It’s football season again! Are you ready for some…….. Bloody Marys?!!!

Good. :) Because football and Bloody Marys happen to go together like 2 peas in a pod, like PB & J, like popcorn and movies… you get the picture!

So, if you’re looking to put an extra splash of FUN in your football Sunday-FUNday (or Saturday or Thursday), then you are in the right spot, my friend. With lots of easy-to-follow tips for setting up your own Bloody Mary Bar + free football printables, you might even say that you’ve SCORED. 😜

BTW – I’ve teamed up with Master of Mixes to bring all this fun your way, and there’s something extra-special about these mixers…

Master of Mixes has partnered with award winning Chef Anthony Lamas of Seviche – a super yummy Louisville-based restaurant I had the pleasure of dining at earlier this year 😋– to create a line of “distinctly culinary” Bloody Mary Cocktail Mixers. Flavors include Classic, Loaded, 5 Pepper (this one definitely brings the HEAT!), and Michelada.

As delicious as all of the mixers are, the designer in me is equally excited over the awesome packaging! These bottles made the drink station so much prettier just by sitting there… gotta love it when that happens. 🙌

THE (BLOODY MARY) BASICS

The best way to *kick off* any drink station is to list out the basic tools/ingredients required.

For a DIY Bloody Mary Station, you’ll need:

• Cups or Glasses
• Ice + Ice Bucket and Tongs/Scoop
• Stirring Tool and/or individual Cocktail Stirrers
• Bloody Mary Mixer(s) – I used Classic, 5 Pepper, & also Michelada because football + beer!
• Vodka
• Cocktail Garnishes
• Wooden Skewers (for garnishes)
• Straws
• Rimming Items (optional) – Spiced Rim Salt, Lemon Juice
• Small dishes to hold all garnishes
• Beverage Napkins (optional)

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Table Layout

Organize your table from left to right in order of tools/ingredients needed. You can always take creative liberties here and there, but overall your table should feel functional and super easy to navigate. Ice, cups, and rimming salts should go on the left, followed by mixers and vodka, and then garnishes.

The Garnish Bar

Speaking of garnishes, this is where you can REALLY have some fun! Bloody Marys are notorious for being served with all sorts of hearty “meal on a stick” type garnishes – from shrimp, bacon, and cheese cubes to a colorful buffet of veggies. You’ll also find pickles of all shapes & sizes, pickled veggies, roasted veggies, roasted peppers… you name it!

Since there are so many possible “players” for your Game Day Bloody Mary Bar, I thought it would be fun to actually treat them this way! This idea ended up setting the creative tone for the entire station…

Game Day (Garnishes) Lineup

I added football jersey style number stickers to smooth sided mason jars and filled each one with a different garnish, then designed a “Game Day Lineup” key to match.

click at the bottom to customize this printable with your own favorite garnishes and jersey numbers!

Note: I used 11 jars in the “lineup” here to align with the number of players on the field at one time, but you can really use as many “players” as you want. Pretty sure your guests won’t mind if your number of players varies. ;)

Cocktail Rimming Station

Personally, I love how cocktails both look AND taste with a salted rim! However, it’s a good idea to make this step optional, since excitement levels about extra salt can vary. ;)

Create a little “cocktail rimming station” on your table with small, shallow dishes for lemon (or lime) juice and rim salt. Spiced rim salt (like the store-bought one I used here) is a great choice for Bloody Marys!

Creative Decor & Printables

Even though this Bloody Mary Station is “game day inspired”, I wanted it to have an equal parts “football” and “farmer’s market” vibe. Here are 5 easy tips for recreating this look:

1. Fresh Produce
Pile fresh tomatoes, peppers, parsley, etc in the background and all around!

2. Crates & Risers
Use textures like weathered wood, galvanized metal, chalkboard, and burlap to create height/layers and set a “farmer’s market” style at the same time.

3. Football Inspired Printables
You know I love the versatility of party printables! 😉 Click at the bottom to download my printable designs from this drink station. You can also customize the Game Day Lineup garnish bar sign with your own favorite items and football jersey numbers. (Note – our online customization tool works best in the Chrome browser.)

4. Referee Stripes

Stripes are such an easy pattern to find in textiles, papers, etc – and black and white always adds an element of class.

5. Football Numbers, Icons & Words/Puns

Popular football terms, icons and jersey numbers are a great way to play up the football theme without actually using physical items. Examples include: “football laces” on the cups, “jersey numbers” on the jars, and phrases like “It’s GOOD!” with a referee icon. I figure this speaks both to game scoring AND the taste of your Bloody Mary. ;)

My VERY favorite pun from this drink station, though, is definitely the “Hail Mary” on one of the straw flags. I mean… what could be a more fitting accent for your game day Bloody Mary, right?!! 😉

CHEERS!

Disclosure: I’ve teamed up with on this post and other creative ideas this year. You can learn more about our current partnership right here. Heartfelt thanks to our readers for supporting the brands that make it possible to keep sending creative inspiration your way. 💛