Creating a paw-fect tailgate party is easy with our step-by-step instructions for making Friday night fun. And here's the best news: Animal Planet provides the entertainment! From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. E/P each week, TAIL-EVISION FRIDAY brings you exciting episodes of The Most Extreme, Meerkat Manor, Amazing Animal Videos, All-New Planet's Funniest Animals and more!

Get TAIL-EVISION FRIDAY started with these fun-filled recipes and games. Each recipe is an opportunity to have fun together. The games can be enjoyed while dinner is in the oven! Plus, the games don't require parts, pieces or assembly.

Start planning your Tailgate Party now! 

Recipes

Games

Go Fish!

Spread cream cheese in the middle of a big plate and color it with blue food coloring, so it resembles a pond. Place pretzel sticks in the pond for logs. Use pieces of parsley around the edge for bushes. Sprinkle fish crackers around the edge of the pond.

Ladybug Lasagna

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles

One bag of spinach

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 clove garlic, chopped

One jar of your favorite pasta sauce

One spoonful basil pesto (make your own or use pre-made)

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

Sauté the spinach with chopped garlic. Remove spinach and sauté sliced mushrooms in the same pan with a little butter or oil. Mix the egg into the ricotta cheese. Put a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of the pan. Add the first layer of noodles, and then spread a thin layer of ricotta, thin layer of pesto and layer of pasta sauce. Sprinkle over the cooked spinach and mushrooms. Add mozzarella cheese and the next layer of noodles. Keep building. On the very top, after all the layers are arranged, add a last layer of mozzarella cheese on a layer of noodles. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves and place them facedown on top of the cheese. The tomatoes are the ladybugs.

Next: Games

Animal Charades With a Twist

Each family member writes five animals down on five small pieces of paper. Fold each piece of paper and put in a bowl.

Round 1:

The oldest player goes first. The player chooses an animal from the bowl. He or she may make noises, use words (other than the name of the animal), and use body language to convey the animal to the rest of the family. Family members can guess for one minute. Whoever guesses the animal correctly goes next. Play until there are no more animals in the bowl.

Round 2:

Put all the animals back in the bowl. The winner from the last round goes first. He or she chooses an animal from the bowl, but can only use one word or sound and unlimited body language to convey the animal to the rest of the family. Family members can guess for one minute. Whoever guesses the animal correctly goes next. Play until there are no more animals in the bowl.

Round 3:

Put all the animals back in the bowl. The winner from the last round goes first. He or she can only use body language to convey the animal to the rest of the family. Family members can guess for one minute. Whoever guesses the animal correctly goes next. Play until there are no more animals in the bowl.

Blindfolded Animal Artists

Each family member writes five animals down on five small pieces of paper. Fold each piece of paper and put in a bowl. Break into two teams.

Round 1:

Both teams compete to see who can guess the animal their teammate is drawing. The youngest player on each team gets to be the artist first. Only the artists look at the paper before the timer starts. The artists draw for their teams until someone guesses the animal correctly. The team that guesses that animal first gets a point.

Round 2:

Put all the animals back in the bowl. Unlike Round 1, the artists must be blindfolded when drawing the animals for this round. The artists blindly draw for their teams until someone guesses the animal correctly. The team that guesses the animal first gets a point.

The team with the most points wins.