For our Welcome to Summer BBQ Party, I wanted the food to feel casual, yet fun and hands on. I settled on a Burger Bar and a Make Your Own Italian Soda Station. Creating custom burger creations and becoming soda mixologists made everyone at the BBQ feel like gourmet chefs. It was so entertaining to see what combinations everyone came up with for their burgers and sodas!
For the Burger Bar, it was pretty self explanatory. We prepped the meat ahead of time so it was all ready to grill as guests started arriving. I had hot dogs with buns and toppings for the kids. The burger creations were left to the adults and let me tell you, each parent took their burger building very seriously. 
Once the burgers were ready, we laid out all the toppings and let the guests create their own masterpieces. I had four different types of cheese, condiments including ketchup, mustard, mayo, and BBQ sauce. Additional toppings included pickles, lettuce, onions, bacon, guacamole, and tomatoes. It was fun to see what everyone put together. 
For drinks, we had the idea to do something a bit different-- an Italian Soda Station. My friend, Melissa, has perfected the Italian soda and the surfboard chalkboard menus allowed us to display her secret recipe (which won't be so secret after this because I'm sharing it with you!).
The only ingredients you'll need are ice, Italian syrup, club soda, and heavy cream. Start out by filling your cup with desired amount of ice. Next, add in 2-3 pumps of your favorite flavor of syrup. Fill your cup with club soda and add in a splash of cream. Give your soda a stir and enjoy!
For the kids, we put out these cute color your own tropical cups so they could color their own cups (and keep them straight!) before creating their own sodas. 
The cups turned out to be brilliant for keeping the kids focused on sitting down and eating (and coloring) before they headed out to play. Each cup has multiple options for coloring inside so the kids felt like their cups were personalized. We put out a big tub of crayons and let them get to work.
The burger bar and the Italian soda station were both big hits with the kids and adults alike. I definitely plan to recreate the menu for another party this summer!
