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April 20, 2019July 26, 2022

8 Tips for The Ultimate Backyard BBQ Party Guide

Grillin’ and Chillin’:

Spring has finally sprung, and you know what that means, right?

It’s almost time to throw your first BBQ party of the season. After a long winter stuck inside, there’s nothing better than spending a day outside grilling and chilling with some of your closest friends and family.

Before you host a backyard barbecue, though, it’s important to plan out each and every aspect of it. It’ll ensure that everyone has a great time when they show up at your house ready to eat.

Here is the ultimate backyard BBQ party guide.

Buy the Right Grill

Do you already have a grill in your backyard that you absolutely love?

If so, you don’t need to worry about buying another one. But if your grill has seen better days or if it’s just not large enough to cook food for everyone at your BBQ party, it’s time to upgrade.

Whether you want to go with a gas grill or a charcoal grill, there are plenty of amazing grills out there for those who enjoy holding backyard barbecues. Pick up one that you like and spend a few nights cooking on it before your big party to get the hang of it.

Pick Up More Than Enough Food

You can buy the best grill in the world for your BBQ party. But if you don’t have the best foods to cook on it, it won’t do you much good.

There are so many different options that you can pick up for your party. Consider going with a wide selection that includes:

Hamburgers
Hot dogs
Steaks
BBQ Ribs
Chicken thighs
Sausages

This guide breaks down how to buy the best beef cuts for a BBQ. Consult it early and often before heading down to the butcher to pick up meats.

Don’t forget to buy some options for those who don’t eat meat, too! There are lots of delicious veggie burgers that would be an ideal choice for the vegetarians in your life.

Ask Guests to Bring Sides

Under normal circumstances, you might feel guilty about asking guests to bring sides to a party at your home. You’re the host, after all, so you don’t want to burden guests with having to bring anything.

But that all goes out the window when you’re throwing a BBQ party. Most guests are more than happy to bring along a special side that they make specifically for backyard barbecues.

Ask guests to bring sides like:

Potato salad
Coleslaw
Pasta salad
Baked beans
Cornbread

You might also want to ask one of your guests to spring for rolls for hamburgers and hot dogs, too. This will guarantee that your party has more than enough food for everyone to enjoy.

Fill Up Coolers for Adults and Kids

Once you’re confident that you have the food for your BBQ party covered, move on to drinks. This is another thing that you can ask your guests to help out with if you want.

Fill up at least one large cooler with beverages for adults. Offer a nice selection of beer, wine, and hard alcohol for those who want to make themselves a cocktail.

Fill up one large cooler with beverages for kids as well. Provide soft drinks, boxed juices, and other non-alcoholic options.

Consider setting up a third large cooler filled with bottled water, too. This will keep everyone at your party hydrated throughout the day and night.

Set Up Fun Games

You obviously can’t have a BBQ without food and drinks. But you also can’t have one without BBQ games. They’ll keep everyone occupied and entertained.

Take a look at a few games that you should think about setting up throughout your backyard space:

Cornhole
Egg race
Bocce ball
Giant Jenga
Potato sack race

Adults and kids alike will have a blast while taking part in the BBQ games that you provide.

Crank Up the Tunes

Playing music at a BBQ party used to consist of plugging a radio in and letting it do its job. But you can do better than that in 2019!

If you have a lot of extra time on your hands, create a BBQ playlist from scratch featuring all your favourite songs. You can use music streaming services like Spotify to put together playlists featuring hits like:

“The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley
“Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
“Summer Breeze” by Seals and Crofts
“Hot Fun in the Summertime” by Sly and the Family Stone
“Lovely Day” by Bill Withers

You can also set up a satellite radio if you have one and play music through it. Either way, you won’t have to worry about commercials putting a damper on your party.

Make Plans to Do It Again

Don’t let your first BBQ party of the season be your last one! Once it’s over, start planning the next one and try to make each party better than the previous party.

Depending on where you live, you can usually have BBQ parties from April through October if you want. It’ll give you lots of time to perfect the art of grilling and allow you to test out new foods as you move forward.

