I love entertaining, one might say it is my favourite thing to do. I love the organizing that happens before the event, I love making the food (or ordering the catering) and I love having my friends show up to have a good time. Let’s not go too far though, there is only one thing I don’t like about entertaining and that’s the clean up. Oh well, to appreciate the good things in life we have to deal with the down side or we wouldn’t define them as good!
Let’s be clear though, I am not an entertaining expert but I do know someone who is! I’ve asked my good friend Rebecca Wise from Event Wise (www.eventwise.ca) to give us her top entertaining trends for this summer. Rebecca runs her own event planning company and has a passion for putting on the best parties and weddings. Here’s what she had to say about trends for this summer:
- Everything pineapples and palm trees!
If you are looking for the best outdoor/indoor flower arrangement for this summer, here it is! Tropical botanicals are a great way to set the mood to be festive and refreshing! Then top it off with an edible pineapple display or add in cool pineapple ornaments for décor. This sets a mood for a lake party, pool party or changes the indoors into a tropical oasis. Check out my pineapple, coconut popsicle recipe, this will be a sure win with the kids!
- Low Key Do It Yourself Bars (DIY for short)
If you are hosting a backyard or lake BBQ, the trend on serving is to have a station where your do it themselves! This sounds like a winner to me! Rebecca suggests a poutine bar (sounds like a long weekend must) or maybe make your own caesar salad station (we have the perfect recipe for that). I love this trend and don’t do enough of it. I’m generally a control freak so the thought of someone being in control of the final product makes me a bit nervous. Having said that, I’m a firm believer a person will enjoy their meal more if they have put in some effort!
- Balloons are back
I typically reserve balloons for kid Birthday parties but Rebecca assures me they can be fun, enchanting and maybe even intimate! Balloons these days come in all shapes, sizes and most importantly colours. They can decorate doorways, food stations, gift tables, the list goes on. You really have to step out of your kid birthday party thinking and take balloons a little more seriously.
- Giant blow up floaties for the kid in all of us!
These are a great addition in my family this summer as we now have a pool in our backyard up north but these floaties are being used for decoration not just pool fun! The choices in floaties are endless in the stores, grab a couple that fit your theme and make them into a festive back drop for a buffet table or an entrance. If you are on a lake or have a backyard pool, this totally adds some fun for the kids. Long gone are the simple circle floaties, the choices are endless! My personal favourite and my kids is the Unicorn!
- La Croix
Sparkling water a trend?! This one is. I had no idea it was so popular until recently, but there is a strong following out there for La Croix Sparkling Water. It has no artificial sweeteners, sodium free and zero calories. It comes in twenty different flavours, yes, I said TWENTY. They have super fun flavours from Tangerine to ones like Cherry/Lime. How about mixing up your favourite cocktail with La Croix instead of club soda? I’m sure it will be a winner with your guests. I also find their cans to be unique, vibrant and make an outstanding display on their own! Also, this is the first summer for La Croix in Canada, so why not be the first to serve it!
