Laidback Summer Hosting

Nothing motivates housework quicker than a text, "Hey, are you around today?" I'd most likely never host if it weren't for those texts. But I'm always grateful for them! So I keep things handy, not too precious, just on standby for an impromptu happy hour or sit down.

For laidback summer hosting, I use mismatched everything: china, glasses, silverware. And I use stacks of heavy plates and bowls I picked up at the dollar store or Walmart with the clear wine glasses... even for water or OJ. I keep a clean drop cloth or cheap white tablecloth. This one has a nice texture but with some polyester (easy cleaning) and throw a runner down it. Then clip some hydrangeas or roses from the bushes outside. Some blooms from the garden or field, toss 'em in a vase, light some candles... and start the playlist.

There was a time when I loved planning dinner parties. I'd make menu cards.

Set a real table. Plan every course. Even on our yacht at the time (except with melamine so dishes wouldn't break when winds and waves were crashing).

Those were great years. They just aren't these years. These days my kitchen is over 100 years old, has almost no cupboard space, and the drawers require the strength of Hercules to close. Most evenings we're grabbing paper plates, throwing burgers on the grill or ordering pizza, and heading for the porch before the mosquitoes find us.

That being said, hospitality has and hasn't changed for me. It isn't gone. Summers and hosting are just way more laidback. Less about presentation. More about getting everyone fed so we can relax on the porch or next to the firepit. So for me, summer hosting is more about dressing up a picnic table.

The real goal is making it easy to say, "Come on over," than making it look like a magazine spread. Because, honestly, if I wait until the kitchen is remodeled...or the drawers work...or I have enough cabinets...or life slows down...I'll miss summer and the friends or fam who wanted to stop by for the sunset.

Sources:

• Tablecloth – white cotton/blend cloth (Walmart)

• Runner – textured runner (Walmart)

• Plates – Walmart

• Bowls – Walmart

• Glasses – Dollar Tree

• Pillows – Target

• Narrow ceramic vase – Dollar General

• Flowers – garden + hydrangeas clipped from the yard

• Table – old picnic table

• Location – under a maple tree

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