Spice up your summer with our sizzling BBQ ideas

Listen to the podcast version:

Eat, Drink, Laugh. Create Memories.

Summer is a popular time for family gatherings…we have all heard of the family reunions that are over the summer.
I don’t recall many in October or April.
If you want to have gatherings that are casual, fun, easy to plan, and budget friendly, look no further than the back yard barbecue.

BBQ’s can be as simple or as extravagant as the host wants them to be.
I am going to give you my top BBQ ideas for fun games, creative activities, and favorite BBQ food so you can plan an easy breezy summer fun day with friends and family.

A BBQ for the Person Who Goes All Out!

1. Pick a theme for your barbecue.

• Sports 
• Family Reunion
• Farm to Table
• Country for Food (ie. Italian or Mexican)
• Stations: Burger Bar, Salad Station, DIY Smores
• Old Fashioned/Rustic
• Luau
• Western
• Beach/Sea Theme
• Garden Party
• Graduation
• Competition (ie. chili cook off, grill, side dish)
• Microbrew

2.  Decorate according to theme.

• Tablecloths/Napkins (I would still do plastic)
• Centerpieces
• Fun “Add-ons” according to theme
• Plates/Serving Ware/Cups
• Possibly String Lights/Balloons

3.  Plan for the Weather

So, why do I have this under the person who “goes all out?”
Because, for me, this is basically useless worry and anxiety.
Obviously, if you live in an area, like me, where monsoons hit every afternoon from July through August-plan your BBQ for early evening.
It will be hit or miss.
But with the weather, isn’t is always hit or miss?
*Remember to keep extra cans of spray sunscreen out and about!*

Now, if you are a normal person, like me, who loves people to come over, but does not love to do “events,” I have simple and fabulous BBQ ideas to go through so you can prepare a barbecue the easy and fun way!

The Easy Way to Host a BBQ!

1. Grill

A summer barbecue centers around one main thing: the actual barbecue or grill.
Make sure yours is prepared in advance.
This means something different to different people.

For my husband, if we are doing a grilling “party” he scrubs and cleans the grill and puts in new ceramic briquettes.
He cleans all of his grilling tools really well and lays them all out on the counter the night before.

I do food.
So, if any of the food needs to be marinated, I am in charge of knowing for how long and having that ready to go.

2. Food

This is a perfect lead in to the “star of the show,” the food.
Just like hosting a BBQ, doing food can be done in easy and less easy (or in my world, more stressful) ways.
I am a huge fan of the easy.
You, as host, want to laugh, relax, and enjoy your company.
The “Grill God” does not want to be stuck at the grill the entire duration of the BBQ.

So, I like to have the host of the gathering be responsible for the main dish and drinks.
Everyone else brings a side or dessert.
Easy, peasy.

This also creates a much more economical gathering for everyone.

This also creates a loophole for special diets.
So, let’s talk special diets for a minute.
Everyone is on one, or so it seems.
Vegetarian, Vegan, Keto, Gluten Free, Lactose Intolerant, Low Sodium, Low Sugar, and No Nuts
This is just the few I could think of.

It is not easy to cook for other people’s dietary needs.
Honestly, we should not be expected to meet the needs of so many diets in one gathering.

As host, if you are not grilling a vegetarian option for your main dish, you need to grill a vegetarian option as well, in my opinion.
By having everyone bring a dish, you are saying, “Hey, this is a fabulous opportunity for you to cook according to your diet.”
This means, everyone will have something to eat, quite possibly, two things, and you do not have to work yourself up into a lather about who can or cannot eat what.

3. Favorite Barbecue Foods:

Main Dish:

• Burgers (Beef, Chicken, Portabella, Impossible)
• Kebobs (Beef, Chicken, Shrimp, Veggies)
• Ribs
• Dogs, Brats
• Beer Butt Chicken (Seriously, look it up, delicious and easy!)
• BBQ Chicken

Sides:

• Mac and Cheese (A classic favorite, I use this one all of the time, I love it because it is done in the crock pot-I just eliminate the eggs, interestingly, on Paula Deen’s actual website, she has changed the recipe. This is the one I use!)
• Corn on the Cob
• Chips and Dip
• Cucumber and Tomato Salad
• Potato Salad
• Pasta Salad
• Broccoli Salad
• 7 Layer Salad (in case you haven’t heard of this one, I have a link, this is one of my favorites) 
• Cut up Fruit Bowl
• Grilled Pineapple

Desserts:

There are so many desserts that can be made.
The reality is, it is a BBQ.
You want easy and quick, not only to make, but to eat.
Have you ever noticed that pies and cakes often do not get eaten on buffet tables unless they are all cut up?
However, homemade cookies are snatched up and gone almost immediately.
People love cookies and bars.

