Just How Many Bags Of Chips Did You Buy?

Most of us are already getting things ready for next Sunday....Super Bowl Sunday!  And if you're like me, the PARTY is probably even more important than the game itself!  Gotta get all the right snacks, the decorations, invite the "right" people, etc. 

But did you ever stop to think just how much we spend on that P-A-R-T-Y?

According to a new survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, conducted by BIGresearch, the average consumer is expected to spend $59.33 on game-related merchandise, apparel and snacks, up from $52.63 last year.  That's $60 EACH!!!  And that's probably just for people going to someone else's party...not the ones throwing the party themselves.  Total Super Bowl spending is expected to reach $10.1 billion.  Other cool stuff:

- Of the 171 million people who will watch the game, the most in the survey’s history, nearly 34.9 million are planning to throw their own party,  and another 61.2 million plan to attend a party-

- Of the millions of people planning to tune in on February 6th, 47% say the game itself is the most important part; 25.8% watch for the commercials, 19.5% enjoy getting together with friends, and 7.7% say the halftime performances are most important....especially if they'll have Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake back again...