If you want to host friends and family for a fun and informal party, a backyard BBQ is a great idea. Hosting an outdoor party is a casual, relaxed way for friends to gather and lets the host enjoy the party without worrying about cleaning the house. Having great food, friends and fun outdoor party games will make your BBQ a success and have your friends clamouring for more invitations.
Having a BBQ is fun and easy. Simply decide on your date and call or email your guests with an invitation. Allow people to be their favourite BBQ side dishes and desserts to make it a fun, festive pot luck style BBQ.
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Food
Grilled chicken, burgers, hot dogs, vegetarian burgers and other options make grilling fun and easy and please all palettes. Offer all the toppings like onions, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, pickles, relish, lettuce, and other delicious options and everyone will be able to create a plate that pleases them.
Speaking of plates, be sure you have plenty of sturdy paper plates on hand. High quality paper plates will keep food in plates, not on laps and will prevent you from having to wash an abundance of dishes after the BBQ is over. Have plenty of plastic cups, forks, knifes and paper napkins too, and clean up will be minimal, and you can relax when the guests leave rather than clean your home and dishes. Provide recycling bins for cans and bottles and when the party is over, simply move the bins to the curb.
Outdoor Party Games
An outdoor BBQ is the perfect chance to play games and have fun. Volleyball, croquet, horseshoes and lawn bowling are easy to play and require little equipment and a soft surface like artificial grass. Party goers enjoy having an opportunity to be active and partner with other guests as a team in friendly competition against other guests and prizes could even be at stake. Offering small rewards like gift cards, party favours or other token and novelty gifts can be a fun way to inject some healthy competition into your party and give bragging rights to the winning team.
Improving Your Guests’ Comfort
When you are having a backyard BBQ, be sure to make your outdoor party space comfortable. Provide plenty of seating and table options for your guests as well as a centralised serving station where people can assemble plates and refill drinks. Have plenty of ice on hand and if you have children and pets in attendance, be sure you have options for them to enjoy as well.
Place citronella candles on table tops to help keep pests away and provide bug spray for guests to use if they wish.
Additionally, oil burning torches placed around the perimeter of your property can help provide a protective barrier that makes the yard comfortable for pets and playing children and adults enjoying party games. Place torches around seating areas to provide pest protection and additional lighting as the sun sets, and you can enjoy your BBQ well into the night.
If you don’t have many plants or flowers around your backyard, this can easily be fixed in just a few hours before your big party. All you need to do, is go to your local greenhouse or home improvement centre, and get a few flower plants or other types of plans that you want to feature at your home. Then, you need to pick up a few attractive looking pots, and simply plant the plastic pot into the larger, more attractive products that you purchased.
If you have an overall colour scheme for your party or your backyard in general, then try to pick flowers in those same colours. You should try to go overboard with flowers and plants, keep things simple but attractive looking you can usually accomplish this best with just a few different coloured arrangements.
Backyard Fire Pits
One of the most enjoyable features that you can have in your backyard that will provide you with years and years of great conversation, is to have a backyard fire pit. For some reason, sitting around the fire puts everyone into a trance like state and gets people talking and sharing stories. You can obviously take things to another level by melting marshmallows for campfire treats, or maybe even doing some Belgian desserts.
You might be lucky enough to have a permanent fire pit installed in your backyard, but even if you don’t, there are many simple options out there ranging from very basic fire pits to elaborate copper fire pits that can set you back several thousand pounds. If you’re going to have a fire at your backyard party, you should make sure to purchase dry firewood. Don’t just grab any wood sitting around your garage or backyard, because it might be wet and produce way too much smoke, or or it could produce strong smelling smoke that will leave your guests smelling like a bonfire.
Water Feature
One thing that can really add to the atmosphere and ambience of your backyard barbecue or backyard party is to have a water feature. It could be as elaborate as an actual road that runs through your backyard or as simple as a plug-in fountain that sits on your patio or even on your fence or wall. The sound of running water does a lot for the overall feel of your backyard.
Outdoor Sound System
If you have guests over frequently for parties in your backyard, then it’s probably a good idea to install an outdoor sound system or at the very least, invest in a quality stereo system that can fill your backyard with music when you need it to. Music will add a whole another element to your parties, and can instantly elevate everyone’s mood and overall experience. You can get a great outdoor sound system without having to break the bank, and after your first party with music, you’ll be glad that you made the investment.
So, Now You Know…
Throwing a BBQ party is fun and can help you enjoy the excitement of hosting a party without all the hassle of having a formal dinner party. When you are ready to have some friends over, consider hosting a BBQ. Letting your friends bring dishes and making things ahead, using paper and plastic utensils, planning fun games, ensuring pests are under control and lighting is taken care of will let you relax and enjoy the party as much as your guests.
Gather your guest list, send out your invitations, whip up some delicious salads and fire up the grill and get ready to have fun and host a successful BBQ party that will have your friends raving and asking when the next party is. When you host BBQ parties, your home will quickly become the most popular house in your circle of friends, and you will become known as the host with the most.
