A popular form of socializing in parking lots and other outdoor spaces around the world, a tailgate party often involves great friends and great times. However, when tailgating, the food and drink options are not always of the premium variety. Furthermore, tailgating is not always most comfortable for its participants. Whether you are pre-gaming for a sporting event, a concert or a festival, below are 20 items intended to make your tailgate upscale, delicious and/or comfortable.
A steel powder-coated table with no hitch required, the Tailgater Tire Table attaches to any vehicle or trailer tires. It works regardless of flat or uneven ground, and creates a sturdy, usable surface area anytime you need it with the extendable leg. In turn, you can take and use it wherever the road may be leading you.
Rather than packing a bunch of napkins or disposable placements, Funkins are a eco-friendly, waste-free, meal time essential. The brand makes bright, reusable and eco-friendly cloth napkins and placemats that are 100% cotton, soft, durable and washable. It also makes lunch bags, which are free from any harmful chemicals including lead, phthalate, PVC and BPA-free.
CleverMade’s new cooler comes in a smaller size than ever with new patterns. It locks in temperature to keep your food and drinks cold, hauls up to 30 cans of your favorite beverage, and quickly snaps into a smaller size to save space in your trunk once your coolers empty. CleverMade also makes the QuadraBrella, which provides shade and sun protection upright, and the shark-deterring SharkBanz. My favorite of the CleverMade options, though, is the brand’s fun Kololo inflatable pool toys.
PROVEN Repellents recently introduced lightly-scented and unscented sprays and lotions that repel pests for up to 14 hours. The active ingredient in PROVEN, Saltidin, is recommended by the World Health Organization, and it is safe to use. Even for women who are pregnant or nursing, without worry about health risks or toxic pesticides. In turn, you can feel good about what you put directly on your body to keep pests away.
The founder of Nuni Toaster recognized a problem occurring at his dinner table: His mother was constantly excusing herself from the table whenever the tortillas basket ran out of tortillas. He suddenly realized his mother had been warming tortillas for him in the same manner since he was a young boy. Stylish, useful and under $100, the Nuni Toaster warms up to 6 tortillas at a time. Rotate to release and use any kind of tortilla you’d wish on this fun yet revolutionary appliance.
For healthier versions of your favorite fried foods, you can use the Oster DuraCeramic Air Fryer. It rotates to cook food crisply and evenly with just a tablespoon of oil. The DuraCeramic coating cooks 30 percent faster and is 8 times more durable than regular nonstick. The device itself weighs about 12 pounds. It has an LCD screen that lets you set cooking time and temperature, shutting off automatically when food is done. It also comes with a roasting rack, a measuring spoon, a cool-touch handle, and a recipe book.
Aprons By Jem was founded by a mother-daughter team based in Dallas, Texas. For 3 years, the company has been producing beautifully-designed aprons which are sturdy enough for the kitchen, but beautiful enough for any event. The line includes elegant sequins aprons for holiday party servers, a tailored pinstripe for bar service or open kitchens, seersucker for summertime soirees, caramel duck cloth for working the line, and camo aprons for grill masters. Optional features include no-tear, knife-safe pockets, custom bands, and monogramming. The company also makes silicone-based trivets which will look great in your kitchen. Currently Aprons By Jem is offering free shipping on all orders above $100.
Halloween-Themed Dial Hand Soaps
After a few hours of tailgating, some hygiene will be needed. And when you can combine hygiene with fun, everyone wins. These glow-in-the-dark foaming hand washes from Dial of course remove dirt and germs, while getting you in the spirit for the upcoming Halloween season. The light foam of these limited-edition soaps will clean your hands without needing to dry, while also leaving a pleasant scent and the assurance of a clean that’s complete.
Highclere Castle Cigar Company Cigars
If smoking is permitted where you are tailgating, you may want to look into the wares of The Highclere Castle Cigar Company. Hand-rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua, utilizing a Connecticut Shade wrapper and both Criollo and Corojo tobaccos from the volcanic soils of Jalapa and the island of Ometepe, the company’s cigars are produced in collaboration with Highclere Castle, the home of acclaimed series Downtown Abbey. The brand was launched in 2017 at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association’s Annual Conference and is currently available in cigar lounges and tobacco shops.
Just in time for October 12th, National Pulled Pork Day, Farm Rich has unveiled 3 new Tennesse barbecue-themed items, including Hand Pulled Pork Sliders and Hickory Smoked Hand Pulled Pork. In turn, authentic hand pulled pork that’s been hickory smoked for hours can be enjoyed at home in no time at all. A division of Rich Products, Farm Rich is one of the nation’s leading frozen snacks and appetizers brands.
