How to Make the Most of Your Next Outdoor Celebration

Create a backyard Entertaining oasis for the perfect outdoor celebration with our best tips and tricks!

Need help creating your next outdoor celebration? We’re share easy tips, budget-friendly ideas, creative solutions and everything you need to turn your backyard into an amazing event. We’ve got your outdoor entertaining covered.

Welcome Spring with The Perfect Outdoor Celebration

With the ushering in of spring we head outside for any excuse. Happily, there are no lack of celebrations this time of year.  Need a reason to plan your next outdoor celebration? Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day just to name just a few. How about birthdays, bridal showers, baby showers, graduations? The list is endless. The main idea is: It’s time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful long-awaited weather and celebrate! No one helps us celebrate the everyday and our special occasions better than Better Homes & Gardens available exclusively at Walmart. You don’t need to break the budget to create a picture-perfect outdoor celebration that everyone will love. Let us show you how.

Jodie and I are honored to be part of The Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart Influencer Network. We love representing a brand that provides quality style at affordable prices. We receive compensation for our time and efforts in creating this post. All our opinions are authentically our own, and as always, we hope you enjoy. You can find more ideas from the talented BHG Live Better Influencer Network each month.

Set the Stage for Your Outdoor Celebration

Create the ambiance you want by borrowing from inside. To create a fun spring mood, I took inspiration from my beautiful Better Homes & Gardens outdoor-safe plates and cups. The hydrangea outdoor collection is straight from the garden. So, of course I decided to add real hydrangeas to the centerpiece display.

Tips for Creating a Centerpiece Display for Your Outdoor Celebration

1. Borrow from inside. Look around your house and think outside the box.
2. Add items that are full of character, like vintage books.
3. Create a variety of heights. I used tall candle holders and a variety of stands to build many heights.
4. Cover your table to give it an indoor, festive feel that goes along with your theme. I chose a linen tablecloth to add old world charm.

Frame Your Outdoor Celebration Setting

I framed our party setting in two main ways. I chose a beautiful rug to create a visual frame. Next, I used potted plants to complete the frame. You don’t need a lot of plants to do this, and it is very effective. You can see that two or three is enough to create a powerful effect.

Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart offers a large selection of gorgeous high quality indoor/outdoor rug choices to add just the right look to your outdoor space. Jodie and I love the wide selection and the value pricing.

Another fun way to frame your outdoor space, especially for an evening event, is to use string lights. Visit our DIY project post for how to add string lights to your backyard. This is such a fun project. The post even includes an easy-to-follow video tutorial.

 

Create Destination Conversation Areas

For any outdoor celebration you need to think about your outdoor space like an outdoor room. Create conversation areas, sitting areas, gathering spots. Here are some ideas:

1. Gather chairs in two’s and three’s
2. Lacking chairs? That’s okay. Use blankets and pillows to create fun spots to sit, eat, and relax.
3. Lawn chairs, folding chairs, lawn blankets, all of these are fine. Try to keep the heights in each area matching so people are on the same level in each area.
4. Have a larger area but not enough seating? Bring indoor furniture outside for the occasion. This is so much fun. Bring out a statement piece like a couch. I’ve seen this look so good. Plus of course it’s cozy and functional. Just be sure to check the weather forecast beforehand.
5. Outdoor celebration in the heat/sun/rain? Use shade tents. These create fun destination areas and can help with all weather conditions.

Outdoor Celebration: Details Make the Difference

Have fun adding the details to your outdoor celebration.

• Pillows. They add the finishing touch visually and also make your space more comfortable for guests. These black and white pillows are from Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart and go with any color scheme or party theme.
• Flowers. Real or faux. In the picture above all these flowers are faux. I brought them from inside. My main table has all real flowers. I love mixing real and faux. It keeps people guessing.

• Cute Trays. Trays help carry everything, so they are practical, but they also provide a stage for displaying your drinks and food. This vintage farmhouse style tray adds the perfect touch.

• Outdoor non-breakable dishes & pitchers. It’s so great to have festive reusable serve ware instead of ugly red plastic cups. And you don’t have to worry about breakage so why not elevate your next outdoor celebration with Better Homes & Gardens outdoor dishes? They are a great value, very functional, and beautiful!

