Planning For a Great Outdoor Dinner Party

Hosting an outdoor summer dinner party can be a relaxing, fun event, as long as you plan in advance to make it that way. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the mood for an elegant dinner party or a party that is welcoming to adults and children, the outdoors is the best place for a party in the summer months.  

To make certain you’re not going to be stressed out when it comes time to your party, you will want to take some steps in advance to make certain the party is fun for you as well as your guests.  Preparing cheese, fruit and relish trays or crudités is a great way to offer guests something to nibble on and something you can do a day in advance. If you want to serve warm dishes, these can also be prepared in advance and then heated up the day of the party. The only thing you should worry about that night is cooking up the meats you’ll be serving.

Take time to clean up your yard and arrange the furniture into intimate groupings for the party. If you have table umbrellas, make certain you remove the umbrella covers and air out the umbrellas before the party.

Also take time to clean the furniture a day or so in advance so it has time to dry before your guests arrive. The morning of the party all you will have to do outside is hang the decorations and put the place settings out.

Before your guests arrive you will want to fill the coolers with ice and beverages and arrange them in the party area. Also, check the furniture and yard to make sure it’s still party-ready. Don’t forget to get some garbage cans ready so your guests to toss garbage. Right before the guests come, add ice and beverages to coolers that you can have right outside in the party area.  

As soon as your guests arrive you can rest assured that everything other than the grilling has been taken care of and you can sit and relax and enjoy the festivities. Chances are you will have offers of help to clean up once dinner’s over – accept it – it will help you enjoy the party.