Here are our five favorite outdoor party essentials:
• 1 A couple of big galvanized steel pails will do the trick for holding ice and drinks and looking cute while doing it. They're inexpensive and classier than coolers. The nice big one pictured in the second photo is only $29 from Woodland Direct.
• 2 In lieu of pricey paper plates and cups, invest in a set of durable re-usable dishes in multiples for outdoor use. Melamine is a great choice. Crate and Barrel has these cute yellow confetti plates for $4.50 apiece, along with matching cups and serving pieces.
• 3 A couple of strings of white paper lanterns goes such a long way for an evening outdoor party. They give off just enough soft light to make the night feel magical and allow guests to see their food and each other. And even if the party begins in daylight hours, they look festive. The Paper Lantern Store has them priced at $1.25 and up.
• 4 A glass drink dispenser with a spigot instantly gussies up any outdoor party. It makes it easy to serve a single signature cocktail or sangria (along with your bottled drinks in your galvanized pail, of course). They come in lots of fancy shapes, but we like this simple jar, available for $66.99 from Amazon.
• 5 Keeping a stash of lightweight, machine-washable blankets for outdoor use is always a good idea. Guests can sit on them or, at evening parties, bundle up in them. Fleece is inexpensive by the yard, so why not DIY a set of matching soft blankets for your outdoor party kit? Even if you don't sew, whipping up a few blankets is a great weekend project. Here's a post from the archives with some great no-sew fleece blanket ideas.
Which essentials do you keep around for outdoor parties? Please share!
(Images: Top photo by Stacey Bode; other images as linked above)
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I'm ALL about the paper lanterns & string lights!! We just finished putting our patio together & used both!
We actually hard wired an Ikea Regolit & love it!
http://www.cozylittlecave.com/2010/05/patio.html
I'd like to get some lanterns for my Patio/Pool area but they all seem very pricey when i plan to get a bunch. Paper wont stand up to any rain or weather so you can't leave them up all summer. Whats better, a corded model or a solar model? I don't like the look of a corded wire connecting each lantern, that's why solar models hung with fishing line would give a floating look. Ideally I'd like a round lantern that i can leave out all summer that is either Solar or corded without lights between lanterns. Any ideas everyone?
Yeah I have an outdoor space and I love all these ideas, but I'm very concerned that outdoor party necessities would take up valuable indoor space during the winter months. Paper lanterns in particular seem like they might be a little too disposable for my tastes, so if there were more durable versions I might be more interested.
Also for the outdoor drink jug, I really wonder if I'd find indoor use for that during the cold months. I may just stick with conventional plastic pitchers.
I probably will get the pail and the melamine plates though.
What i do is have a galvanized steel pail and use led throwies in ziplock bags at the base then pour the ice in
Makes the ice coloured but still allowing you to use some of the ice as icecubes in your drink it does a nice effect and is cheap
The source for paper lanterns in the article also has nylon lanterns that would definitely hold up longer. And they aren't that much more... cute colors too!
Cool site. However, I'm a little concerned about something. The photo your using for this post (the one outside with the lanterns) is one I took at a wedding last year in South Carolina. I'm a professional photographer, and wasn't asked for the rights to use this image. I'm not sure how you got access to it, but please give a photo credit to Stacey Bode Photography. Thanks.
Hi Stacey,
So sorry about that! I found this on another site (they must have snagged it from yours) and assumed it was their photo, hence the faulty credit. I've updated the post to credit you. Thanks for letting us know!
Best,
Susie
Oops! I've been meaning to reply to this and I lost track. This would be my bad as I sent the link to Stacey before the photo credits were updated. Thanks again Susie and it is such a fun article!