5 Must See Memorial Day Party Ideas

With Memorial day coming up it's time to throw a party!  I love having people over to celebrate summertime holidays. So I found this great article over on Metropolitan Organizing's blog with several great party ideas.

Here are my five favorites:

Table Setting

To make things even easier, choose decorations that work as functional items.

For instance, you can use blue plaid paper plates, red placemats, and red plastic utensils.

Paper cups printed with stars and stripes also work well with plaid tablecloths in red, white, and blue. You can also buy miniature US flags for additional decoration.

Plan Activities For Your Guests

It's important to keep your guests occupied and having fun.  Here's a few ideas

Memorial Day Parade

Check out the schedule for your local Memorial Day Parade and set aside the time to watch it. Enjoy the streamers, take pictures, and show your support for our veteran heroes!

Frisbee Game

Plan a simple, yet fun game like ultimate Frisbee! It’s easy for a group to play and it doesn’t need extensive preparations on your part! You can even set up teams to get your guests’ competitive juices flowing!

Film Showing

As things wind down towards the evening, gather everyone for a movie. If you have space in your garden or backyard, set up a projector screen and lay down large floor pillows on several picnic mats on the grass. Pick an adventure film to keep both kids and adults amused for a few hours. This way, you don’t have to worry about separate entertainment for your guests!

If you want to add more fun for the kids, make cardboard box cars for them when you have the time! Line up your cardboard box cars in front of the projector screen, and let their imagination run as they enjoy their movie. This how-to from Parenting.com gives step-by-step instructions on how to make cars from ordinary cardboard boxes!

Go for a Classic American Menu

This is the perfect time to fire up the grills and smokers. Instead of labor-intensive menus, keep things simple but yummy. Steaks and burgers are favorite fares during Memorial Day, while sweet and chilled desserts are a great way to keep guests cool!

Here’s a suggested menu:

• This honey-glazed baby back ribs from Delish.com can be started in the oven and finished on the grill.
• I made this turkey burger from O Magazine for our family and it’s absolutely delicious. You can also make sliders so they’re easier to eat!
• Bobby Flay’s grilled corn on the cob with spiced barbecue butter is an excellent side dish for your grilled meats.
• For dessert, make a batch of Martha Stewart’s strawberry lemonade popsicles for the kids and strawberry cream cake for the adults.

As for drinks, lemonade for the kids and iced tea for the adults will work perfectly. For our Memorial Day party, we set up a drink station and decorated it with red carnations. A mason jar holds the blue straws, while glass dispensers make getting drinks easier.

A frazzled and frantic host is no fun. Prepare everything the night before your party so that you can relax the next day. Marinate meats, cut up vegetables, and bake whatever can be baked. Baked goodies keep well as long as refrigerated, so this can be done even two days ahead. You should also make sure to stock up on ice and drinks to minimize supply runs.

For five more tips to help you plan the perfect Memorial day party, check out the original article over on Metropolitan Organizing

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