When deciding on what kind of dip to serve, be sure to account for any food allergies.

You could theme the dip at your game day party around a specific cuisine (Mexican, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern) or around the foods associated with your team’s hometown (for example, Kansas City is known for barbecue and Chicago is known for pizza).

Involve the whole family in making dip.  Adults and older children can cut up fruits and veggie dippers. Younger children can help wash the fruit and vegetables and stir ingredients into cold dips.

Prepare cold dips at least 2 hours before you plan to serve them so that the flavors have time to mingle and develop.They could even be prepared the day before.  

Dips that have been refrigerated can have a sharp and intense flavor.  Allow them to sit at room temperature 10-20 minutes before serving so that the flavors can mellow.

Assemble hot dips early on the day of your game day party and store them in the fridge.  Bake them in the oven as your guests begin to arrive.

Yogurt and sour cream are interchangeable in dip recipes.  Use the one that meets your taste and nutritional goals.

Save time and labor by using a blender or food processor to mix your dip.

Taste your dip and season it as you go.  Don’t wait until the end.

Start with dried beans for the best tasting dip.  You could prepare them in advance and freeze them.  Simply defrost your beans the day before your party and they will be ready to use.

Keep a few kinds of canned beans on hand for a quick and easy dip base to feed last minute guests.  Stock your pantry with black beans, pinto beans and garbanzo beans.

Guacamole is an extremely versatile dip.  Start with the basic guacamole ingredients - avocado, tomato, onion, and garlic - and then fold in your favorite ingredients to make the perfect game day guacamole.

Encourage guests to take individual portions of dip instead of dipping out of a community bowl.

Serve dip in the proper dish or container.  Layered dips should be served in clear dishes so that the layers can be seen.

For food safety reasons be sure to keep your dips at the proper temperature.  

As a rule of thumb, dips should be put away after being out for 2 hours.

Set up a dip and dipper station in the room you where you will be watching the game.

Let your guests know what kind of dip you will be serving and ask them to bring their favorite dipper.  

Cut dippers into bite-size pieces to prevent your guests from double-dipping.  

Dippers should be sturdy, wide, and bite-size.

Be sure fruit and veggie dippers are thoroughly dried after washing so water does not get into the dip.

Dipper ideas:

Send leftover dip home with your guests.

Use bean dip to make burritos, nachos, or taco salad.

Many leftover dips can be used a sandwich filling or sandwich spread.

Leftover fruit or veggie dip can be thinned and turned into a salad dressing or glaze.

Use leftover meat, cheese, or bean dips as the base of a soup or chili.

Leftover fruit dippers can be folded into a smoothie or caramelized and served with ice cream.

Leftover veggie dippers can be added to a salad or folded into an omelette. 

If you have leftover sour cream or yogurt based dip and veggies, make a salad wrap.  Simply spread a layer of dip onto a tortilla, then add a layer of lettuce and a layer of leftover veggies.  Add meat or cheese if you like.  Tuck in the ends and roll up your wrap!  Enjoy it immediately or wrap it in plastic wrap to save for later.