During the first year of COVID, many of us rediscovered and reinvested in our backyards. With shutdowns and the inability to eat out, we invited family, neighbors, and friends over and enjoyed a backyard cookout. Many of you bought your first grill (and your first grill topper) and we had the pleasure of speaking with you over the phone about your experiences.
If the pandemic has taught us anything it’s that social connection and community is important to our mental health. What better excuse to have to keep those backyard cookouts going? In this article, we’ve put together some tips to help you plan your cookout. We tried to think of everything so this list is extensive, and some items may not be necessary depending on how big or small you want to make your cookout.
If you are a list maker, you will appreciate that we have also prepared a guide to use while shopping for your backyard cookout. We hope this takes the stress out of the planning so you can look forward to relaxing and enjoying the company of your family and friends which is what life should be all about.
1. Which Day and Time are Best for Your Backyard Cookout?
Choose a time that is considerate of your guests and will work for you as well. Saturdays around 4:00 pm seem to be the most convenient time especially for families for a backyard cookout. If the cookout is in honor of a guest or guests, make sure they are going to be available.
2. Invitations
Invitations might sound a little over-the-top for a backyard cookout, but we’re not talking about formal invitations. These can be as simple as a call, text, or email. The great thing about invitations is they inform guests of what to expect and allow you to get a headcount. We suggest sending the invitations at least three weeks in advance to give yourself plenty of time to prepare for your backyard cookout.
Include details like the date and time, a rain date in case of inclement weather, if it is adults-only or kid-friendly, what guests are expected to bring (ex: sides, alcohol), event location, drop off and pick up times for kids, RVSP information, and ask if they would share any dietary considerations or food allergies. If you want to keep guests from staying too late, make sure to include an ending time such as “4-8 pm.”
3. Think About Seating and How You Want to Serve the Food
Depending on the number of guests, you may need to give some careful thought to how you plan to serve the meal. If it is small (4-8 guests), you can have a family style meal. If you have a larger group, you will need to plan on having extra tables for serving and chairs for seating. Also, add a few more spots for any surprise guests.
4. Plan for the Weather
Weather can be unpredictable. Don’t let it rain on your party. Grab one or two of those pop-up canopies that everyone seems to have at tailgates to provide coverage from rain or the sun.
If you’re looking for something a little more semi-permanent to dress up your backyard cookout, you can find a variety of affordable hard-top gazebo canopies with curtains or screens to keep insects out. If you don’t have a covered space or tent available, you may just want to tidy up the inside of your house in case guests should need to seek shelter from an unexpected rain shower at your backyard cookout.
5. Prior to Guest Arrival
Get set so when your guests arrive you can relax and enjoy time with them.
Clean your grill ahead of time if you’re planning to grill during your backyard cookout and make sure you have enough gas, charcoal, wood chips, or pellets.
Prep any food so that all you need to do is put it on the grill or pop it in the oven to cook.
Put drinks on ice in a cooler so they are nice and cold. Set out appetizers and snacks. Get your outdoor space clean and ready. Set up serving tables with tablecloths, dinnerware, napkins, and utensils.
6. Celebrating a Special Occasion
If you are having a backyard cookout to celebrate a birthday or another occasion, be creative. We believe the best decorations and favors are those that are personalized to the person you are honoring.
There are endless ways you can customize with yard signs, t-shirts, hats, koozies, and more. Creativity not your thing? Order a specialty cake that fits your backyard cookout event.
7. Keep the Bugs Out
Nothing is more of a buzzkill at a backyard cookout than bugs. Keep pests away by lighting candles and tiki torches with citronella. Set out mason jars with peppermint, eucalyptus, or lavender that can double as centerpieces.
Purchase a few cans of bug spray or make your own spray to have on hand if the situation gets out of control. Also, when choosing items like tablecloths, be aware of colors which may draw bugs. Darker colors attract mosquitos and blue attracts flies. Although yellow appears to be effective at repelling both mosquitos and flies it may interest bees. Different colors repel and appeal to different bugs and color is not the only factor that gets their attention. Use mesh food covers to protect your meal if you serve the food outside.
8. Setting the Mood
When the sun goes down, impress your guests with ambiance lighting. There are so many options to choose from. Set out tiki torches. Place candles on tables and lanterns. Hang some string lights. Help guests navigate around your yard with solar yard lights. Another absolute must-have is music. Invest in a portable speaker to play your music outside. Prepare your own custom playlist or stream music over your favorite channel.
9. Games
Games are a great way to get your guests to interact and they bring out the kid in us. Cornhole is a favorite. It is low-impact and people of all ages can participate. Other popular outdoor games include horseshoes, badminton, croquet, and ladder toss. Of course, you can always pass around the football or baseball. Break out a deck of cards or some fun board games.
10. On a Budget and Short on Time
There’s nothing quite like throwing together a cookout last minute. Don’t try to do it all on your own and don’t overthink it. Make it a potluck and have your guests bring a side and/or an appetizer. Asks your friends to BYOB. This is becoming more the norm and guests don’t seem to mind. Choose your main protein as something that is easy to grill and affordable. Have a burger or hot dog bar and give guests an assortment of toppings to choose from. For sides, grill a mixture of vegetables and corn on the cob. Pasta salads are another popular choice. Get a few bags of chips, dip, and salsa and you’re set.
11. Energy Savers
Make things easy on yourself. When it comes to choosing the main meat, go with something that will not require a lot of attention like a pork loin, pork shoulder, or a brisket. You can smoke your meat and start the process earlier so that it will be done when guests arrive. Use disposable grill toppers, cups, plates, and utensils to make clean up a breeze. Place a trash can and recycling container nearby so guests can conveniently throw away their own trash. Limit the drink menu to beer, wine, and one cocktail and make a pitcher so that you don’t have to bartend all evening. And invite people you can count on to help.
Need more ideas? Check out our recipes and other entertaining tips.
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