How Are You Celebrating the Super Bowl?

In only two days the New York Giants will take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, and New Jersey has Super Bowl fever.

Whether you splurged for a new flat screen TV, placed your order for wings and pizza or reserved your table at your favorite local bar, Patch has some tips for a safe and enjoyable Super Bowl (providing, of course, the Giants win.)

In Madison and Chatham, restaurants and bars will be open for the game. in Madison always draws a large audience for big sports events, but should you arrive too late to find a seat, has televisions at the bar perfect for watching the game, and a wide selection of draught beers available.

If you are commuting to the area by train, in Madison and in Chatham are both a short walk from the train stations in the two towns. Both have a casual bar area, delicious food and an easy way to get home without driving. Also the in Chatham, which opened last year, has a wide menu of traditional game foods, and some healthier alternatives, as well as several televisions around the wide bar area, perfect for gathering with friends.

If you plan to throw your own Super Bowl party, you can find plenty of tips and advice from around the Internet. Here are just a few to help get you started:

1. Setting up: Before the guests arrive, you want to make sure the stage is set for a successful night. There are plenty of decorations and supplies available at . Foxnews.com suggests you ensure that there is enough seating for everybody. If you have multiple televisions, make sure they are all tuned to the game, in case you have spill over to other rooms or if people are more into the action and others just want the broadcast as a backdrop to conversations.
2. Food, glorious food: After the quality of the television screen, the menu is probably the most important aspect of the party. The easy way out would probably involve buying some chips and dip from , or and ordering pizza from one of the many local joints, such as or . If you want to get a little more creative, there's plenty of recipes online to browse. Allrecipes.com has a wide collection of dip recipes, including a Touchdown Taco Dip and a simple Fruit Dip. No Super Bowl party is complete without some wings, and Food.com has a good selection of recipes to peruse. Of course, not everybody wants to chow down on greasy, calorie-laden food. Huffingtonpost.com has some healthy alternatives, including zucchini fries and turkey burgers.
3. Killing time: Most Super Bowl parties have plenty of guests who are there more for the atmosphere and less for the actual game. USAToday.com has some ways you can keep them entertained without disrupting the flow of the party. Suggestions include having everybody rate the Super Bowl commercials by rating each one on a scale of 1 to 5 and tallying up the ballots at the end of the game; set up betting pools for smaller aspects of the game, such as the coin toss, which team will score first, etc.
4. Be responsible: No doubt the alcohol will be flowing for most Super Bowl parties Sunday night. Make sure there are enough designated drivers for people to get home safely, or use the train to get to your destination. If you have to, offer up a couch or some floor space for guests  to sleep it off.

Chatham and Madison Patch wish you a happy Super Bowl weekend!