Game Day Treats: Team Color Pretzels, Hat Boxes and Football Party Desserts

By the Strixly Cupcakes team · Published October 19, 2026 · 6 min read

Football season fills Friday nights, Saturday afternoons and Sunday living rooms, and every watch party needs something sweet. The best game day desserts are easy to grab with one hand, look great in your team's colors and hold up while everyone is cheering. In this guide we cover the treats from our menu that work best for football parties and tailgates, how to plan quantities, and a few simple food safety tips for eating outdoors.

What Makes a Good Game Day Dessert?

A good game day dessert is single-serve, sturdy and easy to color in team shades. If guests can pick it up without a plate or fork, it fits a game day crowd.

Watch parties are busy. People stand, move between the TV and the snack table, and rarely sit down to slice a cake. Treats that come on a stick, in a bag or in a cupcake liner keep the table neat and the line moving. Color matters too: a tray of treats in your team's colors becomes part of the decorations.

• Grab and go: pretzels, cake pops, Rice Krispy treats and popcorn bags.
• Easy to color: chocolate coatings and drizzles can be made in almost any team color.
• Travel friendly: individually wrapped treats survive a ride to the stadium or a friend's house.

Team Color Dipped Pretzels

Dipped pretzels are one of the easiest ways to show team spirit. They are salty and sweet, they stand up well on a table, and the coating and drizzle can match your colors.

Our themed dipped pretzels come as pretzel rods, twists or a mix of both. Each pretzel can be dipped and drizzled in a variety of morsels for different looks, so a red and white set for the Hope Bobcats or a two-tone set for your favorite college or pro team is simple to request. Dipped pretzels start at $2 each with a minimum of 6.

Pretzel rods are also handy as party favors. Bag each one, tie it with a ribbon in team colors and set them in a cup by the door so guests can take one on the way out.

Team Hat Boxes: A Gift for the Biggest Fan

A team hat box is a hat filled with treats, and the fan keeps the hat afterward. It is a fun way to celebrate a birthday during football season or thank the person who always hosts the watch party.

• The Team Hat Box with Dipped Strawberries holds 6 dipped strawberries and a dipped pretzel, listed at $40.
• The Hat Box with Cupcakes swaps the strawberries for a jumbo specialty cupcake such as Reese's, Snickers, cookies n creme, strawberry cheesecake stuffed or turtle. Ask for pricing when you order.

When you order, send a message with the team you want. Because hat boxes are made to order, give yourself time before the big game, especially if you need one for a specific Friday or Saturday.

Cake Pops, Rice Krispy Treats and Dipped Oreos

Cake pops, dipped Rice Krispy treats and dipped Oreos are small, colorful and easy to theme. Mixing two or three of them makes a dessert table look full without extra work.

Cake pops can be colored to match your team or decorated with a theme, and they start at $4 each with a minimum of 6. Dipped Rice Krispy treats come in rectangle or popsicle shapes with drizzle, sprinkles or a theme; the menu lists them from $3 each with a minimum of 6. Dipped Oreos are Double Stuf Oreos dipped in chocolate, also from $3 each.

Round treats like cake pops are a natural fit for ball themes: think white coatings with red stitching for baseball season, or brown coatings with white laces for football. Ask about your idea during your free consultation.

Popcorn Bags for the Snack Table

Popcorn is a game day classic, and candied popcorn can be colored to match your event. It is a low-cost way to stretch a dessert table for a big crowd.

The candied popcorn comes in colored candied or cookies n creme (made with Oreos and white chocolate), with a minimum of 6 bags. Popcorn bags work well at the end of the table, near the drinks, where people tend to graze during commercials and halftime.

Party Packages for Watch Parties

If you are feeding a group, a party package is usually easier than ordering treats one by one. Each package bundles several treats in matching colors.

Prices are the listed starting prices and are confirmed when your order is accepted. You can compare every option on our party packages page. For help with quantities, our guide on how many cupcakes you need for a party walks through simple guest-count math.

How Much to Order for a Football Party

A simple rule is to plan about two small treats per guest, and a little more if dessert is the main snack. Long games and doubleheaders call for extra.

Watch parties last longer than most birthday parties. Guests snack in the first half, again at halftime and again before the final whistle. If you have 18 guests, a 36-count package gives everyone two treats. For 24 guests, a 48-count package works well. Mixing sweet treats with salty ones, like dipped pretzels and popcorn, keeps people from feeling overloaded on sugar.

Order early for weekends with big rivalry games. Same-week orders close at 5 pm on Tuesday, and a deposit of half the total secures your order. Pickup is in Hope on Thursday and Friday from 4:30 to 8:30 pm and Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm, which lines up well with Friday night games and Saturday kickoffs.

Tailgate Tips: Keeping Treats Fresh Outdoors

Keep chocolate treats cool and out of direct sun, and keep anything with cream cheese, cheesecake or fresh fruit cold. Perishable foods should not sit out for long at a tailgate.

Food safety guidance from the Mississippi State University Extension says perishable food should be thrown out after 2 hours at room temperature, or after 1 hour when it is above 90°F, and that cold foods should be kept at 40°F or below. The USDA also explains the "danger zone" where bacteria grow quickly. That applies to dipped strawberries, cheesecake-stuffed treats and cream cheese icing.

• Ride with treats in the air-conditioned car, not a hot trunk.
• Keep dipped strawberries in a cooler until it is time to serve.
• Set the dessert table in the shade, and put out a small amount at a time.
• Pretzels, popcorn and Rice Krispy treats are the best choices for a long, warm afternoon.

Our guide on how to transport cupcakes has more tips for getting treats to the stadium in one piece.

Allergy note: some of our menu items contain peanuts, such as Reese's cupcakes, and some contain tree nuts, such as pecans on turtle cupcakes. Tell us about allergies when you order, and label treats on the table so guests can choose safely. Learn more about food allergies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you match my team's colors?

Yes. Chocolate coatings, drizzles and sprinkles can be colored for most teams, from local high school teams to college and pro teams. Tell us the team and the colors when you order. Themed decorations may cost more than color matching, and the final price is confirmed when your order is accepted.

How early should I order game day treats?

Order at least a week ahead when you can. Same-week orders close at 5 pm on Tuesday, and your treats are not secured until the deposit of half the total is paid. For playoff weekends and big rivalry games, ordering earlier gives you the best chance at your preferred pickup time.

Which treats hold up best at an outdoor tailgate?

Dipped pretzels, candied popcorn, Rice Krispy treats and dipped Oreos handle a few hours outdoors best because they have no fresh fruit or cream cheese. Keep dipped strawberries, cheesecake treats and cupcakes with cream cheese icing in a cooler and serve them within the safe time limits.

Ready to plan your game day spread? Browse all of our treats, then place your order through the order form or send us a message on Facebook. From the first kickoff to the final whistle, we are happy to help you cheer your team on with something sweet from Hope, Arkansas.

Written by the Strixly Cupcakes team in Hope, Arkansas. Owner and baker Rachael T. Turner has been baking since 2000 and launched Strixly Cupcakes in 2018.