How to host an Outdoor Dinner Party

Hosting an outdoor dinner party is a delightful way to savor good food, fresh air and great company. Your outdoor space, be it a backyard or a patio, can transform into an enchanting dining space where you can connect over a nice meal. From menu ideas to décor tips, here’s how to create an unforgettable al fresco dinner party.

Outdoor Dinner Party Ideas

Dinner parties are one of my favorite ways to hang out with friends and family. It’s a lot cheaper to make dinner at home than go out to eat! (That’s fun, too, but one just can’t do it all the time.) 

I much prefer a laidback gathering that is on my porch or patio. I’m not talking about a grill-out barbecue cookout type party. I’m talking about a hang out around the table with friends. There can be barbecue or burgers, or you can serve up a big Chicken Cobb Salad or a casserole. It’s your party, so you decide!

I think people hear the words “dinner party” and imagine a stuffy 1950s gathering where everyone is dressed to the nines. (My brain sometimes hops to these cocktail parties, and I have to tell it to chill out.)

While you can certainly make a dinner party fancy if you want, you don’t have to! 

To me, a dinner party is all about spending quality time with the people I care about… and it doesn’t have to be hard, expensive or time-consuming. (In fact, here are 5 reasons why you should host one.)

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Also, outdoor gatherings like a summer party are meant to be more casual. They’re a great option if you’ve got warm weather and can happen around a table that’s not too fancy. These simple dinner party ideas are meant to be just that — simple.

Ready to invite your people over for dinner in the great outdoors? 

Here’s how we do it — the easy way.

What you need to host an outdoor dinner party

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• Plates — you may use your everyday plates or compostable or disposable dinner plates
• Glasses and cups
• Cutlery (like forks, spoons and knives)
• Serving dishes
• Napkins (paper or cloth napkins are a good idea)
• Tablecloth (optional)
• Pitcher for drinks

Please remember that this is a choose-your-own-adventure dinner party situation. You may set up a beautiful table with floral centerpieces, fabric napkins and place settings, if desired, but that’s certainly not required. 

You get to decide how fancy this is since the purpose of entertaining should be to spend quality time with your people.

The first thing…

Before you get started on your space or the menu, you need to decide when you are hosting your next party. 

​I tend to choose weekend afternoons or evenings because those are easier for the vast majority of people, but you do you and what works for your schedule.

Once you decide a date and a time, make your guest list and invite guests. We tend to send virtual invitations (via Evite or Paperless Post), but there are so many cute physical ones that you can purchase and print out.

Invitation ideas:

If it’s a special occasion, you might consider sending a physical invitation to your guests.

Here are a few ideas…

• Lean in to the ambiance of outdoor parties and invite guests with this beautiful invite.
• Love hand drawn invites? This one is perfect for an outdoor party.
• There are a lot of great ideas for a digital party, like these barbecue-themed ones and this outdoors-themed one.

How to plan a menu

Every menu should be customized to YOU and the people you’re hosting. Because what’s a dinner party if it does not involve great food? 

Some things to consider as you build your menu for a outdoor dining party include…

• How many people are you feeding? Always plan for a little extra food. You can’t predict if the dog will snatch a hot dog off someone’s plate! Also, it’s always better to have leftovers than not enough food. 
• What are you able to cook? How much time will you have that day? It’s okay to buy some things if it makes it all less stressful. 
• What seasonal ingredients can you highlight? During the summer months, I love to use fresh produce and fruit in all the courses because they are delicious and fun to serve.
• Are you making everything or will guests bring dishes? Highly recommend saying yes when someone offers to bring something! BYOB is also very acceptable. 
• Does anyone have any dietary restrictions? Be considerate and be sure to have some food and drinks everyone can enjoy.
• How many appetizers and sides will you need? For a small party of 4-8 people total, 1-2 options is great. For every 8 more people you add to your list, add another option or double up on one. 
• What equipment do you have at your house? For example, if you’ve got a grill with a side burner, you might be able to make more dishes outdoors than if you don’t have one.
• What can be enjoyed outdoors? Deviled eggs are great, but eggs and mayo don’t last as well in the heat! A charcuterie board might work well if it’s not too warm and you’re in an enclosed space…
• What will guests drink? We like to set up an outdoor bar cart with pitchers of a cocktail and fancy water, plus a cooler filled with beer, wine and seltzer. And soda or lemonade for the kids, if they’re coming, too. 

Dinner party menu ideas

Plotting out your menu is especially important to make a nice experience for your guests, and especially if you’re making any dishes that take a lot of TIME. (Think marinades, slow cooking and more.) 

You’re going to need a plan and not want to throw it together at the last minute! A theme can be really helpful when picking your dishes. 

For example, for a Mexican-inspired dinner party, you might plan to make a menu like this one. (You don’t need two dinner options, but you might want options for a bigger party.) 

• Appetizer: Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken Nachos or simple chips & salsa
• Drinks: Mexican beer, wine, Watermelon Agua Fresca (non-alcoholic) or Pineapple Margaritas (alcoholic)
• Dinner Option 1: Ground Beef Tacos with Tomato Rice and Black Bean Dip
• Dinner Option 2: Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Plates with Sweet Potato Hash and Easy Guacamole
• Dessert: Easy Cocadas or Spiced Rum Horchata Pops

Don’t forget that you can also ask guests to bring something. (Say yes if they offer!) You can assign them a recipe or just ask them to make something along the lines of the theme. 

