During the OFF!® products event at the James Hotel, Hostess, Chef and Author (Katie Brown’s Outdoor Entertaining: Taking the Party Outside
During the event, guests were treated to a delicious dinner prepared by the chefs at the David Burke Kitchen at a beautifully decorated table, very much an Urban Garden. And each of us became an instant home decorating expert by designing our own beautiful centerpiece. Talk about simple!
5 Simple Summer Entertaining Tips to Wow Any Guest:
1. Flower Power: Always have a few flowers spread about to enhance the ambiance of a summer get-together. Flowers bring a welcoming sense of serenity throughout the entire area. One fool-proof centerpiece idea is to mix fruit and flowers in a bowl or vase. Sliced lemons add dimension and hide the stems when placed inside a vase with flowers. For place settings, it can be fun to tie a few stems with twine to each utensil set.
2. Self-Serve Station: Set up a self-serve station at your gathering to allow guests the opportunity to be creative and have control over what they are eating and drinking. You can easily dress up mason jars by using cupcake liners as lids in place of the standard tin top and sticking a straw through the paper – this way no bugs can fly in! Just screw the rim on over the liners or tie them off with ribbon. Festive straws in an array of colors are fun for everyone, and you can keep drinks cool by freezing water balloons and placing them in the cooler as a fun ice pack.
3. Be Prepared: Summer heat can often mean swarms of bugs, so always have items vital to the outdoors within your guests’ reach so they can stay comfortable. Personal insect ®TM® repellents such as the OFF! Clip-On and OFF! Deep Woods Dry repellents will ensure your guests stay protected from insects so they can enjoy the party sans bugs.
4. Make it fun for adults and the kids: A bubble refill station is so fun for kids – they can blow big bubbles in the yard while the parents watch and mingle. Another fun activity is a cookie decorating station. Guests can decorate cookies with festive toppings and take them home after the party. Having planned activities helps ensure that all guests are entertained and takes some of the pressure off the host.
5. Take-Home Goodies: Take-home gifts featuring reminders of the great summer soiree they just enjoyed will make your guests feel special as they leave. If you host a garden party, offer your guests a small bag of seeds with growing instructions. Another fun idea – particularly for out-of-town guests – is to provide biscuits and small bottle of jam for breakfast the next day.
So whether it’s being ready for an outdoor party or barbecue, OFF!® products help busy hosts and moms prepare for summer with an array of tried and true insect repellents aimed keeping those pesky mosquitoes at bay.
For more information about OFF!® products, visit OFF!® on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OFF or online at www.keepsbugsoff.com.
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom received Off samples and Katie’s book Katie Brown’s Outdoor Entertaining: Taking the Party Outside
