PREPARE FOR THE CLIMATE
Prepare for your guests by creating a cozy atmosphere while providing plenty of shade. If your party is in the evening, its a great idea to decorate with mood enhancing lighting. I’ve recently seen a beautiful collection at ESC.
Unfortunately being outdoors also means you're possibly sharing space with mosquitos. Pick up citronella candles or bug wipes to help keep pests away.
THEME
Having a theme makes it easier to plan decor, food and drinks. It also adds character to your party. Whether it’s a color pallet, national holiday or venue (garden/pool/boat), a theme helps guests to plan and sets the tone for your soirée.
BAR
Plan to set up a bar area with an arrangement of beverages including water and soft drinks. Using a drink dispenser makes is very quick and easy to serve a speciality welcome drink. The general rule is to plan for 2 drinks per person for the first hour and 1 drink each hour after.
If your soiree is outdoors, another cool idea is to fill a beverage tub with frozen water balloons or ice and a selection of drinks.
Tip- Skip the work and let someone else make the cocktails! Salty Lime and The Blind Pig Cocktail are a few great options.
FOOD
Summer parties are usually casual and fun. In my experience friends often want to help so this is great area to delegate.
As guests arrive have a few nibbles ready to offer. A charcuterie board is my go-to favourite. Most grocery stores will create a fruit and cheese platter for you if you give them enough notice.
For the main course a food bar is a fun and low stress idea. Set up the stations and guests can serve themselves while creating their own meal.
Hey, if you really want to sit back and relax hire a chef (we can recommend one) or have your food catered.
MUSIC
Set the mood with music - pick up bluetooth speakers and position around your party. Be sure to give them a test run before hand (I learnt this the hard way…)! We also like to have a guitar around incase someone wants to start strumming some tunes (ahem, my husband).
KID ACTIVITIES
If you really want to kick back and relax, set up fun activities for the kids. A few ideas are; bubble machines, sprinklers, a fun castle and games. You can also give older kids polaroid cameras and let them be your official photographers for the party. Companies like Party Animals also rent out life size games like jenga, chess and connect four.
RELAX
Summer parties are really about having fun. Theres NO stress in summer entertaining. Let go of perfection and enjoy the day. x
If you need advice or suggestions feel free to reach out to us at hello@luckystar.bm. We're happy to help!