The first sign of fall around this house is my hubby's fantasy football draft! He is in a few leagues, but for the last couple of years he has hosted at least one of the drafts at our house.

While some wives might find these events annoying, I've embraced it as an opportunity to throw a party! At first it was mostly for the blog, but the guys seem to enjoy the pop and circumstance! Last year, the theme was "Never Draft Drunk" and the year before was all about the football snacks! Since the last two years, I did more of the traditional green football field vibe, I thought it would be fun to switch things up a bit with a vintage spin. And, because I love a good slogan, this year's theme was "Eat. Sleep. Fantasy Football."

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To help bring my vision to life, I turned to my friend Christina at Sunshine Tulip Design. She designed some amazing printable items that were perfect to incorporate to the draft decor.

First, I decorated our mantel! It's not my first go at a football mantel, but it looks a lot prettier this time around with the shiplap wall we put in!

I started with some peg board as a backdrop, inspired by Our Handcrafted Life's vintage football party, and added some white vinyl to give it the look of a giant football.

Next, I layered on a chalkboard I picked up on mega clearance (under $3) at Hobby Lobby recently with a football play that I drew on with a chalk marker. I framed a fun sign from Sunshine Tulip Design, and added a free vintage football patent to a Dollar Tree clipboard. You can find all kinds of vintage patents available for free on Google's Patent database. You'll see them sprinkled throughout the decor for this event!

I also added a mix of vintage items like old football photographs I found online, a thrift store football, and a whisky jug. I also used some trophies I picked up at an antique shop a few years back. You might remember them from my Kentucky Derby party decor or last year's tailgate fun! I love when you can reuse items in new ways.

It was all topped off with an adorable banner designed by Sunshine Tulip Design!

With the draft occurring on a weeknight (after work), we kept the menu and the setup simple! Soaking up the summer nights is a priority here in Minnesota, so the deck was the perfect place to set things up.

Kraft paper made the perfect table runner for the vintage vibe and is easy to clean-up! I added various plays drawn out on it for a little extra detail.

The menu was simple: stadium brats, backfield baked beans, cornerback chips, and home turf artichoke jalapeño dip (one of my favorite Costco finds).

To add some fun decorative elements, I framed some additional vintage football themed patents and sprinkled in signs from Sunshine Tulip Design. Christina also designed a poster-sized image with the night's theme.

A weeknight draft after getting back from vacation also didn't leave a ton of time for DIYs, so I kept it simple here, too. I grabbed a brown basket from the dollar store and also added white vinyl to that to appear like a football. It was the perfect place to serve up the individual bags of chips. Not pictured are the several other bags of chips the guys brought over! Gotta love one of the guys who got fancy by bringing fruit and veggies!

It was another successful year! Here's to kicking off another season of football fun and food!

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Last minute party planning? Order similar items to re-create this look from Amazon below or click here to check out some of my other football and tailgate party favorites!