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School is out and summer is on! From birthdays to family barbeques to friendly get-togethers, summer is a great season for getting together with family and friends. In order to keep all of the guests happy and to keep things running smoothly, I have five “rules” for stress-free summer entertaining.
Keep the kids happy. Do you remember being dragged off to a party when you were young and asking your parents if it was time to leave yet? Someone always loses in that situation. Make sure there are some things for kids to do. Get brown craft paper and let them color and make their own tablecloths. Or better still, use the area for kids bingo! Prizes don’t have to break the bank, they can be things like bubbles that also make for more fun activities.
Keep things cool. Have a reasonable selection of beverages on hand, as well as lots of ice. Entertaining in the summer means dealing with heat and humidity, which makes people even thirstier. You don’t want beverages getting warm on a hot day. We do have an ice maker but if we’re entertaining we also buy a bag of ice and keep that in the freezer as well. Also. Not everyone can handle lots of sunlight, heat or humidity. Be sure to have an area where people can seek refuge from those elements if they’re really uncomfortable, rather than have them leave.
Serve simple and good food. There’s no means to turn a simple summer party into an elaborate budget breaking endeavor. And there’s never a reason to be cheap. (And yes there is a difference between frugal and cheap.) It’s awkward to run out of food part way through a party. Serve food that you can afford to make plenty of, while being sure it’s food you can make well. For summer entertaining I stick with food we can grill that I know people enjoy. Burgers, sausages, dogs, corn, salads, etc.
Forget the dishes. Noone wants to spend days after a party washing dishes. At the same token, you don’t want to see your guests face drop when a cheapo paper plate gives way and their food falls onto the ground below. Be sure to stock up on decent quality paper plates.
And speaking of paper goods, don’t forget to stock up on the Charmin. The last thing you want to happen is to find that you have 20 guests and no toilet paper. You do not want to run out of toilet paper. I mean, there’s no good time for that, but you really don’t want it to happen while you’re entertaining. Remember I said don’t be cheap? That especially applies to toilet paper. Charmin is a family favorite in our house. You don’t want cheap stuff that hurts and literally does nothing more than clog your toilet. Noone wants a clogged toilet, not the host and especially not the guest that it happens to. Roto-Rooter is America’s largest provider of plumbing & drain services. Charmin is proud to be the only brand to carry the Roto-Rooter stamp of approval to be clog-free and septic-safe. Roto-Rooter plumbers recommend Charmin more than any other brand.
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We entertain a lot over the summer. Lucky for us, if we run out of food or something, we live right next to a grocery store 🙂
These are great tips. Simple food is the key. Summer entertaining is about fun, not gourmet meals.
We love to barbecue, and we always use paper plates and plastic cups and utensils. They’re recyclable, and they save a ton of time. Everybody wins!
We are entertaining a lot of family this summer. It is the first time any of our family is coming to visit us here. We are loading up on Charmin. I know that it is one of the things that goes quickly in the house.
My husband is a prepared kind of guy. Always! He can tell you right off the top of his head if we need toilet paper. He’s the oldest of six children and I often wonder if he was left stranded without TP at a critical moment. Ha! When entertaining we always have plenty of TP and we use disposable everything for quick clean-up.
Great tips!! I agree buying good sturdy paper plates is great along with silverware and cups!!!
Great tips. I always make sure to get the paper plates and plastic utensils too. I hate a sink full of dishes after entertaining!
These are great tips. I am having a BBQ on the weekend. I will have to remember these tips.
These are great summer entertaining tips. I always remember to stock up the bathroom with extra rolls of Charmin.
I always make sure to have extra chairs when we have a get together. It is important to make sure you have enough food for everyone as well.
We don’t do a lot of entertaining over the summer because we are so busy. I do always make sure to have enough toilet paper whenever we do though. There is nothing worse than running out!
Those tips will come in handy this summer. I hope to have some guests over for some cookouts!
Very helpful entertaining tips. In addition to the paper plates, we use paper cups and keep a Sharpie nearby so we can put our names on the cups. Otherwise people end up mixing their cups up and getting a new one.
Great tips! I always make sure we have enough chairs and drinks when we have company over!
Thanks for the tips! Summer is the perfect time to have others over, and preparation is key!!
Summer is the perfect time to do some entertaining! I plan on having a few barbecue parties!
My tips are use good plastic utensils only and keep garbage bags nearby.
We’ve been slacking and haven’t had anyone over all summer – I guess that’s one way to keep things smooth, but it sure isn’t as much fun!