Summer Of Love: Fall In Love With Hosting A Summer Soiree

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By Mia Bolaris-Forget

With the exception of those few winter creatures who prefer the cold artic temps and snow to the summer sun and heat, who doesn’t love summer? And besides warmer temps and tan lines summer spells (hopefully) lots of outdoor fun and entertaining.

Here are a few haute but cost effective ideas for being the hostess with the mostess.

· Sitting pretty: Want to give your outdoor party some “indoor” flair? Create some place cards by turning regular household items such as paint chips into seating cards. Simple cut out two colours at a time and fold in half, creating a standing place card, then pen each guests name on their favourite colour or in their favourite ink.

· Baked to perfection: One of the staples of summer is a sweet taste of Long Island corn. Keep these sweet and succulent kernels off your counter by standing each ear in the center of a round cake pan, securing it so that take the kernels off the cob for kiddies or for a refreshing summer salad dish.

· Cool and refreshing beverages: And, you thought your colander was only for draining pasta and rinsing out veggies. Consider sitter it atop a bucket or bowl, so when guests reach for ice, they get only what hasn’t yet melted.

· Having a blast…..safely: What would summer be without fireworks? Protect your family, especially little ones by placing sparklers in play dough before lighting. The container keeps hands etc. safe from flying sparks.

· Peel appeal: Before tossing the peels of citrus fruits, consider leaving them on the counter to dry. Believe it or not these pieces of citrus can be added to bbqs chimneys, or fire pits as a fragrant flame enhancer.