OK ladies, we have a few good weekends left before the shivering starts.  Let’s make the best of the weather, gather together and meet some new friends. With our Bags and Brew tournament party, you can do just that. Girlfriend Celebrations has planned a bags (aka beanbags, baggo, or the unfortunately named “cornhole”) tournament —no boys allowed—that will help your expand your girlfriend circle before you retreat indoors to hibernate for the winter.  

If you’re not familiar with the game of bags, first of all, where have you been the past five years? Surely you have seen these games springing up all over at tailgate parties, in backyards, driveways, parks and bars. The name of the game depends on what part of the U.S. you’re in, but the rules and equipment are basically the same. According to CornholeSupplies.com, cornhole is ”a game in which players take turns pitching small bags filled with corn at a raised platform with a hole in the far end.” Not too different from the beanbag toss you played as a kid, but with scoring and refreshments. Still don’t get it? Take a look at the Cornhole Song.

If all this seems a little, well, guy-ish, don’t be fooled!  Guys love cornhole but it is just as fun for women. Playing games with your girlfriends is a great way to get to know each other better, have some laughs, move around and meet new people. 

Setting and setup

This is a simple one, ladies: You don’t even have to clean the whole house. Just tidy up the yard and the bathroom, and you are bags-tournament ready. Don’t fret If you live in the city or don’t have a big yard. Simply scope out the green areas around, like a local park. Keep in mind, each bags game court needs to be 10 feet wide by a minimum of 45 feet long. Plan on having one bags set board game for every 4 people attending. Since a new bags set costs between $100 and $200, try to borrow some. Between you, your friends and their friends, you should be able to come up with enough sets to borrow. Or, perhaps you’re handy and you can build your own — then you can paint them pink!–download the instructions here.

To run the tournament, you will need to print out a cornhole bracket.  There are a couple of ways to do the brackets or tournament—double elimination and round robin—so take a look ahead of time to decide which way would be best for your group. Both methods are fairly simple. Be sure to post the tournament rules  and point scoring methods for everyone to see. It will make your guests feel more at ease knowing what to expect, especially those bags-challenged girlfriends.  

Invitations

Purchase some fall-themed cards at any party supply store and write something like this:

Good times are here!

 Bring a friend

 for some 

fun and good cheer

to our

bags and brew tournament!

The idea here is for everyone to bring a friend, so that you can all meet some new people.

If you are more of a computer girl, feel free to anyvite.  Afterwards, you can post pictures right online for everyone to share, extending the memories and fun. However you choose to invite, be sure to let everyone know in the invitation if they need to bring money to your event (see below).

 

Food and Drink

Food and drink can follow a festive Oktoberfest theme. For nibbles, try some soft pretzels with an assortment of mustards, sausage balls served warm,  a variety of breads with cheeses and candied almonds for the sweet tooth.  

The brews are best when served in glass mugs.  If you don’t have enough for everyone, these can easily be purchased at a restaurant supply store  or a local Target or Meijer for a decent price. If you are feeling crafty, decorate the plain glass mugs with glass painting pens to commemorate your Girlfriend Bags and Brew event. 

Here is a list of German Oktoberfest brews:  Spaten, Lowenbrau, Augustiner, Hofbrau, Paulaner, and Hacker-Pshorr. Try one or all. You may even want to consider a mini “beer tasting” to let your girlfriends sample them all.    

Connecting Activities

The tournament is the big event, so here we go: As the guests arrive, place everyone’s name in a cute pink hat. Draw two names for each team. If everyone brought a friend, there’s a good chance that players will be teamed up with someone new. As the teams move from court to court they will encounter new players and hopefully create some new friendships or connections. It is always easier to make new connections when everyone is in the same boat and not paired up with their best buddy.   

Decide ahead of time if you’d like your girlfriends to pony up $10-$15 to give to the winning team or to donate to charity.  Remember that October is National Breast Cancer AwarenessMonth. This would be a great way to donate to your local chapter; It always make a girl feel good to donate to a girlfriend-worthy cause.   

You probably won’t have time for other activities.  But, here are couple of options just in case:

1.  Have each team give a fellow team an award.  The giving team has to think of some reason that the receiving team deserves an award.  Here is a cute award for the pair. The giving team might say something like this in honor of the other team:  ”Apparently they were a great pair and deserve the ____ award.”  The teams will be creative and it will generate conversation on a positive note.

Team 1 gives award to team 6, team 6 gives award to team 2, team 2 gives award to team 5, team 5 gives award to team 1, etc.

2.  Have Oktoberfest hats available. If anyone uses the word “I” their team must wear hats. The team with no hats at the end of the tournament, are great team players and deserve an award.

If you are not playing for cash or you are donating your cash to charity, you might want to award your winning team with these Cornhole queen T-shirts. 

Party Favors

With fall in the air, send your guests home with taffy apples wrapped in pink cellophane and tied with girly ribbon. Yummy! These can be made ahead of time or bought at a local candy store. Or, let them keep their decorated beer mug. 

It’s not too late to grow that girlfriend circle.  Start planning your bags and brew party today.  Don’t forget to check back with http://girlfriendcelebrations.com for more party planning ideas.