How To Throw a March Madness Party

Plan the menu. You want food that can be prepared or ordered ahead of time and eaten easily while standing or sitting around. Nachos with the works, wings, and pizzas are all good choices. Don’t forget the chips and dips.

Buy lots of beer. If you’re having a big crowd, consider getting a keg or a party ball. Have some soda on hand, too.

Buy paper decorations, plates, and cups with a basketball theme—or get them in your team’s color. Order some basketball Mylar balloons.

Order or bake some basketball-themed cupcakes. If you’re creating them yourself, look for inspiration online.

Organize a pool. Make a betting card yourself. Draw a 10 by 10 grid that fills a piece of poster board, and label the axes zero through nine. Write the name of one team along the top and the other along the side.

Several states officially bar all gambling, including pools in which the organizer does not profit. Know your local laws before organizing a pool involving money.

Have guests pay to write their name in a square, and put the money in a pot. At the end of each quarter, the person who has the square that corresponds to the final digit of each team’s score wins a quarter of the pot.

Set up a hoop for free throw competitions. Have a gift for the person who sinks the most baskets—like a jersey or (for the less fanatical) a wine and cheese basket.

Have the number of a taxi service or designated driver on hand in case anyone has celebrated too much to drive home.