How to Throw a Great Backyard Party

Entertaining is a lot of fun when friends and relatives gather for a backyard party. To get the most enjoyment out of the occasion takes some planning and often recruiting others like drafting your husband or children to help with the extra chores involved. Here are some helpful ideas to throw a great  backyard party without all the stress in time for the fourth of July celebration.

Before you start working out your menu, think how many people you plan to invite. The reason you want to do this first is because you need enough seating and table space for your crowd. If you don’t have enough furniture to accommodate your guests, try borrowing, improvising using pieces from your home, or renting what you lack because everyone needs to be comfortable.

Consider what sort of outdoor lighting your backyard has when thinking how to begin planning. After all, you want your guests able to see each other and not rush home because it is too dark. What you can do is setting up some string lights that you can drape over a fence, a deck, a patio to a porch. To create an even more festive mood, try stringing up those outdoor multicolored lights that can twinkle that can cast a magical quality. Lanterns are another lighting solution.

Uninvited guests are pesky insects. Mosquitoes can spoil a perfect backyard party by placing you and your guests on their menu to landing in your food. To keep those bugs away, you have options like citronella candles, using natural repellents such as some potted marigolds, lavender, geraniums to herbs like rosemary to set up nearby or for table arrangements as well as sprays and zappers. Another suggestion is to pick up adjustable mosquito netting to drape over an outdoor umbrella, especially if planning for a small group.

Flying insects always have a talent for landing in food, especially in our drinks. A good way to safeguard your glass is serving guests a cupcake liner with a straw as well. Get the cupcake liner and poke a hole to insert the straw as a cover over the glass. If you do so, you can sip your soda, ice tea or lemonade in peace.

Some guests have children. Thus, you want to keep them entertained so the adults can talk. Make sure they have some fun things to do like a table with some board games, crafts to tossing horseshoes or setting up volleyball match to a sack race.

Food choices for your buffet are important. What I like to do is always serve one vegan dish as well as meats such as chicken, burgers, hot dogs, etc. Watermelons and fresh corn on the cob are in season and always make a refreshing addition to your buffet as well. A three-bean or green salad keeps much better than potato salad that could accidentally sit too long and develop bacteria. Then again, what is a party without chips, pretzels, cookies, cakes or pies. I also like to keep a cooler on a separate table stocked with cans of soda that guests can easily reach in.

Fourth of July is a national holiday to celebrate with family and friends. Most people get the day off from work, but not all. Some people are required to work that day and will be juggling schedules just to fit in a quick bite on their rush to where they work. Nevertheless, spending time regardless of how much with your family and fitting such fun celebrating such as this backyard party in your schedule is meaningful for family closeness and adding to the memories we later cherish.