It’s the big game, and what better way to watch than with 40 or 50 of your closest friends? For many, home Super Bowl parties have all but eclipsed watching at your favorite watering hole. We inquired.

The Parties
Hundreds of parties will be taking shape tomorrow afternoon to watch the Panthers and Broncos. Among them will be Ranae and Bob Ihme's; the Glen Arbor couple alternates hosting a large party with friends Laura and Todd Bonzelet. They invite several other families, ending up with somewhere between 60 and 75 people, with TVs in nearly every room.

 “I grew up having big Super Bowl parties. We all have young families and we all bring our kids,” Ihme says. “We stress the importance of sports and school.”

The TVs
Of course, everybody needs to be able to see the game. Ian Streadwick at ABC Warehouse said sale prices and the Super Bowl combine to make this one of the busiest times of the year for television sales.

“There’s so much out there” in terms of resolution and features, he says, with 4K leading the way. The 4K or Ultra High Definition (UHD) TVs offer twice the resolution of the previous standard, though contrast, color and size also play into the quality of the picture.

When 4K debuted in 2013, prices hovered around $20,000. Today, according to Streadwick, you can find 4K sets in the 50 to 60-inch range for the low teens to around $4,000. If you drop down just a bit in size, you can find them for less than $1,000. The same is true at Best Buy, where you can get a 50-inch 4K television for $599.

The Food
A party isn’t a party without plenty of food. Indeed, Super Bowl Sunday ranks as the second-largest food-consuming day in the U.S., trailing only Thanksgiving.

You’re not getting slammed by a 350-pound defensive tackle, but the high-fat, high-calorie foods associated with the traditional football party can still lay you low. According to the Calorie Control Council, the average person eats 1,200 calories and 50 grams of fat — just in snacks — on Super Bowl Sunday. For the 111 million Americans watching the Super Bowl, that breaks down to 20.8 million pounds of potato chips and the same amount of tortilla chips.

Jessica Edson of Edson Farms Natural Foods in TC says guacamole and salsa, as well as “any dip or bite size food is a huge hit at a Super Bowl party.” Edson also encourages partiers to consider veggie trays as “healthy and easy to prepare” options, or a layered bean dip.

“Start with beans and add, salsa, peppers, black olives, onions, cheese and fresh tomatoes,” she adds.

The Commercials
For many, the emphasis is less on the game and more on the commercials. At this year’s cost of $5 million for a 30-second commercial, ads must be creative enough to attract viewers’ attention. Whether it’s Betty White playing football or one of the Budweiser Clydesdales being trained by a Dalmatian and getting a high five in thanks, the ads have become must-see TV.

According to 9&10 News General Manager Bill Kring, the local affiliate airing the big game, ad spots during the Super Bowl “are essentially sold out.” Kring notes that the game is “the largest non-duplicated audience programming of the year and as such offers an exceptional value” to advertisers.