Stryve is the world’s #1 biltong brand. An alternative to jerky, this high-quality, cured beef snack is all-natural, high in protein, low in sugar, and has a clean ingredient panel. In turn, you have yourself an ideal snack no matter the party setting you are in that fits well with most diets.
An organic seaweed snack brand, gimMe Health makes a variety of tasty wafers and wraps. Everyone talks about replacements for potato chips and pretzels, but these snacks are both healthy and delicious. They are full of iron, fiber, beta carotene and calcium, while also the product of sustainability and umami.
Grass Fed Coffee is the world’s first ready-to-drink butter coffee. Sometimes known as “bulletproof coffee,” beyond those seeking a quick wake-up, this drink is ideal for Keto dieters and intermittent fasters alike. The idea is, in addition to energy, consumers of this kind of coffee get sustained mental focus and overall clarity while improving your mood. It works for a pre or post-workout, a meal replacement, or even a post-tailgating meal.
Priding itself in being “the world’s most drinkable kombucha,” Humm Kombucha is readily available in 5of the brand’s most popular flavors: Mango Passionfruit, Hopped Grapefruit, Blueberry Mint, Coconut Lime, and Pomegranate Lemonade. The brand’s large bottles offer 5servings of kombucha with 5.7 billion probiotic cultures in every bottle, live, authentic, alcohol-free and never from concentrate. Hopped Raspberry and Ginger Juniper flavors are reportedly coming soon from Humm.
If you are seeking alcohol within your kombucha, then you ought to look into Kombrewcha. With low sugar, organic acids, and all-around real ingredients, Kombrewcha is an interesting blend of fair trade black tea, water, organic cane sugar, organic yeast. Meant for a little indulgence, the drink is available in 4 flavors: The OG, Lemongrass Lime, Berry Hibiscus, and Royal Ginger. Kombrewcha is available at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and directly at kombrewcha.com; it is $12 for a pack of four.
Looking to enjoy flavors like pumpkin spice, salted caramel and toffee in a healthy and nutritious way? Well, with B.Nutty you can do just that. B.Nutty is a healthy, gluten-free and kosher peanut butter snack perfect, made to satisfy your cravings without all of the empty calories. S’More Dreams was my favorite of the 4 varieties I had the opportunity to try.
Alive & Well Probiotic-Rich Organic Olives
Olives are one of those “perfect foods” where they can be eaten on their own, yet also used for flavoring, for dipping, and/or as a topping. When you eat an Alive & Well olive, you are not just tasting an olive, rather you are savoring the unique terroir that comes from the small family farms and village co-ops in Greece. Alive & Well Olives’ curated collection of artisan olives are sourced from 4 different regions in Greece, each known for their specific heirloom variety: Kalamata, Rovies, Chalkidiki and Atalanti. The farm-to-table brand recently showcased at Natural Products Expo East 2018.
Looking for gummy bears without the guilt? Then you must check out SmartSweets. SmartSweets contains just 3 grams of sugar per serving — that is 1/8 the amount of regular gummies — and just 80 to 90 calories per bag. POPSUGAR called them “the best effing healthy gummy bears on the planet.” Nutrition aside, SmartSweets come in 4 flavors including Fruity Gummy Bears, Sour Gummy Bears, Sour Blast Buddies and Sweet Fish, and manage to be vegan, non-GMO, and gluten-free.
Billed as “local honey made by local bees,” Local Hive honey has been a family-run company for 4 generations. This 100 percent pure raw and unfiltered honey comes in localized varieties which represent various regions of the United States. These 12 flavors include Local Hive Colorado Honey (Floral Sources: Clover, Alfalfa, Wildflowers), Local Hive Florida Honey (Floral Sources: Citrus, Brazilian Pepper, Clover, Gallberry, Tupelo), Local Hive New England Honey (Floral Sources: Basswood, Berries, Clover, Goldenrod), Local Hive Southern California Honey (Floral Sources: Alfalfa, Berries, Citrus, Clover, Sage), and Local Hive Texas Honey (Floral Sources: Alfalfa, Clover, Cotton, Horsemint, Tallow). Local Hive also does good in the world beyond making delicious honey, as it is part of an alliance with PACE (Pollinator Awareness Through Conservation & Education), the Butterfly Pavilion’s non-profit global initiative to restore habitats, strengthen populations and reintroduce pollinators into native habitats around the world.
Last but not least, Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory and cafe based in the Mission District of San Francisco. The company was founded in 2010 by Todd Masonis, who came from the tech world, and started Dandelion in a garage to build the brand with the mission to truly celebrate chocolate. Dandelion’s chocolate is made out of only 2 ingredients: cocoa beans and organic cane sugar. Dandelion roasts, cracks, sorts, winnows, grinds, conches, and tempers small batches of beans and then molds and packages each bar by hand.
