Best Memorial Day Entertaining Tips {Pull off a great last-minute party!}

Are you planning a Memorial Day party this weekend? Here are some of the best Memorial Day entertaining tips.

Even if you are planning a last-minute Memorial Day party, these tips are for you!

Read on to see how to plan a Memorial Day shindig. 

Best Memorial Day Entertaining Tips {Pull off a great last-minute party!}

It’s Memorial Day Weekend! What do you have planned? Hopefully, before you dive into this weekend’s festivities, you will take some time out to honor those we served and died for our country.

Right now we’re going through interesting times as a country. Nevertheless, we should always come together to pay honor to those who willingly gave their lives to serve and protect this country (and their families).

My dad and husband both served (Navy and Airforce). 

If you’re planning to put together a cookout or bbq and entertain family and friends, I have a few tips to help you prep and pull off a fabulous party!

Planning. I am a huge advocate of planning ahead. Planning ahead to me means planning weeks ahead, and sometimes a few days before the event. Regardless of how you plan, take the time to put together your ideas.

Smartphones can be a lifesaver. Use your smartphone to help you plan. I use apps like Evernote to store all my ideas, make my grocery list, and make a to-do list.

I can also share my notes with my husband to make sure we are on the same page. Usually, we are both planning this party. He’s in charge of the menu, and I handle everything else.

Communication is essential when you are planning an event with other people. So use an app that will allow your whole team to have access to it.

I don’t suggest emailing back and forth. Emails can easily get lost in translation or become cumbersome. Keep it simple, by using an app like Evernote. 

Menu. What do you plan to serve? If this is a last-minute party, I would suggest making it a potluck.

This takes the pressure off of you trying to pull together everything! If everyone brings a passing dish, your life just got a whole lot easier.

If you are not going the potluck round, and prepping and making all of the food yourself (bless you), then I would advise going easy on yourself.

Come up with dishes that are EASY to make, and that you can make ahead of time.

For example, our Sabra Hummus Deviled Eggs is a fantastic recipe you can make and store in the fridge one day ahead.

For freshness, I don’t advise making this 2-3 days prior to the event.

Come up with easy appetizer ideas your guests can enjoy while they wait for the other food to be served. You can also buy a few tubs of Sabra Hummus and serve them with tortilla chips. This buys you a ton of time (trust me!).

 Another easy appetizer dish to serve is our Vegan Veggie + Hummus Tostadas! 

If you are planning to grill, we have a few helpful tips on making sure your grill game is on point. 

We recently made some fabulously grilled chicken wings which were the highlight of the party.

The food must be on point. Here’s the thing, if you are going to pull off cooking the entire feast, your food must be a highlight of the party. You want people to leave your party talking about the NEXT party.

You want people to talk about how amazing the food was— not “oh my gosh, the food was horrible or was store brought.” The pressure is even thicker if you or the person cooking the food are known on the streets as “throwing down in the kitchen!”

Be sure to set up a designated food area. 

Don’t forget about dessert. Try a few of our patriotic desserts.

This is also a good item to have the guests bring with them! 

• Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream Cake Parfait
• Patriotic Snow Cones
• Whiskey Apple Crisp with Salted Caramel & Toasted Marshmallow
• Blueberry & Strawberry Shortcake Recipe with Lemon Zest Whip Cream

It’s okay if you go store brought on some of the desserts.

The kids don’t care about it, they just want to eat all the cupcakes! 

Don’t forget about the decor. This brings me to my next tip. How do you plan to decorate for your party?

There are a few ways you can do this, all depending on how much time and money you want to invest in decor. 

If you are putting together a last-minute party, I suggest keeping it simple. I also suggest this if you are doing all of the cooking and grilling.

It can become very stressful trying to cook and decorate.

However, if you have the skill set to do both, then decorate ahead of time.

This may be a little challenging if your party is outdoors.

If so, get up early in the morning and decorate several hours before you have to start cooking. 

Another option is to not do anything. If this is not your forte, and you would rather focus your time on preparing the food, then go for it. 

The last option is for the party planners.

If you love to decorate, you don’t miss out on opportunities to pull off an amazing decor theme.

Even with this, keep it simple. Sometimes you can have too much. Keep your design idea clean and simple.

When you’re planning an outdoor party, use the elements around you to help you create the atmosphere.

You can check out a few ideas on putting together a patriotic tablescape. 

• Hang patio lights up.
• You can find patriotic decor items at the Dollar Store, Target, Amazon, Walmart, etc.
• Unless you feel like pulling out the good china, I suggest using paper plates. 
• Additional red, white and blue tablescape ideas can be found here! 

For this tablescape, I picked up the patriotic napkins and white sundial salad plates from Pier 1.

The patriotic ribbons came from Walmart. Everything else I had on hand, just needed to grab it out of my 4th of July box (I keep most of my decor in totes based on the theme. This saves a LOT of time!)

While out grabbing food for this party, I picked up a few roses for the centerpiece.

I used mason jugs from Target and popped my Christmas red berries in them. Easy and done. 

Essentials. Be sure to double-check you are ready for the party, by doing these things:

1. Make sure your grill equipment is clean and ready to go. 
2. Prep as much food before the day of the party as possible. (Like marinade the meat the night before).
3. Make sure you have enough seating for your guests. Look for party rentals in your area to get additional chairs and tables. 
4. Shop for all your food, decor, and paper products a week before the party. If this is a last-minute party, try to squeeze time to do these tasks 1-2 days before the party. You do not want to shop the day of the party and still put it all together. It will stress you out! 
5. Get party ice. People always forget this one. All major grocery stores, gas stations, party stores, and even some drugstores carry party ice. 
6. Music. Create a party playlist. Music helps set the tone of your party. Have it cued up and ready to go. 
7. If you’re serving alcohol at your party, be sure you have it chilled and ready. Nothing is worse than a warm drink. If kids are at this party (and adults who do not drink), be sure you have some mocktails on deck, and of course, have a ton of water. Get our popular patriotic mocktail for kids here. They will love it!

Plus, try our red, white, and boom firecracker cocktail for the adults.

And of course, our white patriotic margarita will be a showstopper at your event! 

Last, but not least, have fun! Sometimes planning a party can be STRESSFUL. Here are a few tips to keep it together. 

1. If the party is outdoors, don’t worry about cleaning the house. (I mean, if you have the time or if you have OCD issues like me, then let me step out of your way! lol). 
2. Touch up the bathroom guests will use. Seriously, PLEASE do this. Make sure it’s stocked with soap, tissue, and air freshener. Grab some Febreze while you’re out at the store. I also like to keep lotion and hand sanitizer around. My go-to lotion is Vaseline’s Cocoa Radiant. I love the way it makes my skin feel!
3. Make a list. Making a list and putting everything on it will help you keep focused. 
4. Budget. If this party is coming out of your pocket, make sure you put a budget together on how much you are spending and stick to it. 
5. Prep as much as possible. Prepping saves time! 
6. Have a backup plan. If the food burns, the weather is not cooperating, or you get sick, what’s the plan? Have a restaurant’s number on speed dial just in case you have to place an order. Have a tent set up or be prepared to bring the party indoors. If you’re too sick, cancel it. No one likes people hacking and coughing over their food. 
7. Pace yourself. This is not a marathon, but you want to win. Put on your happy music, find your groove and go forth, my friend! 
8. Bring in the cavalry. Don’t try to pull this off by yourself. If you need help, get help. 
9. Don’t stress about having a ton of activities to do. Grab these free 4th of July activities! 
10. Have fun! 

How do you plan to celebrate this Memorial Day (or 4th of July) weekend?

Drop me a line and let me know what other tips you would add!