Outdoor Entertaining: 6 Ways To Up Your Hosting Game

Warmer temperatures makes everyone antsy to get outdoors. From picnics to barbecues, there are numerous ways to take advantage of the outdoors during this season. Instead of doing the usual, why not up your EQ (entertainment quotient) this year by entertaining outside of the typical backyard box. Here are a few fun ideas to get your started.

#1 Host a wine tasting

Invite each guest to bring their favorite wine and food pairing (prepared dish - enough to serve the group) and share fun facts about the wine. Encourage each person to share things like the region or origin, types of grapes used to press or create the wine and which foods are best paired with their particular wine selection.

#2 Host a couples tea

This can be quite interesting since tea is typically thought of as a thing we girls like to do. Create a menu that is not your typical tea sandwiches to include items such as hearty beef, pork or crab cake sliders and perhaps even include a nice draft beer to keep the boys happy. Of course you can also honor tradition by making sure you have cucumber with watercress sandwiches on the menu, but instead of the safe cream cheese with lemon/dill spread, try spicing it up by adding a touch of “heat” such as cayenne or jalapeño.

#3 Host family supper on the lake, park or beach

To make this extra special, make the gathering as close to what you would typically do at home. Plan a menu that transports well and does not require a lot of work once you arrive.

#4 Host a round-robin neighborhood barbecue

With so much negativity in the world, this is a perfect way to get to know your neighbors and connect in order to create a bond as a community. Put together a small host committee to help with planning.

#5 Host a backyard cooking lesson

Hire a chef to spend an evening providing cooking lessons for your guests. This can be a great way to inspire your guests, and perhaps even you, to get in the kitchen to explore new and innovative ways to prepare food. To make this event even more exciting, think about choosing a theme such as French, Italian, Mexican, Indian, etc.

#6 Host a movie night on the lawn

Plan your evening to include all the traditional movie foods. Make sure to schedule the movie late enough to take advantage of night fall, but not too late to avoid disturbing the neighbors.

Because life should be good! How good is that.....

Copyright Bonnie McDaniel, Farm Girl In The City™ 2017 All rights reserved

I'm Bonnie McDaniel of Farm Girl In the City™ a contributor for Patch, writing about gardening, cooking, flowers, good living, urban gardening and more!

Connect with me on social media on Twitter and Instagram for your daily dose of food and garden inspiration. You can also find me on Facebook, and check out my blog here. Stay tuned for the release of my new cookbook, the first of the Farm Girl In The City cookbook series, due out later this year!