6 Ways to Get Your Home Ready for Summer Barbecues

One of the best ways to embrace summer while enjoying time with friends and family is to host a summer barbecue. The laid-back atmosphere, warm weather, and great food bring out the best in everyone. Plus, barbecues provide a great way to mingle and reconnect with others in a way that you simply can’t in the confined space of a restaurant.

If you want your summer barbecues to be successful, remember the goal is for everyone to relax and have a good time — including yourself! In order to do that, you’ll want to make sure you and your home are ready. As such, here are six tips for getting your home ready for summer barbecues that all your guests will look forward to.

1. Invest in the Big Purchases

You’ll obviously need a grill for a barbecue, but you’ll also need enough table space for the food and somewhere to store the drinks. Here are three bigger-ticket items you may or may not already have purchased, but they will help you throw a great summer barbecue:

If you don’t have enough chairs, placing some fleece blankets on the ground can provide areas for people to sit, especially the kids. Plop some throw pillows on the blankets to make them look inviting, and you may find that people prefer your casual seating options to regular chairs.

2. Play Good Music

Music can completely enhance the mood of a party as long as it is appropriate for the audience and is played at a volume that doesn’t drown out your guests’ conversations. In the absence of outdoor speakers, consider setting up a few Bluetooth speakers around the yard. They can all be paired to the same playlist; you can even find playlists created specifically for summer barbecues.

3. Host Outdoor Games

While mingling and simply hanging out might be enough for some guests, others find it easier to connect with each other while playing games. This is especially true if you’ll be inviting guests who don’t really know each other very well. Games like corn hole, lawn darts, and lawn bowling are good for groups, and water balloons are always fun for the kids. Just make sure you have some spare beach towels available in case people get too wet.

4. Don’t Forget to Mow the Lawn

You can’t invite people over to your summer barbecue when your yard is overgrown and messy. Take time to make your outdoor area tidy by mowing the lawn. You may want to do this the day before your party so you’re not too stressed out with yardwork when you’re supposed to be cooking. But if you must save it for the same day, just be sure to wear something other than what you plan on wearing to the barbecue for your outdoor chores. After all, you don’t want to greet you guests with grass stains or dirt on your clothes. If you don’t have time for a wardrobe change, wear something comfortable yet lightweight like cotton shorts for women so you can breeze through your chores with ease.

5. Clean Your House

Even if it is an outdoor barbecue, there are times when people will need to go indoors, especially if they enter through the front door before heading out to the yard. But there’s no need to worry too much about how clean your entire house is. Just focus on the areas that guests will see if they want to spend any time indoors or need to use the bathroom. That may be just the kitchen, hallway, and bathrooms themselves. Make sure your bathrooms are clean, including bathroom rugs, and that you have enough towels for guests to dry their hands.

6. Comfortable

Hosting a barbecue can be a lot of work if you don’t have any help. Even with assistance, cooking over the grill can expose your clothes to grease and excessive heat, so you’ll want to make sure you’re in clothing comfortable enough to handle the heat. Look for a summer shirt that is not only stain-resistant but easy to clean if it does get dirty. Better yet, wear an apron over your clothes when you’re cooking so you don’t have to worry at all!