How to Prepare When Hosting a Backyard Party at Home
Hosting a party at your home is an ideal way to bring everyone together while saving money. All of your friends and family can come together and feel comfortable being in a familiar place. When throwing a party at your home, there are different things that you must prepare for when planning an outdoor party and an inside party.
A backyard party is a great way to keep the mess out of your home. It’s less stressful for you as the host, and you might even have a bit more room for people to move around in. However, a backyard party means that you’ll need to plan for a few things that you wouldn’t have to plan for if it were inside.
Before you begin to invite everyone over, be sure that you prepare well. If you’re wanting to throw the best backyard party possible, then you’ll want to continue reading below. Here’s everything you need to know about hosting a party outdoors!
Provide Enough Seating
Determine how many guests you’re wanting to invite and then ensure that you provide enough seating. Your guests are coming to your party to hang out and relax. If there aren’t enough seats for everyone, things can get uncomfortable fast.
You’ll want to have enough seating for eating and for hanging out. With that being said, you want to have enough table tops and table space for everyone to eat at as well. One great idea is to take some of your kitchen furniture and place it outside for the party.
You can also use cheap plastic fold-up chairs as well. If need be, consider renting outdoor furniture for the day.
Ensure There’s Optimal Lighting
If your party runs later into the evening, then you’ll want to have enough lighting for your guests. If there isn’t good enough outdoor lighting, then your guests will have no other option than to take the party inside. Avoid this from happening by hanging string lights from patio structures or gazebos.
You can also hang lights in your trees as well. If you have lantern lights, be sure to hang these from these trees and anywhere else that seems fitting. To keep guests safe, be sure to secure all cords to the ground tightly.
Candles and tiki torches are other great lighting options that you have that don’t require cords.
Use Tricks to Keep Bugs Away
Because your party is outdoors, you’ll have to worry about bugs. Even during the day, bugs will find their way into your party when they smell food, sugar, and water. If your guests are stuck trying to battle mosquitoes and other insects all day and light long, there’s a good chance that they won’t stay at your party.
Provide bug spray for guests to use at their convenience. You should also have citronella candles lit nearby or citronella plants hanging around. Having a fan blowing near the main gathering area is another great idea as many small flying insects won’t be able to fly against it.
Place Weights to Hold Tablecloths Down
With your fans in motion to keep bugs away and with the uncertainty of the weather, it’s a good idea to have something to hold down your tablecloths. A tablecloth that won’t stay in place is one of the most aggravating things about attending a party.
No one wants to get slapped in the face with a tablecloth. Instead, place weights on the tables to prevent this from happening. You can also use velcro strips to stick the tablecloth to the table.
Any creative way that you can think of to keep the tablecloth down is an excellent idea.
Create a Place for Small Talk
The best thing about these backyard parties and get-togethers is that you bring together different parts of your family and friend groups that might not know one another. It’s always an amazing feeling seeing people you love getting to know one another.
But if you don’t create a place for small talk to happen, they might not even speak to one another. One great way to create this space is to set the bar, keg, or drink station a good distance away from the entrance. You should also consider placing seating around the drink station.
Guests will then be able to hang out with one another while getting drinks.
Offer Lots of Treats
No matter what time the party starts and what time you plan on serving dinner, offer your guests plenty of treats. This will keep their stomachs satisfied until dinner is ready. However, you don’t want to make your guests full before serving them their main meal.
The best way to do this is to offer them healthy and light treats. You should then remove all appetizers 30 minutes prior to serving dinner. This gives them a bit of time to digest their snacks before diving into real food.
Keep Everyone Comfortable
At the very least, you want everyone to remain comfortable throughout the entire party. To prevent guests from becoming too hot or annoyed by bugs, provide a bucket outside that has a few necessities in it. Some of these things should include sunscreen, bug spray, hand-held water fans, face towels, and more.
Guests can then grab items out of the bucket as needed.
Throwing a Backyard Party Soon?
Are you planning on throwing a backyard party soon? If so, be sure to keep these helpful tips in mind. And when you’re ready to design the ultimate backyard space, be sure to schedule a consultation with us!
