Summer is here, and summer is the best time to host an outdoor party! It’s warm! The kids don’t have school in the morning! It stays light out until 8-9pm! It’s perfect for outdoor gatherings. Though barbecues are an American classic, they can get dull and predictable after a while. You can only have so many grilled hamburgers on paper plates, you know? Here are three outdoor party ideas to turn your summer hang-out into a summer soiree that’s an affair to remember!
String up the lights
Get out the Christmas box from your garage and start looping those twinkle lights all around your yard. It takes some up-front effort, but the effect is beautiful. It makes any outside party a real affair. People driving on your street will see the lights and wish they were hanging out with you. You could do a simple strand around your deck (like this picture from Pinterest). Or, you could give your party a more modern theme by making a geometric pattern with the lights like this party. It might take some more planning and effort, but the result is astonishing! Here’s another one from Pinterest (just for fun).
Set up a stage
You know when you’re at a summer hang-out and you’ve run out of things to talk about? You’ve covered you’re job, your kids, the weather, and there’s nothing left? All summer parties need some sort of entertainment, so why not set up a stage, a microphone, and ask your friends to entertain you? Everyone has a budding musician in his/or her friendship circle. Ask him or her to bring his guitar and serenade you! Have your friend who writes read one of his/her poems. Give toasts to guest and tell your family and friends how much you love them. A stage makes all of this possible, because it makes it a major event. There’s no need to rent a stage. Here are some great DIY ideas from Pinterest. This guy just propped up two doors from a local thrift store and put a microphone in front of it. This wedding backdrop is made of streamers (how affordable is that), and it would make a great stage backdrop! This stage from the Free People Blog is simply a big rug from the house pulled out on the patio. A great stage doesn’t have to be expensive, and if you have one, it will make your little summer party become the MAIN EVENT of the summer.
Make it formal
Ditch the lawn chairs, cut-off shorts, and ketchup and mustard. If you want your summer party to stand out, make it a formal affair. Now, it doesn’t need to be on the scale of the party in Sabrina–with tuxedos, sparkly gowns, and champagne. But instead of showing up to your party with chips and salsa, have your guest bring bottle of wine or a cheese plate. Have your friend break out her favorite summer dress out of the closet–you know, that one that’s too fancy to wear to the park, but not fancy enough to wear to a wedding. Why don’t the guys wear a fedora and a tie? Dressing up makes parties more special, and if you require your guest to do it, they might roll their eyes a bit at the beginning, and complain about the work involved in “cleaning up nice,” but later they will thank you, because you will be creating a magical summer affair. A great way to make sure your guests know that the party is going to be fancy is by sending an invitation. You can include the time, date, and location, but also the dress code (and maybe even the set list if your friends are planning on performing on that stage that you constructed).
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