The Rural Voice, 1998-08, Page 49Home Decorating
Throwing a summer bash
By Patti Robertson
The other evening Hubby, Ward
and I were enjoying a meal outdoors,
with a warm summer breeze blowing
and the sun setting. We started our
conversation, lamenting about how
truly short the summer season is and
then quickly turned to reminiscing
about how many fun summer parties
we had hosted during this fast paced
season. I realized what made most of
these galas memorable were the little
extra details we attended to in order
to create themes for our summer
bashes. Before summer runs out yet
again, here are a few details that you
may find useful in creating a summer
to remember.
For a summer, family-oriented
pool party, we started out with a
colour scheme of red, yellow and
blue. We bought inexpensive kids'
plastic sand pails and shovels —
these created fun serving bowls for
pretzels, chips, potato salad and
macaroni. Hot dogs, burgers and
salads were
served up on
plastic plates
in our
primary
colour
scheme and a
bright blue
wheelbarrow
brimming
with ice
cubes kept
refreshments
chilled to
perfection.
For dessert a
big red
cooler was
brought forth
and passed
around —
inside each
guest had the
choice of
popsicles, ice
cream bars
and
fudgesicles all snuggled into crushed
ice. Red, blue and yellow balloons
tied into bunches adorned the tables
and flew freely from umbrella posts.
As a take-home treat, each child got
to choose a pool noodle in a primary
colour — what a success, and cost
effective.
On another
occasion we
hosted a
Mexican
costume party
and corn roast.
The costumes
our guests
arrived in were
truly
imaginative.
My favorite
and certainly
the hit of the
party were the
two fellows
who came
Creating
warm memories
for winter
dressed as a bull. Can you imagine
the antics... Food for this occasion,
of course included plenty of corn
(roasted on an
open fire still in
the husk), burgers,
baked beans and
coleslaw.
Everything was
served upon
terracotta pottery,
plant saucers. A
huge 30" diameter
terra cotta pot,
filled with ice
acted as a cooler
for beverages.
Red and white
handkerchief -
bandannas
worked perfectly
as napkins. A
dozen large,
colourful crepe
paper flowers,
brightened the
yard and upon
each table top we
positioned
miniature
Mexican sombreros, cacti and
candles in tiny terra cotta pots — all
easy to come by and once again at
minimal expense.
Probably the most memorable and
pleasant dinner parties I have hosted
outdoors are those with a formal
atmosphere. I'm always looking for
different areas of our yard to set up
an outdoors dining room to add
variety and interest to the occasion.
Not long ago we hosted an enjoyable
dinner beside our fire pit, under the
stars (imagine the atmosphere). The
fire served to keep the bugs at bay
and certainly added to the drama of
the evening. For these affairs I
always make several large floral
arrangements in tall elegant vases, ( I
find a variety of Hosta leaves and
Hosta lilies along with Queen Anne's
lace is most effective and free for the
picking). On each table I create
miniature arrangements in
combination with appropriate
candles. In amongst our shrubbery
and flower beds I tuck 12" taper
candles which will easily burn until
the party's end. On windy evenings
these tapers can be covered with a
Hurricane globe. Our outdoor dining
area comes complete with a musical
serenade — anything from tropical
selections to instrumentals. Dinner is
served upon my good china and
beverages from my best stemware
and of course no paper napkins here
— I spend a certain amount of time
getting the white linen napkins
pressed to perfection. Each time we
host a formal dinner there is great
satisfaction in all the effort put forth.
Once again it's the effort and not the
cost that makes this occasion special.
Yes, any outdoor theme party
takes time and planning and certainly
personal effort is expended — but my
guests are worth it and the
compliments are many. And next
winter when we are buried in yet
another snowbank, we'll have the
memories we created this summer to
fondly,look back on until next
summer rolls around and we start
anew.0
Patti Robertson operates Classic
•
Interiors in Wingham.
AUGUST 1998 45