My parents used to do the Monday nights, which stuck me eating with them while they watched. It was just regular dinner, though, and served on the game table in the den, which is easier to set than trays. When we were young, however, we were allowed to take our dinners on TV trays, so long as we didn't fight over what to watch, leaving the adults to converse in peace, but still regular dinner. Whereby, I can attest that any dinner that can be dished up can work. What doesn't, obviously, are the interactive dinners, like taco bar or curry with fixings. So, I think a lot has to do with geography. Our den was next to the breakfast room, which was sort of partly part of the kitchen. It's a lot different, I'd think, carrying trays down a hall, around the corner.

In my house, there's a little TV in the kitchen, where 2, or a cozy 3-4 can sit, but really, meals are eaten at the dining room table. There's no good place to watch a full sized TV and eat. Even snacks are awkward. I think if we really wanted to do better than the kitchen, we'd have to set up a TV in the dining room. ;) I think I'd still go for regular dinner..

I occasionally take my food on a tray to watch something special. The food that seems to work best isn’t soup-ish or something, like tacos, that fall apart easily and make a mess.

Last night we watched the Chargers and 49ers on the kitchen TV while enjoying BLT’s and Ina G’s Winter Minestrone. We’ll also watch in the family room but the kitchen table’s easier.

My husband eats in front of a tv every night, so it wouldn't matter.

I guess I don't understand the question. Why would what you eat be any different watching football or watching anything else? Unless I am entertaining more than a single person and it's not the middle of summer, dinner (and most all other meals) is served at my coffee table. The table is 48" square, so quite large and is the activity hub of my small house. Everything happens there.......puzzling, writing, streaming, TV =watching, Internet surfing, dining :-) What I eat is anything that strikes my fancy or I feel ambitious enough to prepare.

If I want to watch a night game, I eat dinner before the game and maybe drink a few beers during the game.

We only plan food to eat during the noon and 3:30 CT games when a Chiefs watch party is planned. Foods vary widely from just sandwiches to ribs, brisket, wings, chili, tacos, burgers, brats, etc. Occasionally we might do something more ambitious like cheesesteaks or fajitas if there is a big crowd expected and we get out the Blackstone griddle.

hot wings, chili, homemade pizza ... comfort food all the way

I asked because most of our meals are at the dining room table, and I'm not comfortable eating with food on a paper plate or even a TV tray for the most part! I don't have a huge coffee table, or a game table in the den. Ours is a 1914 house that's almost like a shotgun, very separate rooms! It's either the dining room or TV trays.

Aha! Okay, here's how I'd do it, if bringing a TV into the dining room doesn't work: First, set up the TV room for the purpose. Perhaps that means moving the coffee table out of the way. Put a spare tray table, if you have one, next to where you'll be seated but out of the way. You can put things like S&P, condiments, pitchers, and maybe even a serving dish there. Things that don't fit on the tray you're eating from. Next, bring in proper eating height and firmness chairs. It's two of you, right? If there are youngsters involved, they can sit wherever, but it'll feel better for you, I think, if you have a proper chair to sit in, rather than the sofa. Just a couple of card chairs in front of the sofa could work.

Consider what the best mode of transport may be. It might not be carrying TV trays from the kitchen. Maybe you can "set the table" in the TV room on the trays, but use a serving tray that you feel secure with for carrying the plates of food. Also, consider some game day decorations to make the dinner space feel intentional, rather than like indoor tailgating on a blustery day, where everything is a bother.

Lastly, you mentioned paper plates. I'm assuming it's because china seems wrong on a TV tray. When we were kids escaping the adult conversations, we had regular kitchen dishes on our TV trays, with placemats, napkins, and glasses. That might not work well in your home, or it feels precarious. If so, why not treat yourself to some openstock Corelle? Or go kitsch and get some melamine football plates to cute things up? Whatever you'll feel comfortable with under the circumstances. Or, if you need it to be "real" and "pretty", you could get a couple of Polish Pottery C.A. stoneware plates, which I think are at least as durable as Corelle.

I'm thinking that if you can make the eat with the TV situation comfortable, it won't matter what you decide to make for dinner. :)

We just use the pause feature and eat our usual meal at the table. Then we use the banked time to fast forward through those inane and repetitious commercials while watching the game. :D