With Memorial Day looming, the unofficial start to summer is upon us. Throwing a backyard party is a great way to enjoy the season’s great weather with family and friends. Make your next backyard bash a super fun and fabulous event with these tips and tricks!
Prepare, prepare, prepare
The key to a stress-less party is to prepare as much as you can in advance. Set up your furniture arrangements, lighting/lanterns, set aside your serving dishes and put together your table decorations the day before. Also take the time to prepare foods like salads (save the dressing for the day-of!), marinate meat or shape burger patties if needed (or buy premade burgers) the night before. This will make your day-of prep swifter.
Keep Your Menu Simple
While your menu options are endless: whether traditional with burgers, hot dogs, or barbeque to something slightly unconventional like pizza, make sure whatever you decide to serve can withstand being outside for a few hours. You can keep more temperature sensitive foods (like potato salad with mayonnaise) inside.
Don’t think you must DIY the entire menu either! You can supply the main dishes and supplement them with store-bought items to take the stress of preparation off your shoulders.
Set the Mood with Music
What’s a party without music? Create a playlist that is filled with classics that are popular with your group (and be sure they’re family-friendly songs) and mixed in with upbeat and newer tunes as well. If you’re creating your own personal playlist, plan on creating one that will last about five hours since most parties don’t usually last longer; but if yours does, by then, most people won’t notice if it restarts.
A wireless speaker or iPod dock is usually enough to fill your backyard with music.
Keep Guests Mingling and Entertained
Set up your yard so guests can easily mingle and walk around without feeling the need to stick to the dining tables. Grouping chairs in different areas around your yard is a great way to get people to move around.
If you have kids attending, consider setting up some fun backyard games, like a giant Jenga set or cornhole, available for them and adults to play. A good rule of thumb to follow when deciding what types of games to play is: if you can play while holding a drink, it’s probably a great game for a backyard party.
With these tips on music, food, and party prep tips, you’ll be able to host a laid-back but fun backyard party this summer.