Send Out Invitations for Your BBQ Party Today

Are you in the process of planning out a BBQ party for your friends and family?

Go all out by investing in a great grill that’ll make the most delicious food. Purchase the best meats money can buy, too, and make sure there will be plenty of sides to go along with them. And of course, make sure you send out invitations to everyone you want to invite well ahead of time so that people can plan to make it.

By using the guide we’ve provided here, you can throw a party for the ages. It’ll make you want to throw more parties in the future and allow you to make the most of your grill. Best free online photo editor, collage maker and designer!

Check out our blog for more great tips on throwing a party without going over your budget.

March 25, 2019

How to Pack the Ultimate Picnic Basket

Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, planning a cute outdoor baby shower for your best friend, picnics are hugely underestimated experiences. You get to be outdoors, enjoy great food, great times with loved ones and all the special fun that comes with it. Better yet, you don’t have to worry about a house full of people and the clean up after. To be honest, food is probably half the fun of a picnic. Getting to come up with a little menu, pairings of food and wine, starters and desserts is really fun.

It’s like being a party planner without all the massive pressure because you and your friends can agree to share the responsibilities and bring different things. The best way to do a picnic is not to make it super heavy meals, but to just put together platters of finger foods and treats. It makes eating easier and better yet, the clean up doesn’t have to be a huge nightmare for you.

It can be difficult to know exactly what to bring, and what to put on the menu of your little picnic get together. So instead of doing a whole lot of guesswork, here’s a handy little guide to help you get the right foods and drinks for this exciting event.

Something Savory

Everybody thinks finger sandwiches and crisps when they think of picnic food, but you can actually bring the party into the 21st century with some fun savory snacks. This can be a platter that would impress even the biggest foodie in your group!

Something meaty: You can get little chicken drumettes dipped in tasty basting (as long as they are bite-sized) You can also tasty kebabs or bite-sized riblets. The golden rule is if you’re going to do anything with meat, don’t make it big pieces.
Sushi: If you’re feeling really experimental, you can bring some sushi into the mix, your guests will love that.
Jerky: Another great savory treat you can add is beef jerky, and you can get the really good quality stuff that’s 100% natural and preservative-free. Check out Chops Snacks for some great jerky products for your event.

Something Sweet

If you’re a big pastry fan, this is where things get really fun. You can create a really cute and creative dessert platter, and really create something that stands out.

Bite-sized cupcakes: Get them in chocolate or red velvet, and ice them up in everyone’s favorite colors. You can even personalize each cupcake with the initials of the guests.
Rolled-up pancakes: You can get them made plain, add syrup or a cinnamon/sugar mix in the middle.
Sweet Popcorn: forget boring plain popcorn, get popcorn in caramel or even chocolate flavor to give popcorn a dessert vibe.
Jelly beans: sprinkle the platter with jelly beans to add some color and fun to it.

Imagine such a beautiful platter in the middle of the picnic mat, even as a photo on Instagram!

Planning a picnic doesn’t have to be an overwhelming responsibility, especially if you don’t make a big fuss of it with big meals and fancy dishes. Come up with a creative platter of different items, with sweet and savory items, and anything else you and your guests like. You can personalize it to what you would want and make it an even more special and unforgettable time.
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January 29, 2019

Tips to Choose the Perfect Wedding Band for Your Special Day

Historically, the fun factor at weddings has always been the packed dance floors. Now how to get the invitees on the dance floor in the first place? The answer is quite obvious! All you need to do is invest in a music DJ or a live performance band.

You need to play your favorite tunes, as it is your wedding after all! And the buck doesn’t stop rolling at that since the set list must contain the staples of a marriage, the crowd favorites, dance numbers, and the band must also be able to play as per the demand of the audience. So, how to choose the right wedding band for this special day? For a complete review of the available music bands for the special occasion, visit https://www.bookece.com/wedding-bands-charlotte-nc.

