Get ready for the warm temps by learning how to organize a neighborhood BBQ! It’s the perfect time of year to get outside, cook up some yummy food, and get to know your neighbors better. Even if you’ve never done it before, we’ve got the tips and tricks to help your first neighborhood BBQ be one to remember. Be careful though, the neighbors might want you to do it more often!

How To Organize A Neighborhood BBQ

Generate some BBQ buzz

The first thing on our list of how to organize a neighborhood BBQ is to start getting the word out! It might be helpful to decide on a general time frame, and then talk to your neighbors before deciding on the exact day. If a few of them will be out-of-town, you might want to change it before you set it in cement. Once the day is set, generate buzz by letting everyone know about it at least a couple of weeks in advance. There are some pretty easy ways to do this:

• Print up some paper invitations and hand deliver them to each of your neighbors.
• Get your neighbors’ email addresses, design a digital invitation, and email them out.
• Send out a text as a pre-alert, then make sure you hand deliver an invitation soon after.

Set a basic menu

The nice thing about a neighborhood BBQ is that it doesn’t have to be a fancy, sit down dinner. So the food doesn’t need to be fancy either! My neighbors always host a BBQ potluck, and this works amazingly well. You might decide to cook hamburgers and hot dogs, and then assign out the rest to the neighbors. You can also make it a “bring your own meat” BBQ. Then all you need to do is have the grill hot and ready! Have a couple of your neighbors bring salads, another bring chips and dip, and others could bring desserts to share.  It can be as easy or as involved as you want to make it.

Accommodations

Once you’ve let everyone know about the neighborhood BBQ, set the menu and made assignments, you can make sure you have the tables and chairs to accommodate everyone comfortably. You’ll need a large table to serve the food, plus other tables and chairs for the adults to sit. Kids are flexible and love to sit on picnic blankets around the yard. Grab some fun table covers and picnicware from Dollar Tree, and you’re set for a great evening!

Now that you know how to plan a neighborhood BBQ, don’t wait too long to set one up. But first, make sure you know the best outdoor cleaning tips before summer so your yard looks its best!