Football season is upon us and for most of the country this means the last month of beer, mojitos, and barbecues.  I remember from my college days, (I went to college at 23) I wasn’t interested in Fraternities or the style of party they threw for the overall aesthetic, but I picked up on a few aspects I liked.  I had a taste for a little higher quality drinks, beer, and food and in small town Indiana, not to many people had summer barbeques meant for this purpose.  That was all quite a while, but reflected I had one significant “win” as a party host.  My last year of college, again I was now 27, I decided to have a large get together.  I was waiting tables at the time, and wait staffs tend to be a tight-knit group.  Within this group I collected $30 per person and had a barbeque, volleyball and drinks until around 4 AM.  A good time was had by all.

Between my life experience and what I have read through other blogs and magazines and tried to pick out the ideas that I thought were simple and easy to do, yet very useful to free up your time as the host, and to make your time serving much less, and decreasing overall problems that can arise.

The first thing and this is probably the most important, be courteous of your neighbors.  Invite them over, and make sure that they feel important even if you don’t know them that well.  This will form relationships that can make your life easier after the party is over also.

No. 2 is to have a fully stocked bar.  Don’t just get beer, or make a vodka and juice.  Get name brand liquor, and a mixture of good beer.  There is a such a wonderful selection today, that can be done on a budget. 

Now we will move on to the more fun ideas.  If you have a wheelbarrow you can turn it to a “beer cooler” that you can move around your party.  This is really useful if you are having games in the yard.

The next thing to do is make a higher end fruit mixture, that contains alcohol.  Remember that old party trick where you jam the neck of a bottle of vodka into a watermelon? This version is just as delish—and a lot less messy. You could stick to just watermelon, but I like the rainbow effect you get when you add cantaloupe and honeydew to the mix.

My last few ideas are for the grill.  Use coffee filters as hot dog holders instead of paper plates.  They are much easier to manage, dispose of, and since everyone is usually working on a budget, much cheaper.  If you are going to have a lot of cold food like veggies and dip, deviled eggs, and potato salad, you can fill a small kiddie pool with ice and forget about it for most of the day.

Please let me know if you have any other good ideas!