Key tips to keep in mind before selecting the wedding band are as follows,

Make a wise investment

The thing you need to keep in mind is that more the number of personnel included in the ensemble more are the expenditure. A live band with 6-7 members will charge somewhere between $2000-$6000 for a wedding of 100 guests or more. You can go with a DJ for a much lower cost of $100 an hour. If you are thinking about going with a live band make sure that you hire a quartet or a jazz ensemble who will be capable of performing most of the popular songs as well as keep a cap on the expenditure.

Do your own talents search?

Since you are already looking for a band or DJ chances are you have some idea about music or at the very least you have sorted about what kind of music you want to be played at the special day. Ask for referrals from friends, family, online review sites and listings. You can search the local wedding magazines and site managers or the agencies that maintain the portfolios for wedding bands and performers. If you are looking for unconventional music like bluegrass or cappella tunes, visit the online listings at the gigmasters.com.

Invest time in live auditions

The next step is investing time to meet with the band or the DJ and ask key questions regarding the amount of time they will be required to play, the breaks that they will need and the duration of the same. You also need to inquire about the recorded music during the interludes and the overtime policies. In case of instrument failures, what are the policies for a refund and the logistics of the event and performance?

Check the performance out

Everything is posted online these days. Chances are the live band or the DJ you are thinking about choosing will have recorded sessions or studio version of songs on the various content hosting sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Check out the performances and look for details in the quality of the music; the singing, instrumentation and overall recording of the song. It will give you an idea about the expertise levels of the performers so that you are safe and the invitees happy, at the event.

Additionally, it’s a great idea to provide the performers with a set-list of the songs that you want them to play. Make sure that the band/DJ knows your favorites or one from the most played playlist of your significant other. You can sit in with the band to make sure of the songs that you don’t like. It is after all your investment and above it, your special day, so you have the right to your choices.

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February 24, 2018

Need A Gift For Musician In Your Home?

Getting the right present for a musician, be they experienced or an amateur, can be quite a tricky endeavor. The first thing you ought to do is to find out as much as you can about that particular individual. This will allow you to learn the type of instrument he or she plays, his or her favorite musicians, as well as a variety of other aspects that might help you decide on an item.

You can go for classic stocking stuffers like dice made especially for musicians, music magnets, or cufflinks shaped in the musical instrument that he or she plays. A guitar string bracelet might score high with someone who’s learning to play the ukulele or guitar.

For your consideration, you can find a list of gift suggestions below. Check these out if you’re all out of ideas.

Get them something for their home

Nothing says that one loves music as much as a record clock. These gadgets don’t cost a fortune, as most of those we have come across are typically priced under forty dollars. Basically, such an item is a repurposed record to which all of the components of a fully functional clock have been added.

Another way of going about things would be for you to purchase a framed music quote. These are also rather budget-friendly, and many companies allow you to customize the message as best as possible. If you know that the person you are getting the present for has a favorite song, feel free to use a specific verse.

Whether you believe it or not, these days you can even find spatulas shaped in the form of a guitar or virtually any other instrument. Make sure that this product is crafted either from silicone or wood. The point here is to avoid plastics that contain BPA as this substance can have a negative effect on a person’s health.

Buy them something practical for their instrument

No guitar player has ever had enough cables, but the issue is not with their actual number, but with the fact that few of them are truly high-quality. Besides, some cables can be quite expensive, especially coiled ones and those made by particularly reputable brands.

Something else that a guitar player might appreciate would be a capodaster, especially if he or she is looking to experiment with their guitar playing techniques.

Whether the musician you’re trying to impress plays one instrument or the other, the fact of the matter is that a tuner or a metronome can mean the world to them. Some violin metronomes have integrated tuners, so the gift recipient will get two presents into one.

Finally, because their instrument is the light of a musician’s life, it wouldn’t hurt if you checked out the variety of soft cases and strings available out there.

On top of that, you could consider getting a cleaning and maintenance kit for their particular musical instrument. Such a set usually consists of cleaning substances, oils that give the instrument the shine every player wants, and a microfiber cloth.