The cold, wet and dark of winter has disappeared and the warmth and sunshine of summer is upon us!
What better reason do you need then than to throw a garden party? Brits absolutely love garden gatherings, and spend collectively millions on barbecuing each year.
As much as we love to play host, doing so can be a stressful experience if you do not put in some planning and preparation time.
So, if you are thinking about getting friends and relatives over to enjoy the sunnier climes over the coming months then here are some handy tips to make things go as smoothly as possible.
Make sure you have enough tables and chairs
If you are having a particularly large garden party, then having enough chairs for your guests to sit on can sometimes prove problematic.
But you can use re-sale sites such as eBay or Gumtree to pick up some outdoor furniture bargains and make sure everyone has a comfortable experience.
Tables too are important. You will need tables where guests can place their drinks and also where you lay out food and plates. In essence, don’t skimp on the furniture!
DIY bars and food
When playing host, it can be pretty frustrating if you are running here, there, and everywhere sorting food and drink for your guests.
You can alleviate these issues and have more time for mingling by having a separate area for food and drink where guests can help themselves.
If you are having a BBQ, maybe think about getting the grill firing and the food cooking prior to their arrival to allow more time for socialising and ensuring hungry guests don’t have to wait too long to eat. Of course, you could just put out finger foods and buffets to make things even easier.
And it makes total sense to set up an outdoor bar area of sorts, where guests can go and help themselves to drinks and make sure you aren’t having to pour them and eat into your social time.
Decorate, decorate, decorate
You will want to think of a colour theme and have plenty of decorations up around the garden to wow guests.
It does not have to break the bank either, you can find discount bunting, fairy lights and other decorative bits on resale sites or social media markets.
If you really fancy it, why not host movies in the garden with a nice viewing station? If you need electricity outside, consider purchasing a generator. Having power outside also means you can light up the sky in the evening with hanging fairy lights.
Prepare for bad weather
Alas, even the most optimistic weather forecasts can go wildly wrong in British summertime, where one second it can be a heatwave and the next torrential rain!
Prepare for such eventualities by ensuring you have a marquee or gazebo up so guests can be sheltered when downpours occur.
You might also want to think about having blankets for when the evening arrives, and the cooler temperatures leave guests feeling a little chilly.