Having people over and getting together for fun time’s sake is well and good on paper, but it can be an expensive venture especially if you’re the one playing the host. Any kind of party, indoor or outdoor, can be daunting to plan, especially if it’s your first time creating and hosting one by yourself. The budget is an issue too because entertaining involves at least food and music, and if you want it to look great, decors cost money too.
Fortunately, there are ways to get around this hurdle even if you don’t have a lot of dough. All you need are some planning and maybe a little DIY here and there to make your budget work.
Here are some tips on how to throw an effortless outdoor party.
Planning
The first step to planning any party is to know what kind you’ll be having. Is it a casual BBQ night with your friends? Watching the Super Bowl? Is it for the Fourth of July? Know what kind of bash you’ll be having and the number of people going so you can adjust your budget for food and decors accordingly.
String Lights
Make your outdoor party more intimate by using string lights. If you anticipate that your get-together will go on throughout the night, string lights are perfect for setting the ambience and providing extra illumination where your guests will be gathering and talking with each other. String lights are cheap in bulk, and it doesn’t take that much time to assemble them.
The great thing about them is that they can go with any party theme you have. You can wrap them around trees, put them up like garlands, and more. There are many ways you can put string lights up and as creatively as you want to.
Paper Fans
If you think that the summer weather will have your guests feel still overheated even with cooling drinks, make functional decorations like paper fans. They’re easy to make, and you can use good-quality cardstock paper to make them because they’re durable enough to fan air and decorative as well. If you’re looking for ways to put them up nicely in your party area, you can initially hang them up like decorations, and if anyone asks for something to fan themselves off, you can ask guests to take one.
Centerpiece Snacks
Having a limited budget may mean you have money for food but not enough for decorations, then why not use your party food instead? If you have multiple tables for your guests to sit on, you can liven each one up with a centerpiece made from the fare you have prepared for them. You can use vibrant fruits and veggies, which are healthy finger foods.
There are many ways to go about this. You can arrange cookies, bread sticks, and deviled eggs to look like edible centerpieces in various shapes like flowers or in geometrical patterns. You can display your food centerpieces in transparent glass bowls or on tiered cake stands, where the varying heights can help highlight your carefully prepared edible decors.
Themed Candle Holders
This works best if you have plenty of unused jars in your home, but if you can find good ones at a dollar store and if you have some budget, get multiple ones. If you have a themed party, you can paint jars according to respective colors.
You can even add bits of trinkets and decor as well and, of course, a tea light that you can light at night. If you have a problem with mosquitoes, it is a good idea to get citronella candles because they keep the pests away.
Paper Bunting
For those who don’t know but have probably seen them around, bunting are colorful little flags put together on a string. They can make any occasion festive and are usually either made out of paper, fabric, or even plastic. They make great last-minute decorations if you ever find yourself out of time as they can easily be seen at any party store. If you have time, but not a lot of budget, you can make your own bunting made out of paper.
Frozen Treats
Outdoor parties are usually held in the summer because it’s almost always sunny and everything is bright. If you’ll have kids in attendance, it is a good idea to prepare frozen treats in advance to help them cool off from their playtime. You can choose to buy store-bought ones or make your own healthy version made with real fruits.
For the adults, you can make another version with alcohol in it. Frozen cocktail treats are always popular among the 21-and-up crowd. These drinks are cooling and refreshing, and they offer a bit of that light buzz you c get with drinking wine and other cocktails.
Ask Help When You Need It
Like it or not, planning and throwing a party can be a handful. If you are a little low on supplies, budget, or manpower, it is not a bad idea to ask for help when you need it, especially from the same people who will be attending it. If you’re low on food, you can ask people to pitch in some food (like a potluck), you can even ask others to be assigned to coming up with a music playlist for the party, and so on.
What are your most favorite outdoor party ideas? Share your suggestions below.
Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/3skLpaOBlMw
Comments are closed.