Have your Cake and Eat it, Just Add Cocktails!
Still clinging onto the summer? In denial about having to move the festivities indoors?
Autumn birthdays, we’ve got you.
September is known for its clear, crisp skies - making it the perfect time for an outdoor party.
The nights may well be getting darker, but that just gives the perfect excuse for a campfire, and that’s where the best memories are made.
So grab your cosy blankets and outdoor fairy lights, and get ready to throw an unforgettable outdoor party - no matter the weather.
Birthdays are great when you’re a kid, but as you enter into grown-up territory, it becomes harder to think of ways to create fun. Gone are the wild days of bouncy castles and children’s entertainers. So how can you do something truly special that the other adults in your life will appreciate?
As the creators of the only bubble blowing machine aimed at grown-ups, we thought our young-at-heart team might be able to dream up some genuinely fun outdoor birthday party ideas! Here’s what they suggested;
Secret Cinema
You can easily hire or buy a projector these days, so if you’re in for a balmy evening, set up a little cinema in the back garden. Grab some cushions, blankets and fairy lights and pop on your favourite flick when the sun goes down.
You could theme your evening around your film. Whether Tom Cruise’s Cocktail or The Great Gatsby, it's a great way to help everyone know how to dress and inspire the food and drinks to serve your guests. Alongside cinema foyer classics like popcorn, pick and mix and maybe a hotdog or two, you could offer guests something special like sparkling champagne or eighties classic cocktails.
Lawn Games
If you’re into croquet or rounders, sports day silliness or fairground stall fun, adding a game to play to an outside event gives everyone a chance to congregate, break the ice and get a little competitive.
When it comes to watching outdoor sports, there’s no greater partnership than picnic and Pimms; think church fête foods like mini pork pies, scones with cream and jam, finger sandwiches and iced buns. For drinks, try making up jugs of cocktails ready to pour when people come and slump down after a hard-won victory.
Crafty Corner
Just because we’re too old for Punch and Judy doesn’t mean we should give up on entertainers altogether. And the adult version is a craft specialist. Have a go at making something fun like flower crowns, clay pottery or wreaths. There’s bound to be some artisans or an artist’s quarter close enough to your chosen party spot to find someone nearby to host a workshop for you.
If that sounds too much like hard work, how about approaching the local wine shop and getting someone in for a wine or gin tasting or hiring a bartender for a cocktail-making workshop? Either way, this person automatically acts as the host for a stint, giving you time to relax and enjoy yourself instead of running around topping up glasses.
Get your Grill On
Who doesn’t love a BBQ in the summer sun? To make it super special, spruce up your typical British BBQ with a twist. For example, you could run an American-style cookout, where you slow roast meat joints over low flames. All you’ll need to do is set out a range of sides to go with it, like cornbread, pretzel rolls, milk rolls or brioche for sandwiches, and potato salad, greens, watermelon salad, coleslaw and corn on the cob.
The advantage of slow-cooking meat, rather than standing over smaller burgers and sausages, is that you don’t need to stand guard at the grill. Your time could be spent serving American cocktails like Mint Juleps, Manhattans, or Gin Rickeys.
Alfresco Dining
There’s nothing like eating freshly serve d food outdoors. Whether at your gaff or in a hired space, it somehow makes the wine taste cooler, the food taste fresher, and the people around you more sparkling and witty.
This is an excellent opportunity to make your table look appealing. A tablescape outdoors has more scope for colour, as your backdrop is a glorious garden. Go all out in pastels or glory in gingham! Whatever floats your boat. Keep the food low-maintenance, as you don’t want to leave your guests for too long while you have to dip in and out of the kitchen. Go for mezze, tapas or even buffet style so you can get the most out of your company.
If you are saving elsewhere, you could even get outside caterers to serve your courses, so you can concentrate on your cocktails.
Fancy Festival
Speaking of outside caterers, there are so many food trucks around these days that it might be worth checking out what's available and affordable and hiring them instead. Then you can set up your space like a food festival or even a music festival with bunting flapping in the breeze, and segments of the outside space set up for different needs: a music zone, a chill-out area, and guests could even camp!
Live music will ensure your guests have a night to remember. There’s a reason festivals are such a right of passage too. They are many people’s first experience of getting away from their parents for the first time. So nostalgic food and music will bring out the misty-eyed stories everyone can bond over.
Fire Starter!
Not everyone has a summer birthday, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying your birthday party out of doors. Fireworks are good in any season, and if it’s cold, you could include a bonfire or fire pit as part of the deal.
The best thing about a fire-centred party is that everyone is drawn to huddle around the same spot. The smoke and dancing flames will mesmerise your guests, putting them instantly at ease. You could hire a storyteller to come and tell ghost stories or a circus performer to do some fire dancing, depending on what kind of event you want.
Fireworks not only look good, but they also smell great, and certain foods come to mind immediately with that smokey scent; homemade sausage rolls in puff pastry, mulled cider, and pear crumble with custard.
Either way, a party isn’t a party without bubbles. We created the Flavour Blaster Mini so you can use professional bartending equipment in your home bar. All you need to do is make the cocktails, then use our Flavour Blaster gun to blow aroma-filled smoke into an edible bubble to garnish your drink to blow away your birthday party revellers!
