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It's really true! Super Bowl Sunday is almost a national holiday. After Thanksgiving, more Americans celebrate with good food and drink on this Sunday than any other day of the year. So get ready to gather round the TV with great dips, entrees and drinks to cheer on your favorite team, even if (unfortunately) your hometown heroes are watching the game from their own living room chairs.

Here are a few tips, from the Sunkist Growers, to help make your Super Bowl party (or any winter party where there's a crowd of hungry friends) an unqualified success.

• Plan on serving as many dishes as possible that can be prepared ahead of the starting kick-off. That way you get to enjoy the game along with your guests. Casserole dishes, made the day before, are also a terrific choice. Just heat them up before serving.



• Offer plenty of alcohol-free drinks. See Sunkist's recipes for fresh lemonades and hot and cold citrus punches that are sure to please football fans of all ages. A simple pitcher of lemon slices in cold, fresh ice water is a refreshing crowd pleaser.



• Chances are you'll be gathered around the TV, with plates on your lap, while chowing down, so keep utensils to a minimum. Serve appetizers that require only your fingers and a napkin. Spicy buffalo chicken wings, kebobs, vegetable crudities with dip, or crunchy nut and cereal mixes make sense. Choose main courses where the food is pre-cut into small pieces, served off the bone, or eaten with fingers only-dishes like ribs or crispy baked chicken.



• Does your dip or salsa taste flat? No problem. Reach for a fresh Sunkist lemon and squeeze a little juice or grate a little peel into the dish to perk up it's flavor.



• Sandwiches are an especially good idea for a party of more than a dozen, and you don't need to follow a recipe to make them up. Just have your guests choose from an assortment of sliced meats, cheese, fish, or poultry. Offer different kinds of breads and condiments like pickles, olives, salad greens, sliced tomatoes and onions. Flavor your favorite commercial mayonnaise with plenty of grated lemon peel and fresh lemon juice to taste for a better sandwich spread that's great with poultry, cold cuts or fish.



• Give your party pocketbook a break and serve plenty of inexpensive but tasty starches like pasta, beans or rice dishes. Inexpensive meats that allow you to make entrees for just pennies a serving include chicken, ground meat, ham or beef brisket. Check out what's fresh in your supermarket produce aisle. At this time of year, citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, grapefruit and tangerines are in season and a terrific buy.



• If one of your friends offers to bring a dish or beverage, don't say, "Don't bother." In fact, to save precious kitchen time, arrange for each guest to bring something. Design the menu in advance, and be specific about your request. You don't want to end up with a dozen smoked salmon appetizers and a case of fruit punch.



• Garnish your platters with plenty of Sunkist lemon wedges or cartwheel slices. They look pretty, and a last minute squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds a note of perfect tangy zest to just about any food.



• If you're short on refrigerator space (and who isn't?), store canned and bottled beverages in a cold, unheated garage or just outside your door. With winter temperatures in many states ranging 40 degrees or below, the outdoors acts as a handy cooler. If, however, you're lucky enough to live in warmer climates, make yourself a cooler by lining a sturdy, cardboard box with a large, heavy-duty plastic bag. Add your beverages to the box and then cover them with a large bag of ice and just a little water. Your drinks will stay cold all day.



• It may be a little retro to think about molding the cream cheese dip into the shape of a football, but then again these Martha-like food configurations are making a comeback. Engage the kids and let them use their imaginations to dream up great food centerpieces and decorations that help put everybody in a partying mood. If you do something clever with our Sunkist lemons that are shaped like perfect little footballs, please let us know!

For more recipe hints and tips to make your celebration a winner, log on to www.sunkist.com.

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