgating, right? This portable tailgating grill makes it easy to take your grill on the road!
Tailgating can be tons of fun for the whole family, or so all of my friends tell me. Now that I have a high school band student, I think I will be doing a lot more tailgating this fall! I put together a Pinterest Tailgating Recipes board for inspiration and you can check out some of the items mentioned here before you head out for fall tailgating!
What is on YOUR tailgating essentials list?