How to Host Your Own Guac Bowl

You know, Guac Bowl isn’t just for my friends – it’s for everyone. And one of my goals for this website is to share the wonders of Guac Bowl with the world so others can host their own local competitions. My humble dream is that someday – maybe three or four years from now – EVERY HOME IN AMERICA will be hosting its own Guac Bowl.

“But Adam,” I hear you saying, “that’s simply not a good idea. If every home in America hosts a Guac Bowl, everyone will be home instead of attending each other’s parties.” Good point, close reader. So realistically, we should aim for about one out of every twenty or thirty homes in America hosting a Guac Bowl. Agreed? Good.

So how do you host your own Guac Bowl? It’s simple. Just invite a bunch of friends over on Superbowl Sunday. In the invitation, tell them it’s a guacamole competition, and explain the categories. (This is important – if you don’t explain that there’s an award for Best Presentation, for example, you’ll just get a bunch of guacs in Tupperware.) Feel free to make up your own categories, or use the time-tested ones I’ve created.

I’ve always found using Evite, or a similar community RSVP program, is a good idea, so people can reply with clever comments and talk smack about how they’re going to win. Feel free to put a link to this site in the invitation so they can see photos of interesting guacs, and get ideas for theirs.

At the party itself, make sure to assign every guac a number, for easy voting. I like to write the numbers on those little round colored stickers you see at garage sales. I assign the Traditional guacs one color, and the Alternative guacs another color, so people know what category to vote for them in. Make a simple ballot (or download_this.pdf) and print out more than the number of people you expect to show up, since everyone is a judge. Next, cut a hole on the top of a shoebox and voila! You got yourself a ballot box.

As far as awards, you can buy trophies at your local trophy store, or some simple ribbons at a party store, or even make homemade medals. For example, last year, my friends Josh and Alie hosted the First Ever East Coast Guac Bowl in Connecticut, and they made these super-cute ribbons.

One important note: Don’t forget that some peculiar folks may actually want to watch the Superbowl, so make sure you have a good TV and lots of seating. And if you start the party an hour or two before the game, it gives the sports fans a chance to try all the guacs and vote before settling in. I like to hold the trophy presentation at halftime, so non-game watchers can slink out.

Finally, after it’s all over, don’t forget to share your experiences and photos here at guacbowl.com!

Guac and roll.