End of Summer Party Time

Just because Labor Day ?? just around the corner doesn't mean the summer party has to end! We are here to help you throw the best Labor Day Party.  You need to decide what kind of shindig you are having. Kid friendly pool party? Not so kid friendly cocktail hour? You gotta be prepared either way. We have put together a list of some easy drinks, food hacks and activities that will keep everyone entertained. So get ready for the end of summer with a big ol bash with all of your friends and family.

Drinks

Creating a specialty cocktail for your smaller guests is a simple way to make them feel like they are part of the party. A few ingredients and a little finesse will take your refreshment table to the next level. If you make your own lemonade you can determine the amount of sugar that goes in. Making sure those little ones aren't bouncing off the walls all night!

For the Kids

Apple Berry "Sangria" 

Sparkling Apple Juice, Cut fruit of your choice

Traditional Lemonade

Fresh Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, Water

For You

Coconut Mojito

Mint, Coconut Rum, Simple Syrup, Soda Water and Lime to garnish.

Lemonade Rum Punch

Lemonade, Pineapple juice, Coconut Rum, Dark Rum

Food

Dijon Chicken Wings

The glaze for these wings can be prepped the night before. If you have good temp control over your grill you can use that if you don't want to be stuck inside for an hour. If not a 450 degree oven will work just fine. When they start to look nice and golden brown glaze with the honey dijon mixture and cook for another five min.

Cooler Corn

Have you ever heard of cooler corn? It is the fastest and easiest way to whip up a large batch of corn on the cob. Simply fill a clean cooler with all of your shucked ears of corn and fill with two kettles of boiling water. Shut the lid and wait about 30 minutes. You will have a plethora of perfectly cooked corn waiting for insane amounts of butter and salt! ?

Garden Green Beans

Simple steamed green beans with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, white wine vinegar, and Parmesan cheese is a great and healthy addition to a normally heavy summer meal.  The green beans only need to be steamed for about 5 minutes so they are still crunchy. I prefer this salad chilled you can make it the night before, it tastes even better!

American Potato Salad

This is your typical American potato salad. Yellow mustard and mayo gives it the much needed tang. The hard boiled eggs make it super creamy (it's a perfect place for your botched deviled eggs...we won't tell). White onion can be subbed for whatever onion you have on hand, I like shallots but they are a pain in the butt to cut.

Simply slicing your watermelon is a cop out. Adding these fun sticks make this summer fruit seem more like a dessert. An added bonus is that it keep your kids hands from getting sticky.

Activities

Giant Jenga

Jenga is a stable and family game nights. Super size it and you have a fun outdoor activity for all ages. All you need is a couple 2X4s cut into 10 1/2 inch pieces. Sand them so that they are smooth enough to slide against one another. Paint them if you feel so inclined.

How fun does this look? All you need is a volleyball/badminton net, a couple of towels, and some water balloons. This can be player two different ways. One; typical beach volleyball with two players on each side all trying to get the others to miss the balloon. Two play teams of four two on each side trying to be the last one to drop the balloon. Both sound pretty great to me.

It wouldn't be a summer get together without a bags tournament. You don't have to be a woodsmith to make your own set. This tutorial uses cardboard instead of wood making this a  cheaper DIY version.