Outdoor Party Ideas

Summer might be half over, but I think today is definitely the nicest day we’ve had yet! Just beautiful! All this sunshine reminded me that we wanted to start having a weekly sunday BBQ gathering for our friends so I put together a list of  20 great ways to spice up your picnic or outdoor party this summer.

1. Set up tiki torches to add ambiance.
2. Put out the Christmas lights!  Adding them around a fence or a tree can add some fun to the outdoor party
3. Hold down the tablecloth by using tablecloth weights – they come in all different shapes and sizes!  Ants, ladybugs, watermelons, stars, etc.  Or, if you want to make you own weights, use some unused keys to to weigh down the corners of your tablecloth.
4. Have some music playing outside.  Outdoor speakers are great, but it you do not have that set up there are a lot of great alternatives.
5. Have markers set out for guests to write their names on their plastic cups.  Have more fun with that by encouraging people to use fake names, then try to match the fake name to the person.
6. A fun game to play is freeze large t-shirts in blocks of ice, the first person to get the t-shirt out of the ice and put it on wins.
7. Put a sticker on the bottom of some plates prior to the entree then during dinner have everyone check their plates for the sticker.  The guests who have the stickers win!
8. Hula Hoop anyone?  Have a hula hoop contest and see who can keep it going the longest.  Once you get down the pro’s make it more challenging by standing on one foot, going down to the ground, turning around, put their hands down at their sides, etc.  That should definitely eliminate some more and get you down to the winner.
9. Have a set up for a bean-bag toss and/or horseshoes.
10. Don’t forget the kids – water balloons are a great hit!
11. Buy cans of silly string and let the kids have a silly string war!
12. Keep the party rollin’ by keeping the games going!  Some kickball for the kids?
13.  Have a little sidewalk-drawing contest for the kids.  Prizes can be picked up from the Dollar Store, where you can get the chalk as well.
14. Want to add more to the party, how about making it a white elephant party.  This does not cost any extra money for any of your guests, all they have to do gift something from their own home they do not want.  Usually this is something pretty obnoxious or just funny.  Then you can do a gift exchange!
15. Grilling some chicken?  Don’t forget to marinate it in Glad® freezer bags for several hours before grilling.  The chicken will be nice and tender, and have a great flavor.
16. Get rid of those flies on the food tables by placing mini batter-operated fans on them.
17. Grill your corn on the cob with the husks on.  Pull back the husks and remove all the silk.  Place 1 T butter, salt and pepper on the corn. Fold up the husks and wrap in foil. Cook on the grill for 30 minutes turning occasionally.
18. For grilling meat, turn only once.  For steak, place them at room temperature on the grill and close the lid. Watch closely to avoid flare-ups and turn when the sides start to turn gray and the bottom side has good grill marks on it. Flip and close the lid again. Continue to watch for flare-ups. When the sides are gray all the way through and the second side has good grill marks check for doneness. When your steak is done do not serve it right away. Let the steak “rest” for about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness.
19. To avoid grill flare-ups make sure you have a spray bottle handy to give them a quick spray.
20. If you are using sauces made of honey, brown sugar or molasses, be sure to wait until the last 10 minutes of grilling to prevent your sauce from burning.

Thank you to Chef McCargo Jr. for some of the tips above!