How to Host a Stress-Free Summer Cook-Out!

Happy Monday y'all! Hope you had a great weekend. Ours was fun but pretty busy! Saturday, I met up with a friend for lunch that I haven't seen in FOREVER then Steven and I went out for date night that night. We did a lot around the house, ran a bunch of errands then on Sunday afternoon we had my parents over to cook-out!

One thing that we really missed when we were living in Boston was having a back patio where we could grill out and just enjoy being outdoors. We live in a townhouse right now so our patio is relatively small but we still really enjoy it and we also have a nice space indoors as an option for "overflow" if we're having a bigger gathering. While we're definitely not the BEST hosts we've definitely gotten better and have picked up some tips & tricks that I wanted to share in today's post!

1.) Prepare a menu but keep it simple! I find it easiest to narrow the "menu" down to an easy protein to throw on the grill (chicken, burgers, kabobs, etc.) and then pick 2-3 sides. I'll typically ask guests to bring one thing with them so that we have all of our bases covered! Yesterday since it was just the 4 of us, we did burgers, corn, pasta salad, and strawberry pie.
2.) Grab a few "pre-prepared" appetizers from the store. I always love to get the cheese/meat/cracker platters that are basically all cut up and ready to go to serve as an appetizer! I also love buying the veggie or fruit platters. This is just one less thing to worry about cooking especially if you're hosting a bigger gathering.
3.) Make a signature drink! I think it's fun to make one big drink (yesterday we did strawberry margaritas) and put it in a couple of pitchers instead of buying tons of liquor options. We also always have wine and beer on hand as an alternative.
4.) Have games out and available. I'm one that likes just sitting around with a drink and chatting but some people love to have activities! Cornhole is always a great outdoor option and you can buy relatively cheap sets at places like Dick's or Modell's. I'm sure you can also get them on Amazon! It's also nice to have card games or board games available too. Games are really great if you are hosting a party where a lot of the guests don't know each other. Great ice-breaker!
5.) Get some cute paper cups/paper plates and put out some fun napkins. This makes your party more decorative without actually decorating.We just used our normal plate-ware last night since it was just 4 of us but using paper plates and cups when you are having a bigger party makes clean-up much easier. Instead of just getting red solo cups, head to Party City or Target and get ones with a cute design for easy "decor." Last night, I put out the adorable tropical napkins you see in pictures above that we got as a wedding gift. I've been waiting to break them out again for a while!
6.) If you live in an area where mosquitoes are rampant, buy and light a few citronella candles. They add a nice ambiance but they also help to keep the mosquitoes away. Unfortunately, we have a TON in our backyard!

Hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful! We're pretty low-maintenance and don't have a ton of parties so some of these hosting "hacks" have been really helpful for us whenever we do have a little gathering.