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summer garden party

Summer Entertaining: Party Pitfalls

Rachel Sherwood

Summer picnic plate

(Summer picnic plate)

Happy 4th of July! With all the celebrating and gathering of people this weekend there is much fun and food to be shared. Don’t let one of these most common summer party pitfalls ruin your day.

Congested Areas:

People tend to gather where there is food, beverage, or an activity. When these are put near each other people tend to settle in and not move making it hard to get around and access items. To keep people moving and mingling separate your food, beverage and activity areas.

Bugged by Bugs:

Don’t let the bugs control the party. Keep trashcans covered and away from main food and gathering areas. Put a half open can of soda pop away from the party to attract bugs to a different location. Also, provide a few cans of bug spray so guests can help themselves if needed.

Trashy Tables:

Make it easy for guests to help clean up by having covered trashcans that are easy to access. Also, double line cans with an extra bag making it easy for quick trash removal and extra protection if soothing gets too heavy or breaks.

Wasted or Spoiled Food:

No one likes tossing out “good food” but holing on the leftovers after an outdoor gathering is risky. You never know exactly how long it has been sitting out or what may have gotten into it making it a potential breeding ground for bacteria. To avoid potentially hazardous foods and wasting them serve items in small batches and refill, as needed keeping the food cool and clean. For safety keep food out of direct sunlight. As a general rule perishable food should not be left out for more than 2 hours; cold food should be kept below 40 degrees and hot food above 140 degrees out of the Temperature Danger Zone.

Too Much Sun:

The summer sun can be fun, but too much of a good thing can have your guests miserable. Make sure there is ample shade for guests to sit in, be creative with trees, tents, and umbrellas to fit your needs. If there is not much option for shade think about hosting the party earlier or later in the day to avoid mid-day heat. Provide a basket with sunscreen so guests can help themselves if needed. For really hot days make sure you also have plenty of regular water and maybe consider passing out a few paper fans.

summer garden party

(summer garden party)

Interested in more on Summer Party Success? Check out these articles.

Party Success

7 Secrets to Confident Dinner Party Success

Rachel Sherwood
  • Know your limits: When hosting a gathering start by knowing how much you can or want to take on. Your daily schedule, budget, amount of space available and cooking ability will all factor into this. Taking on too much is the downfall of so many. Being comfortable and confident is the first step to success.
  • Pick the right menu: The menu is more than just the tasty meal. It is the key to success. Plan a menu that highlights your skills – use recipes that you are confident with and choose things that can be done in advance.
  • Create a plan: Plan out the steps in as much detail as you need and space things out so that you don’t have to do everything at once. When you write down the plan of activities, you can easily see if you are overcommitting in an area. Now you can arrange to make it easier rather than stressing at the last minute, because you did not think about how much time it would actually take to make a particular item. You can also factor beverages, decorations and any little extras like music or favors into this plan as well if desired.
  • Prep in advance: This works in hand with picking the right menu, most items can be made in advance like soups, breads, some side dishes, sauces and desserts. Some items even get better if made in advance and others can even be frozen. Use this to your advantage. Cooking all day can be tiring and take the fun out of it, but little projects over a few days is manageable and fun.
  • Manage the dishes: When you prepare items in advance, it also helps, as you will have less dishes to clean up before your guests arrive. For me I always like to have my dishwasher empty so that once a dinner is finished plates easily get loaded in and washed as we enjoy the dessert. If you don’t have a dishwasher or you have too many dishes for one load designate a corner space in the kitchen or tub to stack dirty dishes in. That keeps everything together and out of the way to be handled later. I love those large cardboard tote boxes that are sold at grocery stores – they are inexpensive and if they get too dirty I can just recycle them after use.
  • Engage with guests: Once your guests arrive your advance preparation and wise menu choices should leave you plenty of time to welcome and engage with your guests. If this is not happening make a mental note for adjustment next time. Remember you invited people over so that you could be with them not spend the entire time cooking or cleaning.
  • Recap and repeat: Like with most things in life practice makes perfect. When the party is over take a moment to think about what really worked and went well and also make note of things that may not have worked as well as planned or things you would like to add or do differently next time. The more you entertain the easier and more confident and flawless your experience will be.

For more information on how to host the perfect stress-free parties contact Rachel today!

Pick up your copy of The Pretty Plate for more simple techniques and recipes, and learn about the five elements to make your everyday meals magnificent.

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