The dog days of summer are winding down. Before you know it, the kids will be back in school and you will be putting your flip-flops away until next year. But before it all ends, there is one summer celebration left on the calendar: Labor Day.
Surely you have something awesome planned for this three-day weekend. If not, it’s not too late to plan a great Labor Day party. It is a great way to showcase the work you recently had done to your kitchen and it’s a legitimate excuse to eat fun food. A Polished Finish, your source for quartz countertops in Atlanta, offers these tips for throwing an epic Labor Day party.
The Invite
The first step in planning a successful Labor Day party is ensuring that your guests know there is an event to attend. It’s common knowledge that invites should go out around 10 days before the day of the event. This gives people enough time to clear their schedule, which they will happily do for an epic party.
Invite all of your friends and co-workers you get along with. But don’t invite Burt from sales, he starts every sentence with “What’s up, brah?” and calls everybody under the age of 30 “chump.” The last thing you want to do is risk a really awkward moment.
Plan Ahead
You will find that it is a lot less stressful if you prepare what you can days before the party. There is nothing wrong with serving dips and pies that were made the day before the party. If you wait until the day of the party to prep all of the food you will be left pulling your hair out.
Set the Mood
In the spirit of classic Americana, decorate your house and outdoor space with red, white and blue rustic flare. If the party is going to extend into the evening, have white candles in mason jars to create light and generate mood. You can make a banner by stringing red, white and blue bananas across a wire or thin rope.
Plenty to Drink
You will want everybody at the party to stay hydrated and refreshed, so have plenty of beverages from which they can choose. Limiting your drink selection to Coors Light from a keg will not go over all that well.
Have one station set aside for non-alcoholic drinks including sparkling water, freshly-squeezed juices and homemade sodas. Don’t forget garnishes like lime slices, berries and crystallized ginger.
In addition to classy beer, Coors Light is not classy beer, you should have a variety of choices including wine, rum, vodka and a top-shelf Scotch.
Keep People Moving
People tend to gather in little groups and stay put for a period of time. Encourage roaming around by having several beverages stations and areas where food is served. This way, people have to move around and travel station to station to refill their glasses and plates.
Music
Keep your playlist light and varied. We understand how much you love 1980s pop music, but an entire CD filled with Van Halen, Men at Work and Billy Idol will only appeal to a very few people. Choose music from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and so on. And choose music from various genres including rock, pop, country, hip-hop and death metal. Actually, you might want to scratch death metal.
Entertainment
There are a number of outdoor games you can have available for people to play including cornhole, horseshoes, bocce ball, croquet and even outdoor Jenga. You can also have a few indoor games as well as weather issues could drive people inside.
Food
Since Labor Day is a summer celebration, it makes perfect sense to grill food. It doesn’t really matter what you grill, just make sure you have a variety of foods from which people can choose. And don’t forget to include dishes for vegetarians and others with specific food preferences.
Avoid boring side dishes, spice things up a bit by actually doing some research and creating something tasty and fun. In addition to hot desserts, have desserts that are cool and refreshing.
Follow these tips and everybody will have a good time.
If you are interested in new countertops so you can show them off at a Labor Day party, call A Polished Finish.
