Help me throw a "Martha Stewart" BBQ....

[TraciL]

I have about 20 people coming to my house for a bbq next weekend. All 20 are dh's family. He's got 2 sisters who do everything with flare. Last year his sister hosted the bbq and she wrapped mason jars in small paper bags and tied with raffia. They were used as drinking glasses for ice tea and lemonade....So you get the picture, she's full of nifty "Martha" ideas.

What we'll be eating is covered, I need tips, tricks, ideas on how to throw it all together and make it festive. I can look at just about any picture and copy it, but coming up with neat ideas is difficult for me.

Thanks
Traci

[Guest]

If you'll be eating outside in the evening - in keeping with the mason jars from before - you can put some sand in those & put some tea lights in them and put a line of them down the middle of the table. Taking these same tea lights/jars and wrapping wire around them as kind of handles and carefully hanging from tree branches looks really cute.

Using matching kitchen towels for oversized napkins works well for messy BBQ. You could even fold them up to where there is kind of a little pocket to hold the silverware.

[jknyc]

I'd go look online at Martha Stewart's website for ideas and just steal shamelessly.

[Guest]

Good ideas

Mason jars as candles = CUTE!

Mason Jars covered in paper to use as drinking glasses = I bet not a single guy drank out of one :-))

I like the rusticity of mason jars for a bbq. A couple of them filled with wild-looking flowers would be pretty, too.

A metal tub filled with ice and long neck Coronas...some whole limes scattered on top of the ice around the beer for color. Makes me want to have one RIGHT NOW!

If you don't want to use dishclothes or napkins as napkins, you can buy a package of bandanas at Target or Walmart for about $3.

And I agree with JKNYC. Steal ideas from Martha shamelessly!

[Shazadio]

Honestly? I wouldn't try to compete in the Martha Stewartisms. When I entertain I follow a few rules.

1. Good food and lots of it.
I make simple stuff. Stuff people like. I'm not trying out a new Chilean Sea Bass recipe. I'm more likely to be dishing out heaps of ziti and cheesy garlic bread. In your case, I'd go with different marinated meats, cold salads and something yummy for dessert. Make some southern sweettea or lemonade in a nice glass pitcher too.

2. Decorate simply.
Candles are always appropriate. If you insist on MS stuff, do the candles in paper bags thing. Weight down with sand if it's breezy. Use those flickering lights if candles make you nervous. Fresh flowers are nice too. I like putting short stems in low bowls so people don't have to stretch to converse across a table. And frankly, drinking out of mason jars would annoy me.

3. Don't flit.
Yes, you're the hostess and it's your job to keep things running smoothly, but try to enjoy the *people* who are coming. They'll remember how you made them feel a lot longer than they remember how the glasses were decorated.

Sharon

[AnnaKB]

fresh flowers in a monchromatic color scheme

is always cool. Only red flowers or only white flowers for example, always looks elegant. Is this going to be outside? Strings of twinkle lights are cool. I tend to try to go as simple as possible. Crisp white table cloth, clear glass vases, etc.

Hmm. That's about all I have. DH's family is the same way, and I gave up trying to compete a long time ago. They still like me. :-)

Have fun! I wish I had a family BBQ to go to.
Katy

[2Carol]

I did a bbq party and had fun with bandana fabric and cast iron

I bough up cast iron skillets (a dozen) from thrift stores and used them to bake corn bread. The cast iron helped keep the corn bread warm and of course I wasn't worried if someone cut a piece with a table knife - they aren't teflon right?

I stitched table runners from bandana fabric - you wouldn't even have to hem he edges - just cut to the right size. The table cloths were solid color.

I stitched bandana napkins (again I hemmed them but you could leave a raw edge) and tied the silverware inside and tied the ends through the handle of a water pistol.

I used blue enamel canning pots for the beans.

I picked up lots of wooden cutting boards and used these as place mats. Again thrift shop finds. These looked cute against the table cloth with the bandana runner up the middle. These were also handy for serving the meat.

I purchased blue enamel plates and mugs.

The bandana fabric was far less expensive than buying bandanas which had been my original thought.

Anyway I hope these ideas help.

[Dawnn]

Well I thought about Spring when you said next week (m)

I have about 20 people coming to my house for a bbq next weekend. All 20 are dh's family. He's got 2 sisters who do everything with flare. Last year his sister hosted the bbq and she wrapped mason jars in small paper bags and tied with raffia. They were used as drinking glasses for ice tea and lemonade....So you get the picture, she's full of nifty "Martha" ideas.

What we'll be eating is covered, I need tips, tricks, ideas on how to throw it all together and make it festive. I can look at just about any picture and copy it, but coming up with neat ideas is difficult for me.

Thanks
Traci

So what about something simple - like a white/green/yellow. Maybe a wide vase of lemons and lime, lots of daffodils/floating white candles (all are super inexpensive and can be picked up at the grocery store) in glass bowls? But, casual. Something like this pic, but without the eggs, of course.

http://www.epicurious.com/images/fea...r/look_img.jpg