With school wrapping up and excitement building over summertime, I wanted to put together a little "Welcome to Summer" BBQ for friends to kick off the new season. The theme came together quickly-- flip flops, palm trees, and surfboards. It was the perfect way to spend an evening, filled with memorable yet simple foods and activities. Here's how it all came together.
I really feel like it set the tone for the party and got things kicked off the right way. The decor was simple but fun. Colorful paper lanterns, palm tree garlands, and these surfboard chalkboard menus stole the show. Not only adorable, but allowed us to explain the food-- a burger bar and a self-serve Italian soda bar (read all about that here!). 
We used the bright beach cups, bright beach beverage napkins, bright beach dessert plates, blue forks, knives, and spoons, as well as the blue dinner plates. The activities were perfect for the kids. A good ol' fashioned water fight, a coloring activity, a pinata, and ice-digging for frozen treasures (more on those here!). 
Right as we were getting going with the party, the heavens opened and a torrential downpour began. We have had such a wet spring and we were praying for a dry evening, but had to move the activities into the pool house. The kids didn't seem to mind, and the party went on! They especially loved the ice-digging treasure game. See how I made it here. 