• Lemon Bars
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars
• Brownies
• Cookies (all types, but homemade is the key)
  
  Barbecues are fabulous for getting people together and having a fun time.
  Do you want more?
  Do you want some “couples friends” with laughter and time away from the kids, regardless of weather and time of year?
  Try Couples Bunco! 
  We did this for four years and loved it!
  A great way to stay connected to each other and friends throughout the year-and a perfectly planned, once a month, date night!
  
  

  BUNCO CARDS

  
  Bunco: A Social, Affordable, and Fun Dating Night
  

  • 6 Rounds
  • Wins and loses
  • Total Wins and loses
  • Total Buncos
  • Total Baby Buncos

  Name

  Email

  Roll Out the Fun!

  

4. Mock-tails:

As host, you get to provide the drinks.
Chances are really good you will have a lot of kids, maybe some people who are getting older, a driver or two, and some who simply do not choose to drink alcohol.
Everyone loves a fun drink, however.
I love to do a “signature” drink at my events.
These are always alcohol free, or “mock-tails.”
There are always the punch, Arnold Palmer, and “Virgin” drinks.
These, to me, are rather boring.
A step above these are the Watermelon Lemonade type of recipes.
Still not a true mock-tail, but a little more pizzaz.
If you want to make a statement with a signature drink at your BBQ, try one of these fun options:
Spiced Minty Mango
Sangria Mock-tail
Watermelon Aqua Fresca
Mint Berry Smash
Sweet Pepper Spritzer (this one is really unusual) 

5.  Creative Competitions:

Some people love to have competitions.
As a theme, you can have a food competition, like a chili cook off.
You an also have everyone bring their dishes in, under “anonymity” and this can be a competition, although, I think this ends in hurt feelings, and a BBQ is all about fun.
Fun competitions include:

• Watermelon Seed Spitting
• Pie Eating
• Sack Race
• Water Balloon Toss
• Paper Plane Contest (make, flight, originality, etc)
• Hula Hoop
• Watermelon Carving
• Relays
• Karaoke Sing-Off

6.  Fun Outdoor Games

Barbecues usually means kids.
Busy kids are happy kids.
Happy and busy kids means adults get to sit back and have conversations.

Here are some fun outdoor games you can have set up for both the kids and the adults to play.

• Kubb (a favorite in my new daughter-in-law’s home)
• Corn hole
• Bocce (a favorite in the Peterson home)
• Giant Jenga
• Giant Connect 4
• Giant Checker or Chess
• Outdoor Tic Tac Toe with Bean Bags
• Ring Toss
• Croquet
• Kickball (if you have a field of space, this is lots of fun!)
• Scavenger Hunt

7. Finishing Touches

You have prepared amazing food and drinks.

There are some fun competitions to keep everyone on the edge of their seats.
And the children are having as much fun as the adults with all of the fun games you have available.
You are thinking, “Kara, these BBQ ideas have been fabulous, what more can you possibly have?!”

Music Playlist:
Create an upbeat and fun playlist of songs to create an atmosphere of, “We are having a party here!”
Include different genres to appeal to everyone’s musical taste.

Outdoor Seating:
This is so obvious, it can be overlooked.
Most people like to sit when they eat.
Many like to have their food on a flat surface, not their knees, when they eat.
Make sure you have enough seating.

You don’t have enough outdoor seating?
This is typical!

Open up the house for eating.
Just say, “For those of you, like me, who like to have their food at a table when they eat, you are welcome to join me in the kitchen.”

Grilling can be lonely.

Make sure that whoever “gets stuck” at the grill has someone there with them.

Many times, it is the “man of the house” who grills.
And often, other guys will come out and keep him company and talk all things “grilling.”
This is fabulous!
You just don’t want your honey stuck out there alone.
You don’t enjoy working in the kitchen all afternoon, when the fun is outside.
Same goes for the “grill guy.”

Summer is finally here, and you know what that means – it’s time to fire up the grill!
Whether you’re hosting a family gathering or a backyard bash with friends, there’s nothing quite like grilling up some delicious food, eating outside, and just relaxing.
While the food is definitely the star of the show, creating a fun and enjoyable atmosphere is just as important.
Follow these 7 tips to host a fabulous summer barbecue stress-free!

“I’ve just created something truly remarkable! It’s a miracle of modern science… a barbecue in a spray can!”
~ Flint Lockwood, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs