10 Summer Entertaining Essentials

With the weather finally heating up it’s about time that our grills are too. There is nothing I love more in the summer than evenings spent with friends sharing good food, bubbly drinks and lots of stories. This season of life finds me jonesing for an outdoor space (my tiny city apartment doesn’t even have a balcony), but to all you lucky B*tches out there, here are your top ten summer entertaining essentials.

Also, I make a delicious summer salad so feel free to drop me a line for your next summer soirée 😉

Happy Grilling!

1. Grill

This is pretty self explanatory, but even if you get one of the small coal grills you need something to toast all your delicious brats and burgers for the whole crew.

2. Beverage Tub

Easy and inexpensive way to keep all your bottles and cans cold. Just add ice, and a few of your favorite summer beverages and you’re good to go.

3. String Lights

Nothing sets the mood better than twinkly lights. Mellow and relaxing with just enough sparkle to add some whimsy to your summer fiesta.

4. Serving Tray

The best Soiree hostess has some appetizers ready, and what better way to serve them than on a fun pineapple cutting board? I seriously can’t enough of this cheese tray.

5. Paper Plates

If you want to serve on real porcelain plates, more power to you. But I’m a fan of quick clean-up and these paper plates from Target are too fun to pass up.

6. Serving Bowl

Family style anyone? I love making up a big salad that everyone can grab a bit of. It’s easy, thoughtful and the perfect accent to anything you toss on the grill.

7. Serving Utensils

Pretty self explanatory, but with serving any large amounts of food you’re going to need some extra help. I also love the pop of color these utensils bring to the table.

8. Napkins

Another fun way to add color is through napkins. You can just as easily buy paper napkins, but with the paper plates its nice to utilize some re-usable items.

9. Drink Dispenser

If you’re anything like me you like to play with new cocktail recipes, and what better way to showcase fresh new flavors that mixing up a batch ahead of time and letting people sample it themselves?!