Tips for Hosting a Great Backyard Barbecue


You've probably attended a backyard barbecue at some point in your life. Most of the time, these events entail the cooking of meats and vegetables outdoors using a charcoal or propane grill or a wood barbecue smoker pit. If you're planning on hosting a backyard barbecue for your friends and family, here are some tips to make it a success:

Sending Out Invitations

It's a good idea to send out invitations a few weeks prior to the event. If you send out your invites too early, people are likely to forget altogether. However, by sending the invitations too late, you run the risk of some people having other plans. So about three weeks before your backyard barbecue, mail out basic invitations that tell guests the date, time and location. Or, for those people you're especially close to, call or send an email!

Decorating

Lots of decorations aren't necessary. However, a red and white checkered tablecloth is ideal for that down-home look. And citronella candles can not only add a nice fragrance and glow, they keep pesky insects like flies and mosquitoes at bay. Want a little festive flair? Try a few balloons tied to the legs of your picnic tables.

Menu Tips

Whether you prefer to grill, barbecue, or smoke the food, there are a few choices that should be on every backyard barbecue menu. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and ribs are examples of fantastic meat choices. Corn on the cob and grilled vegetables like eggplant and peppers are always good, too. Try some convenient shish kebobs to combine meat and veggie favorites together.

Easy Cleanup

Provide lots of trash receptacles and heavy duty garbage bags so that guests will never have to look for a place to toss their dirty plates. Always use disposable plates, cups and utensils for the easiest cleanup, and try cooking on aluminum foil so that there's no scrubbing afterwards.

More Tips for Success

Provide bug spray to your guests if you live in an area where mosquitos are a problem. If your backyard barbecue runs into the evening hours, light some tiki torches or string some festive outdoor lights. Good ideas for fun activities at a backyard barbecue besides eating and socializing include volleyball, badminton, and the backyard classic – horseshoes!

 



Barbeque Secrets
Barbeque:
Roll up to the Brooklands Tap
THE Brooklands Tap in Sale will be hosting an all day festival in order to raise money for the Christie, one of Europe's leading cancer hospitals...

Facebook page leads search for loved ones in Haiti
The desperate quest to find loved ones started just minutes after the quake, as cell phones rang unanswered from beneath the rubble of Haiti's best hotel.A few hours later, the search went online with a Facebook page dedicated to the Hotel Montana, created by three siblings in Long Island looking for their missing uncle...

Tony Blair: 'I cried for Iraq war victims'
Tony Blair regrets banning fox hunting, but not invading Iraq. He was captivated by Princess Diana, intimidated by Queen Elizabeth II...

Another great success: Tanner Redburn's friends attend annual Friends for Life
If Tanner Redburn lived to see his 19th birthday, he would have been eager to join the packed house at the Fifth Annual Friends for Life at the Arthur Community Centre Saturday night.?But if Tanner were alive, there would never have been an event in the first place...

Metsradamus On The Dumping Of Francoeur : A New Way To Measure Lasting Milledge's Market Value
There's another 5 weeks of garbage time baseball to come from the New York Mets, and after last night's 9-2 humiliation at the hands of the NL East-leading Braves , one of the parties most responsible for a horrendous 2010 campaign was sacrificed for the mere return of Joaquin Arias ...

It's a Knockout day of fun
A FUN charity day will be held this weekend for a foundation set up in memory of Emily Jordan...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Kansas City Wizards: A Late August Barbecue - Bleacherreport.com
The search for a winning consistency continues for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy as they end their month of August with a home date on the 28th against the Kansas City Wizards. Arena was searching for answers ...

City festival ready to harvest good times
The Wetaskiwin Festival of Arts & Agriculture is quickly shaping up to be a bumper crop to be shared by the entire community and beyond...

Labor Day weekend planner: Expect little bit of rain and higher gas prices
Traffic on I-196 can no move through downtown, though exits to Ottawa Avenue remain closed amid the Fix on I-196. Whether your plans for the upcoming Labor Day weekend include an end-of-summer trip or a backyard barbecue, you can expect a bit of rain and to pay a bit more at the pump than last year...

Best barbecue
Where can you find the area's best barbecue? Comments Post your comment Categories: Food/Drink Comments Austinites love to be heard, and we're giving you a bullhorn...

Falling down good
There has to be some sort of connection between good barbecue and architectural deterioration...

Noteworthy grant for choir
Stouffville-based Men of Note has received a $4,300 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation...

Get in the barbecue spirit - Eureka Times-Standard
What's Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's barbecue secret ingredient? A sake-spiked marinade, of course. Like many other chefs looking to add a little thrill to the grill, Morimoto heads to the liquor cabinet ...

Danville girl travels across the globe to play in soccer tournament
One local sixth grader won't have to worry about what she can write for her "What I Did Over the Summer" essay...

Eating the U.S. Open: Does the Pat LaFrieda Burger Hold Love?
Is the baseline burger an ace? It's day three of the U.S. Open, one of the swankiest sporting events you can attend outside a Hamptons polo match...

Technorati Tags: , ,