Our Guide to Hosting the Ultimate Garden Party
How to host the ultimate garden party can differ from person to person and family to family! That being said, we have put together our top 10 tips for you to host the ultimate garden party, especially if you have a pizza oven. Here they are.
1. Choose a playlist that compliments your theme, and your guests!
One of the most common mistakes when putting together a playlist for any kind of party is to simply fill it with all your personal favourites, without any consideration for you guests’ musical tastes. It’s always best to keep it fairly mainstream and align it to the theme of your party. Let’s face it, Grandma doesn’t want to hear Jay-Z and Dr. Dre on repeat for 6 hours!
Think about the overall theme or vibe you want to create for your garden party. Are you aiming for a relaxed and casual gathering, a lively and energetic party, or perhaps a more sophisticated and elegant ambiance? The theme will help guide your music choices.
Select a mix of genres that align with the mood you want to set. It’s generally a good idea to include a variety of music styles to cater to different preferences. For example, you might include a blend of pop, rock, jazz, R&B, folk, or even some international or world music. This ensures there’s something for everyone.
Streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music offer pre-made playlists for various occasions and moods. You can browse through these playlists and find one that aligns with your garden party theme. Alternatively, you can use their algorithms to generate a personalised playlist based on your preferred artists or genres.
2. Provide shade from the sunshine
If your table does not have an umbrella, you might wish to consider the shadiest spots for your guests. Nobody likes to be sat sweltering whilst trying to socialise. Temperatures are only increasing each summer, with some forecasts from the Met Office predicting that in the future we could see an even hotter day than the 40° summer we had last year. It’s also important if there’s younger children who need to be in the shade to protect their skin!
3. Match your decor to garden plants
Whilst the colour theme of your party is entirely up to you, you may wish to consider a more natural approach for tablecloths and seat covers. Choosing a theme that reflects the nature of your garden can help create a harmonious effect and have your guests feeling peaceful, comfortable and in touch with nature.
4. Make it magical
Make your garden party the party to remember by adding some glittery touches. You could strategically place tea lights in lanterns around your garden, to give a soft glow to the evening ambience as the night progresses.
5. Bring comfort outside
Depending on how long you intend to host for, if your party continues deep into the evening you might also want to consider bringing out cushions, throws, blankets and soft lights.
6. Protect your guests from pests
Whilst you may not be able to summon divine intervention to ensure there are no annoying wasps or flies attending your party, you can prevent them from touching your guests’ food, sauces and drinks. Consider serving drinks in vintage jars with lids, ideally with a straw in them. Your guests might not think to thank you for preserving their dental hygiene, but they will certainly appreciate no insects entering their drinks. You might also wish to consider serving sauces for party food in Tupperware with lids.
7. Use a pizza making station
Additionally, in ensuring your guests’ food is not spoiled by pests, why not invest in a pizza making station? You could display a range of pizza toppings as well as pre-made dough balls so each of your guests can design their own pizza, as well as not having to worry about certain tastes and making food to certain dietary requirements! Your guests will also remember how they loved making their own pizza which will be the talk of your social group for years to come. Investing in Dough Proving Containers could be worthwhile as they neatly store the perfect amount of dough and can also be used as handy vessels for toppings as well.
8. Prepare some nibbles
Serve some easy finger food for your guests for them to wet their appetite. You could strategically place a tray with a sign offering them to take a bite in the entrance to your home! If you are stuck for inspiration, remember that pizza ovens are not just for making pizza. You could serve something light such as garlic bread, bruschetta or roasted Mediterranean vegetables. Anything that lets the charred, smoky flavours ooze into the food. You can also entertain your guests with your knowledge of cuisine by serving a sweet and savoury option of Hawaiian pizza, and memorising our article on the history of it… Or maybe not!
9. Serve refreshing drinks that compliment the food
Fresh juices, chilled fizzy drinks, prosecco, champagne or light wines make a fine accompaniment to pizza and will sit lighter with your guests. If you do opt for something alcoholic, avoid heavier drinks such as red wine or port until later in the evening. Lighter beverages will also colour coordinate with pizza and oven roasted nibbles, and you could even slow roast cuts of meat in your pizza oven to accompany heavier beverages later on.
10. Save something sweet for last
If you have made the most of your pizza oven, your guests will likely be likely wanting to devour some more delights later into your party. So, our dear pizza aficionado, why not showcase your knowledge of pizza by serving a dessert pizza for your guests to indulge in? You might like to take some inspiration for your main courses and desserts from our guide on weird and wonderful pizza toppings here.
Don’t forget to ensure that you serve napkins! Or of course knifes and forks too for those more discerning guests. We hope that this helps you deliver the ultimate garden party this summer, and if we can be of any service with shopping for it, explore our shop here.