It might feel weird to be preparing to watch a winter World Cup, but it is happening. On 20th November, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will kick off in Qatar — and many Brits will doubtless be in jubilant mood, with the England women’s team having triumphed at Euro 2022. However, the World Cup’s unusual timing will inevitably have implications for how you ought to hold a World Cup party. Here are major steps that you should prioritise taking…

Utilize both the indoors and outdoors

As the tournament will be unfolding across November and December, you can’t have faith that an outdoor space will be warm enough for everyone as they watch the footie.

For this reason, you should first make sure that, for the occasion, you will have sufficient indoor space and, readily accessible from it, a garden which people would be able to spill out into at half time. A big corner sofa could be big enough to accommodate everyone indoors.

Be choosy with what you wear

You want your attire for the football watching party to strike a very particular balance. That’s one where you can comfortably sit on the sofa for most of the night while feeling as though you could still somewhat let yourself loose, with arms pumping in the air, at celebratory moments.

The online store of La Redoute opines that, for women, “the answer lies with the humble knitted jumper dress”. A white dress could be accessorised with red to represent England colours.

Ask people to choose sides

Of course, your geographical place of origin is likely to inspire your choice of team to follow. However, what if the match set to be shown is one where no one at the party will have this kind of automatic allegiance to either of the competing teams?

In that case, you could ask each attendee at your event to choose a side. That way, each person will have a specific team to cheer on — and you can have fun watching the passion flow.

Hold a variety of pre-match contests

The party can start long before the World Cup match that is ultimately at the centre of it all. Before people even start turning up, you could let them know that there is going to be a prize for the best costume!

Meanwhile, at the party itself, various games could be left out for people to play. These games could include those of the board kind, while Subbuteo — yes, the tabletop football game with the miniature figures of footballers — would be another, perhaps more obvious option.

Have a good supply of snacks ready

Those could be left stocked on side tables close to the seating. It would be a good idea for much of the food to visibly adhere to a football theme; think the likes of football-shaped sweets or patriotically coloured pastries.

If you intend to run a sweepstake, one option could be the Crosstown World Cup Sweepstake Kit, which will come with a wall chart and prize vouchers. These can include vouchers for Crosstown doughnuts.

Serve drinks representing the competing countries

You don’t necessarily have to be too fancy with the drinks you have available at the party. Nonetheless, it could be a lot of fun for the beverage options to include not only such traditional selections as wine, beer, and gin, but also drinks inspired by the countries taking part in the match.

That way, before the match begins, the party’s guests could each, by choosing a particular drink, place a bet on which of the two teams will win.

Make sure all the guests will be able to easily see the screen

The Handleforme website, where users are able to search for providers of services for events, states: “The most important part of a viewing party is ensuring that all the guests have comfortable seating and a good screen view.”

If that kind of view currently doesn’t appear to be in reach, you could shift the furniture around or go for a specific floor seating plan.

You also want a situation where each person at the party will be capable of talking to other attendees and moving around the space without inconveniencing anyone.

Throw a fun after-party

Energetic music and an ever-present DJ can both be major features of this after-party. This can cap off your World Cup viewing party as a whole. Whilst still enabling people to unwind before they head off back home, taking many blissful memories of both the match and the evening with them.