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Have you heard the term homegating? Whether you have or not, chances are you’re doing it. Homegating is tailgating on your home turf: the activities, recipes, hoopla, and traditions associated with game day without ticket costs or bathroom lines. Access to air conditioning certainly cannot be overrated, either.

Homegating can be a family affair or an occasion to welcome friends or neighbors into your home. We invited two families, so there were 19 of us total. We’re a baseball family and the Braves are our Atlanta hometown team, so they were the theme of our homegate party.

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Easy or pre-prepared foods are key for keeping you in the party instead of in the kitchen. I marinaded the wings, sliced the veggies, and made the dessert a day ahead of time. Here is the menu and activities that our family used this weekend.

The Menu

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We started with a selection of DiGiorno pizzas, both Cheese (which my littles like best) and Three Meat (pepperoni, sausage, beef). Tipsy Wings (recipe below), a veggie tray, fresh fruit, a layered ice cream sandwich dessert (recipe below), sweet tea, and assorted soft drinks rounded out the menu.

Tipsy Wings

Here are the marinade ingredients for the Tipsy Wings: beer, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic salt, fresh garlic, and pepper (missing from the photo). I poured everything straight into a one gallon zipper storage bag, sealed and shook it up, and then added three pounds of raw wings, turning to coat. I even pressed the garlic straight into the bag.

The wings marinated overnight; I flipped the bags every time I opened the refrigerator. I prepped two bags, six pounds total, but I could have made more and they would have been devoured.

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The pizza and the wings cooked at the same temperature, so we alternated between baking a tray of wings (cover the tray in foil for easier clean up) and two pizzas. Thankfully DiGiorno includes directions for cooking two pizzas at a time.

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This ice cream sandwich dessert is so easy. Although you can get fancy and add cookie crumbs, etc., this recipe can be made quite simply in just a few minutes with only 3 ingredients.

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert recipe

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(Of course, you have to unwrap the sandwiches. I place them in the dish at first to get a count and plan the layout.)

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Pretty fancy, huh?

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The Hoopla

Not only did we get our game on in the kitchen, but also we enjoyed traditional game day activities such as team apparel, face painting, tomahawk chopping, and doing the wave.

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I had some fun in iMovie, too.

Although tailgating is primarily sports-related, I think homegating transcends sports. If the season premier or finale of your favorite TV show ignites a similar passion in your family, then that could easily be your focus instead of cheering on your favorite team.

{Disclosure: This post is part of a campaign for Collective Bias and DiGiorno. Opinions expressed are my own.}

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