and I invite other bloggers to share their ideas and tips.
And today it’s all about
Simple Summer Entertaining!
We recently had a little birthday party
for my husband, Howard, in my sister,
Teresa’s backyard in San Diego.
We stay with Teresa and my mom a lot…
and I usually try to think of something nice to do for them.
In this case, I knew Teresa had a black and white umbrella on her patio so I picked up some pillows from Target for a little refresh…
While shopping for menu ingredients, the mangos were on sale so I bought several along with limes to send home as party favors. I put them in these $2 baskets from Michael’s.
PARTY TIPS
1. Create a simple theme I thought “birthday” and mangos were on the menu…so I used them to decorate, too, like in this centerpiece and for the party favors.
2. Plan the menu and shop ahead (duh…you knew that right?).
3. VERY important…delegate. People like to be involved.
4. Make it self service. We served the salad but set up a food table for the rest. 5. Take shortcuts where you can with store bought items, like dessert.
In delegating, our son Tommy did all the grilling
and daughter, Alie made the drinks.
Backyard Birthday Party Menu
Slightly Mexican Influenced, As hey, It’s San Deeahgo
I picked the purple blossoms from a bush in Teresa’s garden …I highly recommend looking around for what you already have.
Party hats optional…
Our view at dinner…
Oh YES… Tip #6 Ask Someone to Make a Party Music List
In our case, Tommy made a great list of Howard’s old favorites and new songs. Later, we were all dancing (including the dogs) around the fire pit…but the photos are too embarrassing to show.
We also just had a fun, casual French themed party in San Francisco… so, I will be showing that post soon (the napkins for it were sponsored by Minted. …and gave me inspiration).
I am so excited see what these creative bloggers post!!!
