10 Tips for Making Your Next Outdoor Gathering a Success
What takes an outdoor party from good to great? Is it the decor? Lawn games? Overflowing platters of delicious foods? The secret is that the best parties contain all these elements and more. Check out the following tips to learn how to plan a small or large event that your guests will love.
1. Plan Ahead
Preplanning can go a long way in ensuring your outdoor event goes off without a hitch. Create a guest list and consider each guest’s dietary restrictions to plan your shopping list. You can also consider the flow of the event from arrival to departure to help you decide factors like when to introduce certain games and when to serve the food.
Another tip for planning an outdoor event is to tell guests exactly what to expect. This can include telling them when you are serving dinner or any items you want them to bring. If your outdoor event is business-related, you can also tell attendees what to wear, such as sundresses or shorts.
2. Keep an Eye on the Weather
It’s no secret the weather can be unpredictable, especially in warmer months when sudden summer storms are common. If there’s a chance of rain in the forecast, consider renting a tent or canopy as part of your outdoor event planning to protect guests from the rain. Another option is to have a backup indoor location to move the party to if the weather changes quickly.
3. Get Plenty of Comfortable Seating
Have you ever been to a party of 25 people only to find there are five chairs available? Instead of playing musical chairs all night, plan to have a chair for every guest. If you need more chairs, you can rent or borrow them from friends and family. Another option is to place cushions or blankets around the event space for additional seating.
4. Light up the Night
The party doesn’t have to end just because the sun sets. Keep the party going by having plenty of lights around your outdoor space. Some examples of ambient light include string lights, lanterns or candles. If you need to use extension cords, keep them safe and out of sight using a wire cutter to cut wire hangers. Next, bend them into U-shapes so they look like croquet hoops. Arc the hangers over the cords and hammer them until they are flush with the ground.
5. Create a Food and Drink Menu
The food and drink menu is one of the most important aspects of any party. Planning multiple food options is one of the best ways to ensure everyone at your party has something to eat. You can include some outdoor gathering staples like chicken sausage and Italian sausage in their traditional form or try different flavors, such as Italian chicken sausage with cheese and garlic or mild Italian sausage.
Once you make your food menu, you should consider drinks. Make sure there is plenty of water, sodas and juices if children are attending. If it’s appropriate for your gathering, you can plan to have some alcoholic beverages. To make sure all of the drinks stay cool throughout the night, you’ll want to buy or make more ice than you think you’ll need. A good rule of thumb is to have between one and two pounds of ice per person.
6. Keep Everyone Engaged
While most of your guests will probably catch up among themselves, you should still include some games in your outdoor event plan. You can provide some summer party classics like cornhole and frisbee or get creative with a craft station, scavenger hunt or a game that matches the theme of your party or aligns with your business.
If it’s a hot day, you can set up some water-based activities for guests to cool off. These activities can include waterslides, blowing bubbles and running through sprinklers.
7. Keep Bugs at Bay
Warmer weather means more bugs, and offering bug protection allows your guests to sit back and enjoy your party without constantly swatting away pests. You can provide guests with bug repellent as they arrive or set up citronella candles or torches around the perimeter.
8. Find Some Tunes
Music is a great tool for creating your ideal party atmosphere. You have a couple of options for music, with the first being setting up a portable speaker to play a playlist you made for the party. Ideally, your playlist should last at least five hours to ensure guests don’t hear the same song too many times.
You can also hire a local band or musician to play live music. If your guests play instruments, you can encourage them to play or take turns playing for a fun way to show off their talents. Regardless of your music choice, make sure that the music is loud enough for guests to hear it without it being overpowering.
9. Keep It Clean
As guests enjoy the party and dig into the meal, their hands may become dirty. Instead of having them trek in and out of your house or building to wash their hands, set up handwashing stations or provide hand sanitizer for guests to use. These stations will allow your guests to keep their hands clean and prevent them from dirtying decor or furniture.
Adding handwashing stations is also a great idea if you use catering services. As your caterers set up the food and make any last-minute preparations, they’ll need to wash their hands as well, and having handwash stations ready will help everyone stay clean.
10. Have a Plan for Cleanup
You still have one more job on your checklist for your outdoor party when your last guest leaves — cleanup. Luckily, you can make cleanup a breeze by having an action plan before the party starts.
Start by having designated trash and recycling bins throughout your space. Encourage guests to properly dispose of their waste throughout the party, and empty these bins as needed. To speed up the process, you can also enlist family and friends or have volunteers help you clean up after the party.
Make Your Next Outdoor Event One to Remember With Premio Foods, Inc.
The sun is shining, your guests are having a great time talking and playing lawn games, and you can smell the Premio Foods sausage sizzling on the the grill — can your outdoor event get any better than this? With a wide selection of fresh sausage made from the finest ingredients, Premio Foods products are a staple for many outdoor gatherings. Excite your guests and their taste buds with hot, mild, sweet or Italian varieties, or give your party some international flair with sausage from our World Flavors selection.
Regardless of which of our many delicious sausages you choose from, they’re sure to elevate any outdoor event. Find a store that carries Premio Foods near you to experience how sausage should be!