 

Creative Ideas for Any Outdoor Celebration

Easter

• A pastel colored theme is perfect for Easter.
• Decorate with candy-filled plastic eggs that can double as a game for the kids before leaving.
• Use food as decor! Cupcakes with pastel colored icing set out on a tiered tray could make the perfect centerpiece.
• Pull out all your bunnies, faux carrots and nests full of chicks or eggs to add whimsy to your decor.

Mother’s Day

• Mother’s Day is a sentimental holiday if there ever was one. Have a framed picture of your special mom (or moms) in attendance as a focal point on the main table or every table in honor of her day.
• Pick a color scheme, perhaps based around mom’s favorite color or flowers. Choose decor and flowers accordingly.

Cinco de Mayo

• An easy and naturally festive event
• Hang Mexican flags & banners
• Use multi-color outdoor lights
• Decorate with large sombreros that people can choose to wear
• The more colorful you can make it the better

4th of July

• Add American flag banners to your string lights or anywhere
• Little American flags add to centerpieces and planters
• Choose red and white geraniums to decorate your outdoor space
• Vintage pieces of Americana are a fun way to add charm to your standard holiday decor
• Try our easy 4th of July Fruit parfait for a patriotic treat

 

Let’s Talk Easy Menu Ideas for Your Outdoor Celebration

Being a decorator (way more than a cook) I always think in terms of two main objectives:

1. Ease
2. Visual Display

Is that bad? It’s true, and I’m just keeping it real.

Make One Thing Yourself

• I like to always have at least ONE THING I made myself. I don’t know if this is just to make me feel better.
• Maybe it’s a family recipe or something that you know off the top of your head, and it’s always a hit.
• Have a signature dish and be known for it!
• When pressed for time, even this rule can be broken. People these days understand being busy.

Seasonal Food

• Choose seasonal items that help celebrate the mood of the day.
• I love fresh seasonal fruit. Everyone loves it. It’s healthy but also a treat.
• It’s colorful and looks festive. I’d call that a win across the board.
• Fresh seafood is another great seasonal treat when available.

Specialty Store Food

• Have your go-to specialty sources that you can count on for quality selections. More expensive than making things yourself, they are often less expensive than catering.

Supermarket Options

• Supermarket pre-made options are better than ever.
• Always test out on your family beforehand to make sure of taste and quality.
• My beautiful mini celebration cakes for this party were only $4.99 each, and they were delicious. Making them myself would have cost me much more time and money.

Create Self-Serve Stations

One key to making an outdoor celebration run more smoothly is to empower your guests to serve themselves. Give them everything they need so they can make themselves at home. This frees you up to enjoy your guests instead of spending your time serving them.

Use cute containers to hold and display all necessary items. I love this multi-functional container/serve set from Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart. All items can be used separately or together. I love this to serve guests as you see above. But it can also be used to hold three plants. I can picture it being so darling as a center piece with real or faux plants, can’t you?

 

Use a Fun Drink Tub

• Keep extra cold drinks close at hand with this awesome vintage-inspired galvanized drink tub.
• Better than a cooler, I like how you can see the drinks displayed.
• Style is key. This is so much cuter.
• Matching. Using the vintage farmhouse galvanized line from Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart everything is matching. My whole party looks put together.
• Versatility. These can be used and reused for any outdoor party theme.

 

Style Up Your Drink Station

I love using bar carts outside for this purpose.

Make your drink station:

• cute & festive
• functional
• easy to use

1. Hang pretty hand towels over the sides for easy access (drinks can make a mess).
2. Have a self-serve ice bucket. This vintage looking farmhouse style one from Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart is insulated to keep ice cold all day long. The matching metal ice scoop hangs conveniently on the side so the lid can stay sealed.
3. Make sure everything your guests need is close at hand to avoid running back and forth inside the house.

Outdoor Celebration Made Easy

Your outdoor celebrations can be as easy as they are fun. With our tips and ideas, we hope you will be even more confident to host your next outdoor event. Better Homes & Gardens products available exclusively at Walmart make outdoor entertaining stylish and affordable. Don’t forget to browse their huge on-line selection more lots more choices. With a little creativity and the right tools, your next outdoor party will be a big success. Enjoy!