Monday, July 15, 2013

Fun Outdoor Summer Entertaining Ideas


A giant umbrella shields party guests from the blazing afternoon sun, and hanging lanterns will illuminate the table come nightfall. Mix citronella candles with other colorful tea lights to keep away pests, and offer diners light cotton shawls to ward off a chill in the evening.

Perfect for serving your guests out doors. Has wheels, so you can roll it to your backdoor or BBQ, load it up and bring it over right to the table. Great to use as a drink cart or dessert cart. 
Eco-Friendly,  All Weather.   
Veranda Serving Island

Turn a section of your patio into a giant Scrabble game board that will delight your entire family. Build a 5-foot square wooden frame, and either fill it with concrete that you can score into 3 3/4-inch squares, and later paint with water-base concrete stains, or set with small ceramic tiles. Cut 100 3 1/4-inch square letter tiles from baseboard trim, add adhesive or hand-painted letters and scores, and seal with spray lacquer. Create your own racks for the letters and store all of the game pieces in a plastic bin or canvas bag.
Adorable outdoor wooden box with lid. Perfect place to store items that you don’t want to be out during your entertaining.  
Keep your utensils and dinnerware inside until use. 
Place a small cooler inside for a nicer, neater look. 
Also great to use to store kids toys, pet toys or planting supplies. 
Insect and rot resistant.

Everyone loves fruit salad. A fun and healthy dessert to serve at your summer gatherings. Everyone loves the classic watermelon carved bowl to serve your fruit salad in...but it’s not always the easiest thing to do. Here is a, easier, yet fun alternative - Pineapple Fruit Bowl. 

Slice a pineapple in half, carve out the fruit and there you have a nice way to serve your favorite juicy mixed fruits for your guests to enjoy.
Make 2 or 3 bowls if needed.

Great to display as a centerpiece near your drink table or drink cart.
Haymaker's Ginger Switchel
This ginger punch is flavored with lemon juice and sweetened with honey and molasses. 
Use the season's freshest berries to garnish.

Fresh Grape Soda
Make your own grape juice by pureeing and straining fresh grapes for this sweet and tangy sparkling drink.

Mint Tisane
There's nothing like the soothing digestive qualities of an herbal tea. Use fresh mint alone or in combination with lemon verbena. Once this tea has been sweetened and cooled, pour over ice and serve.


This is a fun way to present your side salads. 
Use different colored spoons or forks for a fun festive look. 
Great for the kids and keeping portion control.
Idea and photo: cdn.hostessblog.com
Not enough outdoor furniture for your guests?
Bring your inside furniture outside!
Our slip overs are great, they protect your furniture and give a new look to your décor. A fun way to change things up.
Most are machine washable and may be tumble dried.