Savvy Entertaining

As we head into the warm, wonderful days of summer, think about hosting an outdoor open house. Most people love to be outside in the fresh air and what better way to connect with family and friends than at an outdoor party!

Here are a few quick tips to make your outdoor celebration run more smoothly:

• Position ice-filled coolers, buckets or even large planters filled with small bottles of water and your choice of beverages in several locations. Make sure guests are always in easy reach of hydration.

• Fill a basket, sand-bucket or other fun container with outdoor necessities like bug-spray, sunscreen, and hand wipes.

• If you don’t have a lot of shade, bring out a basket of assorted  ball caps and wide-brimmed straw hats. You don’t want sunburned guests when you entertain.

• Have citronella candles and umbrellas at the ready to protect guests from an evening attack of mosquitoes or an unexpected downpour.

• If you don’t have outdoor speakers, bring out a CD player or radio. Make sure the music is loud enough for guests to enjoy, but not loud enough to disturb the neighbors.

• Make sure hot foods are hot and cold foods are cold. In the heat, it is very easy for food to spoil quickly. Put hot dishes in servers that can be warmed by sterno or votives or set on warmed bricks. Put cold foods on ice. Use dip chillers or create bowls of ice by placing water in a bowl to cover the bottom and freeze. Add more water, place a smaller bowl inside so water comes up sides and freeze. Once frozen, remove the ice bowl from the larger bowl. Use the smaller bowl inside of the ice bowl to serve. Make sure you place ice bowls over a pan or somewhere they can drip.  Or fill festive containers with ice and nestle your bowls inside, like the red wagon shown here.

•  Guests are generally good to clean up after themselves if you provide a place for it. Have garbage cans handy and have a dishpan or container to handle dirty utensils and dishes.

Invite some guests over this weekend, relax, enjoy and take the party outdoors! If you have any outdoor entertaining tips to share, I’d love to hear from you. Post a comment, subscribe to my newsletter or contact me directly.

Happy Entertaining!