Seasonal soirées at home
Fact: you have the largest patio or yard among your friends. Better yet, you have a pool. And let’s not forget the seasonal must-have: the barbecue! In sum, those around you have unanimously elected your home to be Summertime HQ. While unannounced visits are beginning to multiply, it’s time to develop a strategy to ensure your abode doesn’t start looking like a summer camp. Below, a few tools and tips for lovely moments in good company.

Pretty and functional
It’s always nice to welcome friends or family on a weeknight. Ensuring the cleanliness of the house seven days a week? Not so much. The simplest thing is thus to maintain a respectable order in open spaces like the bathroom, and to keep the doors of the other rooms shut when guests arrive unannounced.

Given that they usually appear when the sun shines bright, take your guests to the patio without delay. There, a warm space ideally made up of a table, a parasol, or any other device which enables them to get some shade, and a sufficient number of chairs to seat six to eight people.

Your budget or DIY talents permitting, think about adding a personal touch to your backyard. Our current source of inspiration? The photo-sharing website Pinterest. There, we unearthed tonnes (we’re not exaggerating) of original décor ideas to try out for ourselves. Take for example these Mason jars turned lanterns or these paper flowers for centerpieces, which infuse any outdoor décor with a touch of romanticism.

Time to eat!
You’ve got a barbecue. But that doesn’t mean that you always have a sufficient amount of provisions in your fridge to feed an entire army! We bet your loved ones will gleefully accept the idea of a potluck. Hence, each person will bring their favourite grilled meat, and will be in charge of cooking up a side dish or  dessert. This way, they will adopt the good habit of never arriving empty-handed!

Because a hostess sometimes likes to dazzle her guests (and pick up a few compliments along the way), remember to draw a list of express gourmet propositions. Seasonal-appropriate and always popular: watermelon lemonade, to be served with a fork, salad on a stick and multicoloured popsicles.

When it comes time to serve, forget paper plates, which aren’t environmentally-friendly, and are an aesthetic faux pas. If you don’t want to use your everyday tableware, visit a second-hand store. There, you will be able to collect a mishmash of vintage plates and glasses that are sure to have your guests talking!  

We now conclude with a final inspiration snatched up on Pinterest: a cheese plate coated with chalkboard paint, where you can write the names of the cheeses being served using chalk. Clever, isn’t it?
 

We want to know: what are some of your most memorable summer moments? Share them with us in the Comments section below!