Entertaining, al fresco

Outside entertaining

Summer gives our homes and gardens a whole new lease of life. As we throw open the doors and windows, our homes feel lighter and brighter. Gardens, patios or balconies all feel like an extension of the home.

One of the best things about summer is eating outside. We like to do it as much as possible ­– whether it’s a cosy dinner for two, or an excuse to entertain all our favourite people. Whatever your gathering, make it special with our tips for effortless summer entertaining, al fresco!

Set the scene and create a little ambience

Tidy the area of the garden you’ll be sitting in and plan some simple decorations. String outdoor fairy lights around on shrubs and trees, and fill jam jars with tea lights. For drama, try an outdoor mirror – it’ll make your garden feel bigger and reflect all those beautiful twinkly lights. To keep the wildlife at bay, burn citronella-scented candles.

Outside entertaining

Dress your table

Don’t compromise on style just because you’re outside. Choose simple, earthy colours and natural textures: mix wooden and slate boards with linen napkins and tablecloths. Avoid fragile glasses, and choose sturdy wineglasses or tumblers. Decorate your table with flowers, herbs and greenery from your garden – lots of little arrangements are more welcoming than a formal bunch of flowers. Arrange little posies in jam jars, or tiny vases along the table, trying to keep things as fluid and unregimented as possible. Tie a sprig of herbs onto each guest’s napkin – it’ll look beautiful and smell amazing.  

Choose simple food designed for sharing

Eating al fresco is supposed to be fun and informal. Avoid serving food that will require you to rush in and out of the kitchen. Choose easy, hassle free food for your table. Create platters of meat, salad, cheese and bread on wooden or slate boards and lay them out for your guests to help themselves.

Outside entertaining

Make an outdoors drinks area

Set up a little outdoor table or trolley near your main table. Supply it with an ice bucket and plenty of delicious drinks. Allow people to help themselves so there’s no need to keep going back into the house every time you see an empty glass.

Make things comfortable

Beautiful cushions and throws will cheer up tired garden furniture, plus they’ll make your guests feel comfortable and relaxed. Have some extra blankets and scarves ready for when the night grows chilly.

Create a fiery focal point

Add warmth to your evening with a fire pit or barbecue. Maybe you’ll be cooking your food on it, or perhaps you just want it for warmth. Either way, it’ll give your evening a real focus. Sit round it as the sun goes down and indulge your inner child by toasting marshmallows.

No garden? No problem

We’re not all lucky enough to have a garden big enough for entertaining guests. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do outdoor entertaining. It’s really just about a state of mind. Gather your friends and head to the park or beach with a grown-up picnic. Or sit with down with bags of chips and a bottle of champagne – sometimes the simple things are truly the best!

26 comments

Gunter Stefan

Bitcoin Scams are becoming more sophisticated and many people fall victim to them. This can be very upsetting, but don’t feel ashamed – if you’ve been the victim of a bitcoin scam or USDT scam and it’s important to report it and share it with friends and get the help you need. There is a new Agency set by the Government to help people recover their stolen funds from scammers or Bitcoin , USDT other cryptocurrency if you have ever been a victim of scam and you wish to recover your Money please visit(ghostchampionwizard@gmail.com ) the genuine process to retrieve your stolen/scammed funds. Sometimes in early January I lost about £287,500 to a fake broker who promised me 100% profit on my investment monthly only to discover few days ago it was a shady investment and I became worried my money is gone until I got referred to GHOST CHAMPION HACKING SERVICES by my close friend and this team was able to totally recover my stolen funds within few hours I hired them This has been the best service I ever got on the internet and this agency worth the positive recommendations they got on here. Get in touch now if you need similar help at WhatsApp at+1(202)495 0665
TELEGRAM ID:https://t.me/WizardGhosthacker

nicole gonzalez

For a while i felt i was too weak so they took advantage of me. They defravded me through a crypto trading platform, all my savings , i passed on mortgages until it was far due and almost lost my home. Thank Jesus and then my Inlaw Clay for introducing me to this hacker guy who does recovery and many other technical things. His Email: refundpolici (at) gmail (dot) com).. He only asked me a few questions, i told him what i knew, he took it from there and i rested, before 27hours i heard the deposits back inside my coinbase wallet wooowww felt good. I Urge everyone here who has been in a similar situation, kindly reach out to them to get your funds recovered while its still around. This is where they reply quickest [ Whats App : +1 ( 949 ) 659 ‑ 7928 ], They even educate you and prevent you from never being a victim again.

Alicia

Good day everybody, My name is Alicia Leonard. I am out here to spread this good news to the entire world on how I got my ex husband back. It all started when my husband cheated on me with another woman, unknowing to him that the woman is a wizard, the woman cast a spell on my husband which made my husband change his feelings towards me and the kids and broke our 6 years marriage. I was confused and stressed because of the pains of being a single mother, so I called a friend and explained my marital challenges to her, she instructed and directed me to contact this great powerful spell caster called Dr. Raypower, The main reason why she instructed me to contact Dr Raypower was because in recent times she have read some testimonies on the internet which some people has written about the powerful spell caster Dr Raypower and i was so pleased and i decided to seek for assistance from him which he did a perfect job by casting a spell on my husband and utilize the powers of the other woman which made him to come back to me and beg for forgiveness. I will not stop publishing his name on the net because of the good work he is doing. To everyone with marital problems, divorce issues, lost lover or any relationship related issues, you can contact Dr. Raypower the powerful urgent spell caster via details below

Email: Urgentspellcast@gmail.com

Website: https://urgentspellcast.wordpress.com

WhatsApp: +27634918117

Greg Tonis

Many have come to the conclusion that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies cannot be traced or recovered but it’s incorrect, it can be traced and recovered with the right tools and resources. I was one of those who didn’t believe in it but I was able to recover my Bitcoin after I sent a huge amount to the wrong address with the help of a recovery team called CYBERWALLFIRE. I thought all hope was lost for good but with the intervention of CYBERWALLFIRE, I was able to trace and recover my Bitcoins. Truly remarkable work by CYBERWALLFIRE and I highly recommend their service.

CYBERWALLFIRE can be reached via E-mail: Cyberwallfire(@)techie(.)com

Dominc Solver

A cheating and disloyal partner is the worse thing one can have in this life, I was very mentally unstable both at work and in the family. i couldn’t understand the new behaviour of my wife, she grew distant from me and our 2 little kids, one of which i later found out by DNA test he belonged to her senior colleague at the firm.. It was all hidden until my police friend introduced me to a hacker which helped me hack into her text message conversation, this woman constantly made love on our matrimonial bed wey before we had our first child and till recently she was constantly making out with her boss right in her office and they even made videos of the sex session which i saw in her video gallery when her phone was hacked, Long story short, i am undergoing therapy now and its very working really fine, i have my child now and i have filed for divorce, now i look really good and happy even though i still remember it sometimes, it doesn’t cut deep into my heart as before. its time to find new love and try new things in beautiful Earth. If you suspect any strange movement in your partner, pls go ahead and make inquiry just so you know what you are investing your time in, if its all good then you trust her more, If not then don’t kill yourself in a relationship that is not meant to be. i will leave the contacts of the hacker who assisted me to hack her phone and computer device, just incase anyone is in a similar situation.
website: https://refundpolici.wixsite.com/refund-policy
email: refundpolici @ gmail . com
Whats app Number : +1 (949) 6597928

1 2 3 4 5 6

Leave a comment