5 Tips For Stress-free Summer Entertaining #TweetFromTheSeat

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I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Charmin. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation. All content and thoughts are my own. #TweetFromTheSeat

School is out and summer is on! From birthdays to family barbeques to friendly get-togethers, summer is a great season for getting together with family and friends. In order to keep all of the guests happy and to keep things running smoothly, I have five “rules” for stress-free summer entertaining.

Keep the kids happy. Do you remember being dragged off to a party when you were young and asking your parents if it was time to leave yet? Someone always loses in that situation. Make sure there are some things for kids to do. Get brown craft paper and let them color and make their own tablecloths. Or better still, use the area for kids bingo! Prizes don’t have to break the bank, they can be things like bubbles that also make for more fun activities.

Keep things cool. Have a reasonable selection of beverages on hand, as well as lots of ice. Entertaining in the summer means dealing with heat and humidity, which makes people even thirstier. You don’t want beverages getting warm on a hot day. We do have an ice maker but if we’re entertaining we also buy a bag of ice and keep that in the freezer as well. Also. Not everyone can handle lots of sunlight, heat  or humidity. Be sure to have an area where people can seek refuge from those elements if they’re really uncomfortable, rather than have them leave.

Serve simple and good food. There’s no means to turn a simple summer party into an elaborate budget breaking endeavor. And there’s never a reason to be cheap. (And yes there is a difference between frugal and cheap.) It’s awkward to run out of food part way through a party. Serve food that you can afford to make plenty of, while being sure it’s food you can make well. For summer entertaining I stick with food we can grill that I know people enjoy. Burgers, sausages, dogs, corn, salads, etc.

Forget the dishes. Noone wants to spend days after a party washing dishes. At the same token, you don’t want to see your guests face drop when a cheapo paper plate gives way and their food falls onto the ground below. Be sure to stock up on decent quality paper plates.

And speaking of paper goods, don’t forget to stock up on the Charmin. The last thing you want to happen is to find that you have 20 guests and no toilet paper. You do not want to run out of toilet paper. I mean, there’s no good time for that, but you really don’t want it to happen while you’re entertaining. Remember I said don’t be cheap? That especially applies to toilet paper. Charmin is a family favorite in our house. You don’t want cheap stuff that hurts and literally does nothing more than clog your toilet. Noone wants a clogged toilet, not the host and especially not the guest that it happens to. Roto-Rooter is America’s largest provider of plumbing & drain services. Charmin is proud to be the only brand to carry the Roto-Rooter stamp of approval to be clog-free and septic-safe. Roto-Rooter plumbers recommend Charmin more than any other brand.

To learn more about Charmin visit charmin.com. You can also connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

Do you have a favorite tip for summer entertaining?