Here's How To Figure Out How Much Food You Need For Your Super Bowl Party

Planning a Super Bowl party can be challenging, particularly when there are unknowns like how many guests will show up and how long the game will last. This year's game is especially exciting, as it's the Bengal's first Super Bowl appearance since 1988. Not only that, this is the first time in NFL history that the Rams and Bengals are playing each other in a championship game (via CBS).

If you're hosting Super Bowl LVI at home, chances are, you and your guests will be cheering, eating, and perhaps drinking for about four hours. With this in mind, Life Hacker shares some guidelines to help determine how much beer or alcohol to buy. The outlet suggests planning for two drinks per person for the first 60 minutes of the party, and then one drink per person, per hour after that. To put this in a different perspective, if you're hosting 10 adults in total, 50 beers or hard seltzers should be enough. Food Network reports that an open bar serving up cocktails will require a 1-liter bottle of alcohol for every 22 mixed drinks or a bottle of wine for every eight guests.

Of course, when alcohol is concerned, it helps to know your guest's preferences. It's also wise to ensure that everyone drinks responsibly. 

While liquid refreshments may or may not be essential to your Super Bowl party — food certainly is. Because football fans don't want to miss any of the action that happens on the field, you're probably better off planning for classic game-day finger foods. Chicken wings, pizza, chips, and dips are among these favorites. 

Life Hacker shares that the standard guideline to follow when it comes to chicken wings is 10 per person, or, five to six if you're serving other foods. Additionally, if pizza is sharing the buffet table with other finger foods, then account for one or two slices per person. 

Because inflation has raised the cost of food by up to 14% more than this time last year, it's not a bad idea to ask guests to bring an appetizer. Food Network warns that guests tend to consume more at night, and the biggest championship game of the year starts at 6:30 pm EST, so perhaps grab a few more bags of chips and some more jars of salsa to be on the safe side.