The Socially distanced, and not at all compromised, Garden Party!

By Kate Drohan, Party Organiser

With all the excitement of gatherings of more than six people able to now congregate…

I thought I would share some ideas of what I have up my sleeve for when my friends, relatives and grandparents come to visit under the new guidelines. Some of you will feel this moment has not come soon enough as other may feel it’s too soon. 

In these times, it’s easy to feel uptight, restrained and perhaps a little on edge about all the safety aspects that we don’t allow ourselves to be natural and in the moment. As a party hosts its our duty to make everyone feel as safe as possible as super stylishly as possible! 

If you have a garden that can sit six at two meters apart then fab, if like me you have a small, stone courtyard or patio or need to locate to a public park or the beach, no problem. 

Get the Garden Party look

Whenever I’m organising an event, my end goal always in mind is; how do you want to make people feel? Choose a theme or colour pallet to reflect the mood you’re after, perhaps take inspiration from the flower colours in your garden. You could go bold and brighten up the area with striking colours, go highly sophisticated monochromatic, vibrant with patterns or all black and white for a slick display. 

The centrepiece

All great events have a showstopper centrepiece. I’m absolutely obsessed with the idea of making a beautiful social distancing circle. My idea is to create a beautiful circle in the middle of your entertaining space (as big as required for the numbers) out of anything that looks eye catching. Think colourful garlands or bunting, flowers, books, stones or whatever you can get your hands on. 

This sets the parameters without questions and you’ll feel like your sitting around a campfire (if somebody contributes the guitar then added bonus?!). Add some cushions for your guests to sit on around the outside or, if you’re using chairs, simply attach some giant paper flowers to the backs – the end result will be beautiful! 

Hanging decor

Do you have trees or branches, beams or even washing lines to dangle things from? I’m a big fan of hanging paper lanterns or pom poms because they give great coverage, look stunning and are cheap and easy to get hold of online. With your lanterns, try tying on some long strings of ribbon to the bottom of them to give them some more luscious movement. 

Favours

If you’re feeling super generous, you can add a little party kit (mini wicker basket if you have the budget) at each place setting including ; hand sanitiser, cutlery, mini condiments, giant sunglasses and perhaps some glitter pom poms for the garden disco ?! 

Games

Croquet is a great choice of garden game when social distancing https://www.johnlewis.com/bex-6-mallet-family-croquet-set/p2515274

Makeshift bar area

Another fun idea would be to put one of these inflatable treasure chests in the middle of your circle, full of ice and drinks (https://www.smiffys.com/products/inflatable-treasure-chest-drinks-holder?variant=22691832234042&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3tiA-4Tp6QIVwobVCh25vQyTEAQYAiABEgJWhPD_BwE). Or get a little tiki bar on the go for all those cocktails & Pimm’s. This will keep going in and out the house to a minimum. 

After hours

For gatherings running into the evening, think about lighting up your pathways with some paper-bag lanterns using LED tealights and weighted down with stones in case it gets breezy. 

Drink of the week

Raspberry Watermelon Lemonade – 4 servings

  • Watermelon, half a medium size
  • Raspberries, a handful 
  • Lemon, juiced 
  • Ice
  • Mint, a handful 
  1. Cut watermelon in half, score and scoop out all the flesh – seeds and all.
  2. In a blender (perhaps two loads) add the watermelon, lemon juice, mint and raspberries and whizz up. You can add a bit more water in there to make it go further or ice if you want it nice and chilled.
  3. Serve your healthy lemonade with ice in the watermelon shell if there’s only two of you from the same home or in tall glasses if there’s more  

The family and I are properly addicted! 

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