Everything You Need to Host a Winning Super Bowl Party

Serve up snacks with some pizazz with these melamine dishes. This 12-piece set’s beautiful, medium-weight plates and bowls are ideal for almost any situation that might require unbreakable plates, from Super Bowl parties to dining alfresco. Our at-home testers found them neither especially heavy nor flimsy. They sit evenly, have a smooth, unblemished glaze, and aren’t scratched by knives and forks. They made a loud clatter when dropped but didn’t break.

This set, reminiscent of a confetti cake, is great for outdoor brunches, picnics, and parties. These melamine plates and bowls are lightweight, easy to carry, and resistant to breaking or scratching. The design, while child-friendly, would look right at home during casual outdoor get-togethers with your (adult) guests.

Not everyone wants or needs to cook for a party, which is exactly why frozen pizza exists. In our recent evaluation, this Red Baron pie was a crowd-pleaser, with a balance of flavors and textures that are just right. You get the distinct taste of crust, sauce, and cheese in each bite. “Overall, this one exceeded my expectations,” said Lauren Friedman, who heads up CR’s health and food team. As it says on the box, the crust wasn’t too thick or too thin. The sauce is the standout here. “It’s very peppery and gives the whole pizza a more well-rounded and interesting taste.”

For more options: Best Frozen Pizzas

The original. The best. The pinnacle of hot dogs. This one comes from one of the oldest hot dog companies in the U.S. Its founder, Nathan Handwerker, was a Polish immigrant who worked at a Coney Island hot dog stand until he was able to scrounge up enough money to open his own business in 1916. That full century of expertise is evident in this hot dog, which one evaluator, Paul Hope, a Consumer Reports home and appliance reporter and food writer, called ”the Goldilocks of hot dogs: crisp skin, subtle spice, uniform texture, and juicy.”

For more options: Best Hot Dogs

These bratwursts are spectacular: juicy and garlicky, with a tiny bit of sweetness that’s balanced by a rich savoriness that places them firmly in the lunch or dinner category. (Despite that hint of sweetness, they don’t taste like your traditional breakfast sausage.) This sausage is “rich and aromatic, with notes of fennel and a deep umami flavor,” says Paul Hope, a CR food writer. “They clearly worked on this formula and it shows!”

For more options: Best Vegan Hot Dogs and Sausages

Worried there won’t be hot sauce at your pal’s party? Bring some with you! “Everyone knows someone who considers themselves a hot sauce aficionado—and this set is perfect for them,” says Eunice Byun, co-founder of Material Kitchen, a direct-to-consumer kitchenware brand. This collection of Red Clay’s best-selling sauces and honey includes flavors like spicy peach honey and a verde hot sauce. “I love the vinegary flavor of the Original Sauce, and the hot honey drizzled on pizza is out of this world.”

Pickles can be a crowd-pleaser, and this set from Mouth is up to the task. Each box comes with a variety of small-batch pickles, which are updated monthly featuring flavors like garlic mustard dill, Old Bay-seasoned, and za’atar pickle chips, to name a few. 

Mouth was the top-scoring company in a study conducted by CR in which staffers evaluated the ordering experience and gift selection from five prominent vendors. It was the only one where all of CR’s gift-set senders were satisfied with what they selected, and most felt they got good value for the money.

Boxed wine shines during group events, and the Super Bowl is no exception. CR staffers found this Beaujolais from Wineberry fruit-forward and earthy, naming it the best of the bunch they tried. Check availability here.

For more options: Best Boxed Wines We’ve Tasted

This drink is hella intense. It’s a gorgeous ruby red, and the taste is like a rave in your mouth: vivid, overpowering, bitter, sweet. Like several other nonalcoholic cocktails we tried, it’s flavored with clove, allspice, and star anise, though this one has a heavy dose of sugar, making it one of the sweetest sparklers in the bunch. On its own, it’s a bit much. But mixed with alcohol, it works, though it does defeat the purpose of a nonalcoholic cocktail. Though we haven’t tried it ourselves, it’s possible this would be equally delicious with nonalcoholic bourbon or gin as with the real stuff. You could also just add sparkling water to tone things down.

For more options: Best Ready-to-Drink Mocktails

Our CR evaluators dubbed Cutwater’s Tequila Paloma “the party pick” in a recent evaluation of canned cocktails. It’s a mild—if faithful—version of a bar paloma that’s refreshing, lightly citrusy, and not unbearably sweet. It’s a great option for parties because the price is reasonable, it’s widely available, and it’s almost impossible not to like. This also means it won’t really stand out; you drink it to chill out and have fun with friends, not to contemplate the subtle hints of black pepper and agave from the brand’s proprietary tequila, which is used in this cocktail. Buy this instead of the hard seltzer you usually get for your house parties.

For more options: Best Canned Cocktails

This 75-inch 4K smart TV, the Samsung UN75TU7000B, is in the company’s mainstream non-QLED 4K TV lineup. It does surprisingly well for an entry-level set for both HD and 4K picture quality—just don’t expect to get a compelling HDR experience. The model at Walmart is the only one we’ve seen with a “B” at the end of the model name. It performs very well for the price in most aspects, and it’s a well-priced larger set from a leading brand.

Why it’s a good deal: You’re saving over $100 on an already low-priced set.

The Hisense 65U8H is a top-performing ULED TV. It not only has top-notch UHD picture quality but also packs sufficient brightness to deliver a great HDR experience. This set is impressive, especially for the price.

Why it’s a good deal: This set is back to its low holiday price, $100 less than the discount we saw last week. And it’s an impressive performer.

Amazon is now selling TVs under its own Fire TV brand, and this model, the Amazon B08SVZ775L, is a 50-inch 4K set in the company’s entry-level 4 series.

Why it’s a good deal: In our tests, this set does very well for overall picture quality, though like many less expensive TVs, its HDR performance isn’t great. And you can pick it up at a decent discount compared with earlier in the year.

This 43-inch 4K smart TV from TCL is in an entry-level 4K series for 2022. It does well for overall picture quality, but like many lower-priced sets, it’s not as effective in HDR performance. It uses the Google TV system.

Why it’s a good deal: Best Buy just dropped its sale price by $30, beating the previous lowest price by $10.