Hosting a Spring Party?
With the weather looking to improve over the coming months and two years of summer lockdowns and restirctions, you might be looking towards socialising and hosting a great summer party. Here are our tips for throwing an unforgettable garden party.
Pick a theme
Choosing a theme can be as simple as picking a regional cuisine to serve, it doesn’t have to involve decorations, music or anything else! In fact, choosing the type of food you’ll serve will make it much easier to narrow down the recipes to serve. If you’re going all out with your summer party, you can utilise the colours of the theme nation’s flag in other details such as the invites, flowers, napkins, and table decorations. In fact, when it comes to having a theme you only need pick one small element, and repeat it a few times. Just a hint of a theme and bags of fairy lights is enough to create an incredible atmosphere!
Food and drink
Although the décor is important, what really makes your party a memorable success is the food and drink.
First, think about the drinks you’d like to serve. You could prepare some summer cocktails or a punch along with the usual choices of wine and beer for when your guests first arrive. With a rise in popularity of craft gin, you could even consider creating a gin bar! Don’t forget guests who won’t want to drink alcohol and give plenty of choice including non-alcoholic cocktails.
You don’t want to have to cook anything once your guests arrive so select items you can make ahead and serve chilled or at room temperature, such as poached salmon over asparagus, pasta salad, barbecue chicken, or chicken served on greens. If you’ve decided on a regional theme, take a look online for some recipe ideas that can be prepared ahead.
As well as the main event, think about what people might like later on when dinner is long finished and you’re expecting the crowd to stay late. This can be something simple to cook such as pizza or oven canapes. Alternatively, you could contact a local takeaway and order in late night snacks such as fish and chips, pizza, pakora…after all, you might want to finally relax and enjoy time with your guests rather than spend time cooking again.
Lighting
The great thing about hosting a summer party is that it will stay naturally light until fairly late, so choose some pretty lighting to put up in the garden such as fairy lights and string lights which will look stunning once the sun has gone down. You can also look at outdoor bistro-style lights which can easily attach to your home’s exterior or fencing. However, make sure you have enough lighting so that your guests can see what they are eating and drinking!
Decorate your food table
Choose a menu that can be prepared in advance, and lay it out on a table decorated with bouquets of flowers, plants or vintage jars and containers. See what you already have in the home such as glass vases, glass ornaments, china plates and serving platter to create a chic, mismatched look.
Instead of buying expensive bouquets or flowers, look in your own garden or local fields for wildflowers, greenery and sculptural branches, or use locally sourced foliage to create a greenery table runner.
A parting gift
A nice final touch is to send the guests away with leftovers or even a slice of summer cake or pudding, prepackaged and labeled in takeout containers, a nice bottle of wine or even flowers.
Throwing a great party is about keeping guests entertained and with a plentiful supply of delicious food and drink. If you can achieve that, then you’ll have a great summer party!
Clyde Property is a leading independent, multiple award-winning estate and letting agent with more than 30 years’ experience in selling and letting property in Scotland. Just call your local Clyde Property branch today for friendly, impartial advice on finding your next dream home.
