10 Summer Gathering Ideas

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The other day, my friend's mom gave me the Magnolia Table cookbook, for no other reason than she thought I'd enjoy it. It was a thoughtful gift, and she's right--I will definitely love using it!! The photos and recipes are creative and have suggestions for what else to serve with the recipe. (Are you in love with everything Gaines like me?! Devin and I read The Magnolia Story together and LOVED IT, and now I want to read our girl Jo's book on home decor/design called Homebody.)





The cookbook's tagline is "a collection of recipes for gathering," which got me thinking: what other inspiration is there for hosting friends and having gatherings? There may feel like lots of reasons not to host something--my space is too small, who would I even invite, what if no one comes, etc. Howeverrrrr. Just like you have to be a friend to make friends, you can create events that you'd want to go to! Some of my favorite events have been the spontaneous group play dates where a mom on my block texts all the neighborhood moms she knows and invites everyone over. Other favorites have been hosting backyard movie nights and inviting friends in the area, regardless of whether they already knew each other! Summer might be half over, but I'm gonna be the glass-half-full girl today who reminds us that that means there is still half a summer left. 

Hopefully, this post will jumpstart your thinking about events you could create. 

Because, let's be real. 

Gathering together with people you love or people you want to get to know better are worth it!


Here are my 10 ideas for summer gatherings:
  1. Yard games tournament | set up as many games as you have in your yard (or a park!) and start filling out brackets as people play each other, to see who's the champion of each type of game!

  2. DIY wine-tasting at home | Jacqui has the best tutorial for hosting your own wine tasting. 

  3. DIY Taco Bar & Margarita Night | it's easy to cook for a big group by setting out the taco fixings, and margaritas would be fun to pair with the yummy food

  4. Backyard (or park!) Picnic Brunch | take the food outside and eat on blankets. Cute balloons like this setup optional ;) 

  5. Galentine's Day Brunch | I hosted one of these last year and wrote about the decor, make-ahead food, and all the fun here

  6. Potluck BBQ | Need I say more?!

  7. Last Day of Summer Party | technically summer doesn't end til Sept. 22, so throw a party in September with all your summer favorites, because apparently it'll still be summer!

  8. Dessert potluck bonfire | have everyone bring a dessert and enjoy them around a bonfire (and if you need to make a firepit, here are 3 easy and inexpensive ways to do it). 

  9. Garden party | a.k.a. cut flowers and earthy tones and burlap table cloths and pallets set up like low tables (inspired by this post!)

  10. Water games backyard party | bring an extra set of clothes, and then get competitive playing water balloon baseball, water gun fights, "beer pong" setup but with buckets of water and a volleyball, etc. 





Now who wants to come over and bake those cinnamon squares with me?!

What summer events are you attending? Are you hosting anything fun? What else would you add to the list? 

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