When you have a family, you have a million-and-one things going through your head at any given time. During the summer it can get especially hectic. The kids are on break from school, the days are longer, and the heat can drive everyone a little mad. Every now and then, it’s nice to plan something fun that everyone can enjoy. This is where BBQ’s come in.  Between getting your family dressed and fed each morning and hoping they’ve had a long enough day to sleep through the night, planning a BBQ is not always the easiest thing to accomplish. Don’t panic! We’re here to help. This guide will help you to plan an amazing end-of-summer BBQ that will make your neighbors wish they were invited.

Food

When you’re planning a BBQ, the first thing that comes to mind is food. This is where we sometimes find ourselves stuck. A BBQ is all about the food. Your first mission is deciding what to serve. While making your decision on what to serve at your BBQ, think about your guests. Do any of your invited guests have a special diet or any food allergies to consider? Gluten free? Low Carb? Paleo? Vegetarian? The possibilities seem endless. All diets and special lifestyles can be accommodated for a BBQ, you just want to make sure that you will have something for everyone.

This also goes for kids. Do you have any picky eaters coming over? When entertaining, it’s always a great idea to have a few kid-friendly food items. Some kids love adventurous foods. Some kids will eat things like teriyaki chicken kebabs or spicy grilled pineapple, but many kids do better with very simple foods. Hamburgers or hot dogs are usually fail proof when it comes to kids.

At a BBQ, the meat is usually the main event. Go for quality over variety. Rather than having several options, decide on one or two different things to serve as the main dish, like pork sausage and classic BBQ chicken. This gives people choices without breaking the bank or requiring the use of multiple grills. Some other great and simple options would be meat and veggie kebabs, ribs, or keep it classic and serve up hamburgers and hot dogs for all!

Hors d’oeuvres, sides and desserts are also just as important to a BBQ as the main course. They help to balance out your meal and provide color to your table. Both are very important elements to hosting an unforgettable BBQ. Make your big day as relaxing as possible by preparing your side dishes and desserts the day before. When deciding on what to serve keep in mind that on a summer day, cold dishes go best with foods coming hot-off-the-grill. Using the freshest ingredients you can find will make even the simplest salad go off the charts in flavor.

Entertainment

When you’re hosting a BBQ you may be busy flipping food on the grill, but there will always be time to take a breather. Even if you are keeping yourself busy, keep your guests in mind. You’ve invited them over, and should have some form of entertainment planned. Music is definitely a must to fill up any awkward silences or lulls in conversation.

If your back yard BBQ turns into a dance party, you’ve gotten very lucky! Just in case that doesn’t happen, have something fun available to your guests like games or even a few packs of playing cards. Don’t be too rigid when it comes to entertaining your guests. You will probably find that the adults at your party will entertain themselves by chatting with you or other guests. Because we never see our family and friends as often as we’d like, catch-up is usually one of the best games to play over a delicious BBQ dinner.

While we’re talking about entertainment, let us not forget about the kiddos! You have a few goals when it comes to kids. Keep them busy, give them options and let them have their space (this means the grown-ups get their space as well). With kids, you want to keep them busy because if they aren’t off doing their own thing, they might be looking for ways to entertain themselves. This can be dangerous around a fiery grill and possibly annoying to some of your guests. Having multiple options will come in handy because not all kids are the same, and they may not all be interested in the same activity.

Further, some children might find a given activity fun for a short time, but wind up feeling bored later. This is especially possible if your BBQ is going to be an all-day affair. Set up an area stocked with coloring books or arts and crafts, as well as interactive toys or areas to play sports and burn off some of that energy that we wish we could borrow as adults.

Inflatables are a great idea for BBQs. They give kids the freedom to bounce or slide all day long. If you have a lot of kids to entertain, the Big Ol’ Bouncer is a great choice as one of our biggest home-use bounce houses. You might have a hard time getting them out of the inflatable at the end of the evening, but getting them to sleep that night will be a breeze. Read our helpful guides to keep the kids safe when playing together on our bounce houses.

Having all of this set aside in a designated area will not only make clean up easier, it also allows you to designate the best area for them, keeping them far from areas that may not be appropriate. You don’t want kids suffering the blinding burn of BBQ smoke blowing right into their eyes, or eating up all of the strawberries you’ve spent the summer growing. This also gives kids the opportunity to mingle on their own and maybe make some new friends. A lot of kids like to be independent, and having their own space to play allows them to decide what they want to do with their time at your BBQ.

Timing

With your food and entertainment all planned out, your final concern is with Timing. Making sure that the day unfolds smoothly isn’t as hard as it may seem. You can plan your backyard seating and prepare most of your cooking the day before. Put your meats in their marinades and prepare your hors d’oeuvres, sides, and desserts in advance, to be refrigerated until it’s time to eat. On the big day, get your tables and chairs set up out back and roll out your inflatable if you will be using one. Getting your inflatable set up earlier in the day allows you to get it going for the kids with the flip of a switch. You can roll it out flat, stake it down and attach the blower so that when your guests arrive, you can simply turn on the blower to start the fun.

Get your grill started before your guests are set to arrive, so that you can socialize and get your guests situated while it heats up. If you are cooking your meats low and slow, start early enough that you can serve up dinner BBQ about 45 minutes to an hour after guests arrive. This gives everyone time to transition from go-mode to relaxation mode. This is important for guests who have to make a long or inconvenient trip to your home. It allows everyone to get comfortable as well as ensuring that no one misses the boat if they are running a little late for any reason. Now that you’ve got everything mapped out, it’s time to enjoy the day. Eat and socialize and enjoy the warm weather, these moments are memories in the making.