Summer Garden Party Ideas: Easy Tips For Stress-Free Hosting

Good food, cold drinks, blue skies and sunshine (hopefully!) and your favourite people all in one place. What’s not to love about a summer garden party?

The problem? Too many hosts spend the entire day rushing around, cooking, topping up drinks, worrying whether everyone’s having a good time, and completely not enjoying their party. The secret to a great summer party isn’t doing more – it’s setting things up so that you as the host can actually relax and enjoy the party with your friends.

Here are my favourite ideas and tips for hosting an easy, memorable summer garden party – without the stress.

The Quick Plan

(For those short on time and energy!)

• For a big do, get the date in your guests’ diaries 3-4 months in advance; everyone is usually really busy over summer and you want to make sure people can attend – small do’s can be more spontaneous
• Decide whether you’re providing drinks, drinks and munchies, or drinks and a full-on BBQ/hog roast/other food
• Plan easy-to-make-ahead food and drinks (suggestions below); there’s nothing worse than being stuck in your kitchen cooking during your party
• Outsource – if you can afford it, get some outside help for the drinks and/or catering

For those wanting more ideas, details and tips – read on!

Summer Garden Party Decoration Inspiration

Summer garden parties are easy on the decorating – the garden is already doing most of it for you! Simply tidy the space, add a few comfortable seating area, and let nature do the rest.

A few simple touches make all the difference:

If you’re running into the evening, don’t forget lighting around paths and steps (especially for any trip hazards) as well as the seating area.

Fun Food & Drink For A Summer Garden Party

Avoid anything that means you’ll be slaving over a hot stove while everyone else is having fun – people come to your party to see and chat to you, their friend! Plan cleverly and get everything ready ahead of the first guests arriving.

Tasty Garden Party Food Ideas

Option #1 – Drinks & Nibbles

Perfect if people are coming for a relaxed afternoon:

• A simple table, with a nice tablecloth and some flowers or candles looks great.
• Add easy-to-source munchies e.g. bowls of crisps with dips (easily bought from the supermarket if, like me, you’re no chef), olives, cheese and crackers, small canopies/pastries.
• Make sure food is easy for guests to eat while stood up – if guests aren’t sitting to eat, you need to make sure the food is eatable with one hand and no cutlery, because their other hand will be holding a drink.
• Warn guests ahead of time that you’re only providing snacks, so they know to eat before coming.

Option #2 – BBQ

Perfect for birthdays and larger groups, providing a BBQ (or ‘braai’ as they’re known in South Africa and therefore in our household) is pretty simple as long as you’re organized.

As a South African, Corné is a pro BBQ-er! Here are his *5 Golden BBQ Tips*:

1. Don’t be impatient, wait for the coals to die down (or have the gas on lower) so that the heat is consistent. Giant flames usually result in sausages and burgers that are black on the outside and raw in the middle (and nobody wants that!).
2. Make the cold items (like salad, potato salad) ahead of time and store them in the fridge ready to go.
3. Remember your guests dietary requirements – have items like grilled halloumi and corn-on-the-cob for vegetarians, and vegan/gluten-free/dairy-free items for those guests who need them.
4. BBQ-ing can take a while, so have chips and dips and other small snacks (see ‘simple food’ suggestions above) for guests to nibble on while they wait for the main food.
5. Don’t forget some marshmallows, cookies, and skewers – everyone, including adults, love toasting marshmallows and making s’mores for dessert!

Option #3 – Let Someone Else Cook!

If you’re busy – or even if you’re not – outsourcing can be a great, stress-free option:

• Hog-roast – if I were hosting for 30+ people, I’d seriously consider hiring a hog roast company. It’s much less expensive than many people think, it provides a fun focal point of attention (everyone wants to check it out), and it means you actually get to enjoy your own party instead of disappearing into the kitchen. Most companies can bring the pig and spit, roast the hog in front of your guests, and provide everything you need including rolls, apple sauce and paper plates/cutlery. If you shop around this can be surprisingly affordable (we’ve also previously just hired the spit-roast & pig and cooked it ourselves, which was great fun with everyone chipping in with their best advice on our cooking efforts!!).
• Pizza van or other food truck.
• Greek buffet (also see our upcoming ‘Greek Gods and Goddesses’ food suggestions for a relatively easy, yet impressive and tasty, food spread you could get in – or even do yourself).
• Caterers – can provide everything from posh canapes to luxurious buffets to suit all tastes.

Delicious Drinks For A Summer Garden Party

Personally, as a Brit, I think you can’t beat a Pimms and lemonade for a summer party! How many drink options you want to offer are up to you. Here’s my personal summer party drinks bar:

🍹 Pimms
🍾 Prosecco
🍷 Rosé or white wine
🍓 Fruit punch (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
🍋 Summer cocktails (see our Pinterest account for delicious ideas)
💧 Plenty of iced water

Pimms should be ready-mixed and ready to drink – for our 10th wedding anniversary, when we were more skint and didn’t have posh jugs, we put the pimms in a new (i.e. clean!) water butt instead. It worked great as guests could just help themselves from the tap like a keg!

What to Wear

Informal or formal, it’s up to you and your tastes! You could have no dress code, or ask guests to dress in smart-casual summer wear.

Set The Mood Music

From mellow background tracks, to a full-on Ibiza set, you can pick a party vibe that suits your tastes. Whatever your preference, make sure to prepare your playlist the day before (or borrow someone else’s); don’t spend your party fiddling with Spotify!

Garden Party Extras

Depending on your guests and their interests (and level of playfulness) you could provide some garden activities:

• Garden games: it’s possible to hire or buy giant-sized chess boards & pieces, connect-4, or Jenga, which can be fun for guests to play (and helps them mingle and meet new people).
• Sports: setting up a badminton net and providing some racquets and shuttlecocks is very simple (easy to buy in shops such as Decathlon).
• Lawn games: other easy favourites include games such as boules, ten-pin bowling, croquet, archery… again, often easily bought in sports shops.
• Conversation games: if you’re having guests sit at random tables to eat, you could include a printed out list of fun ice-breaker questions on each table.

Keep the extras optional and light-hearted; no one likes being forced into organised games and getting sweaty under a broiling sun!

Hosting Timeline

• 1-3 months before: invite your guests; book caterers
• One week before: plan your menu if self-catering
• One day before: clear up your house & garden; prepare any foods that can keep ok; freeze fruit for drinks
• The morning of: prepare the rest of your foods (make sure to keep them appropriately chilled)
• Two hours before: get changed and get yourself a drink – you deserve it!
• One hour before: put out food and drink; put music on
• Guests arrive: stop tidying and enjoy yourself! We’d also light the BBQ at this point so it has time to get to the right temperature for cooking

The Biggest Summer Garden Party Mistakes

Avoid these schoolboy errors!

Our Top Tips For Your Summer Garden Party

We hope these tips and tricks were helpful for you – and we look forward to hearing all about your summer party successes in our Facebook community.

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