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Who doesn’t love to invite family and friends around in the summer and enjoy some Outside gatherings? Of course, entertaining can be hard work, especially for the host, as they often end up spending more time in the kitchen than they do chatting to guests. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to make throwing a get together in the summer a little less hassle. Read on to find out what they are.
Decorate the easy way
If you think that you need to spend all of your time getting your home and garden to throw a successful party, you will be relieved to find out that you don’t. In fact, for summer parties people really don’t need to be inside at all apart from to use the WC, so that means you only have the garden to deal with.
Luckily, there are some speedy things you can do to your outdoor space to dress it up that won’t take up too much of your time. One of these is to string battery powered white lights in the trees and over the patio, and simple bunting can work well to enhance this as well.
You can also use empty containers and jam jars that have been washed out and fill them with a little water and some flowers for the garden, which is super quick and straightforward too. Something that can really make your space even prettier for your guests.
Set up a drinks table
Next, if you want your party to be as easy as possible, it’s a good idea to set up a drinks table where guest can help themselves then you don’t have to be on duty the whole day serving them!

The easiest way to do this is to use a long table and have non-alcoholic drinks at one end along with paper cups for the kids. Then you can add a cooler with beer and wine at the other end. You can even use disposable wine glasses to save on the washing up later on!
Fire up the grill
The easiest way to cater to the food needs of your guests is to use the grill at a summer party. After all, everyone loves BBQed food, and you only need one person to keep an eye on it. The key to an easy BBQ rather than a hard one, however, is not to do too many options. After all, each different type of meat your offer will need separate preparation and will take varying times to cook.

Instead, it can work a lot better if you choose one or two really tasty and popular grill favorites such as St Louis style spare ribs and homemade burgers. In fact, by doing this, your BBQ will be much easier to manage, and you can be sure that every guest will get a plate full of delicious food.
Of course, it is also a good idea to put on some side dishes as well such as macaroni salad, coleslaw, corn on the cob, and even some rice dishes like you will find in my post here. All of which can be created beforehand and so will save you loads of effort and time on the day of the celebration.
Put on some entertainment
When it comes to making summer parties as easy for the host as possible, it can be a fantastic idea to include some entertainment for everyone to get involved in. In fact, by providing this focus for your guest, you can be sure they are having fun and mixing with each other, without having to flit from one group to another all day!
In particular, using simple household objects like Dixie cups, chopsticks, marshmallows, and balloons to create some ‘minute to win it’ games can be a laugh riot! Just check out the video below for some inspiration.
Cleaning up
For many that entertain its not the preparation but the clear up that take the most time and effort. Happily, there are some statistics you can use to minimize this and get everything back to normal with the minimum of work.
One is to use disposable cups, plates, and cutlery, which can then be thrown away instead of collected and washed up. You can even get biodegradable versions now, so you won’t have to compromise your values concerning the environment to do so.
You can also make things super simple for yourself by providing plenty of trash bins and recycling that people can use during the party too. After all, if the containers are right there in front of them all marked up with what can and can’t go in, people are much more likely to use them. Something that means you will have a lot less work to do once everyone has had their fun and going home!