Whenever I host a dinner party, I try to lean into seasonal ingredients and make recipes featuring them, be they fresh fruit, veggies, etc.

Decide where you’ll eat

This is an outdoor dinner party, so this is all about al fresco dining. 

You may have some of these things at your home or nearby: 

• Porch
• Patio
• Backyard 
• Balcony
• Fire pit
• Common area (like the pool gazebo at an apartment or condo) 
• Nearby park

If your home doesn’t have the perfect place for your gathering, you could always ask a friend if you could plan it but do the party at their place. It never hurts to ask! 

Here are some questions to consider about the space…

Is there a table or will you need to rent one or borrow one? A picnic table or card table with a tablecloth is totally fine! I’ve also carried our kitchen table outside before and think we might be able to do the same for our larger dining room table… so do what works! A picnic is always fun, too, and sitting on the ground in an outdoor room is a different vibe.

Do you have enough chairs? If not, ask people to bring some camping chairs to sit in.

If you’re doing a bigger dinner party, you may want to rent a tent (for sun, rain and keeping people out of the house) plus tables and chairs. 

Where will you serve the food? If you don’t have room outside, you can set up a serving line in the kitchen or dining room. Let guests serve themselves, then take their plates outside to eat! (This is what we typically do in our home.)

Make a cooking timeline.

Every event I host, I write a timeline for the cooking and execution of the dishes. (And I wrote an in-depth tutorial for you here, in case you want to read that.) 

Here’s a rundown of how I do this:

1. Decide when we are going to eat. That’s the end time.
2. Next, go through my menu and write down how long each dish takes to cook, INCLUDING anything that calls for marinating, chilling, etc.
3. Make notes of anything that needs to for sure be made the day of vs. stuff that can be made in advance.
4. Build in some time to go back (or send someone) because you may (read: probably will) forget something. 

This is a huge part in hosting anything because your cooking timeline dictates when you get started for the day (or week), as well as when you eat.

Get What You’ll Need:

Depending on when you’re hosting your gathering, you can do this a few days in advance.

Once you’ve planned out your menu, write a grocery list. Figure out if you can get all the ingredients at your local grocery store, or if you’ll need to visit specialty shops for some ingredients. 

Once at the store, purchase everything you could possibly need, including paper plates, cups and cutlery if you’re going that route. 

We are big fans of these compostable dinner plates, compostable clear cups and biodegradable cutlery, but obviously, you can use plastic or melamine reusable plates, cups and cutlery if that’s more your speed.

If you want to have place cards or other things to mark the dinner table, grab those, too.

Need beer, wine or spirits? Add that store to your list (if your state requires you to go to a specialty store), and purchase what you need in advance so you don’t have to run out the day-of.

What can you prep in advance?

This step obviously depends on your menu.

Whenever I host any kind of dinner party, I choose recipes that can be prepared or made completely early so that I have less stress the night of my event.

Here are some examples of things you can prepare ahead of time:

• Chop fruits and veggies the day before. Obviously, some fruits and veggies will keep better than others, so use your discretion. For example, chopping an apple or a banana one day in advance is a bad idea. Strawberries are okay if you want them to have tons of juices, but otherwise, hold off.
• You can also purchase pre-chopped items at the store, like onions or even a bag of salad greens. Do what you need to do to make it easy on yourself! 
• Mix the salad dressing in a mason jar. Set it aside until guests have arrived to pour on top of the salad.
• Make your appetizer and dessert the day before, if possible.
• Make a batch of cocktails in a pitcher the morning of and keep it in the fridge so it’s ready when guests arrive. 

Tips for Hosting an Outdoor Dinner Party

I know that hosting and entertaining can be insanely stressful. Things are going to go awry because that’s the way of hosting and hospitality.

You might not be able to control the weather, your grill’s temperature or your food processor dies mid-day… but you can control how you respond to things going wrong.

I say this because the one time we hosted folks for a backyard barbecue, our grill CAUGHT FIRE. Seriously. You can’t prepare for everything, but I do recommend checking the expiration on your fire extinguisher. 

If you plan to decorate the space, do it before the day of. If you want to add string lights or table decorations to give the space ambiance, do it! Just do it early enough to where you’re not stressing about it. You can also add citronella candles or tiki torches to keep the mosquitos and bugs away, as well as ambiance.

Lower your stress levels: Pour yourself a drink if that’ll make your nerves a little less frazzled. Enlist the help of guests. Serve your appetizers early (or send someone to the store for salsa and chips if the entire meal’s timeline is off.)

Make guests comfortable: Your guests’ comfort is important! Provide sunscreen and bug spray for guests if they want it, and make a rain plan in case mother nature makes your patio/balcony/yard/porch is off limits due to the heat, wind, rain, wildfire smoke, etc. (Take it from someone who lives in Texas! It can all happen.)

Don’t let entertaining keep you from interacting with your guests and best friends: Whenever we host, we’ve found everyone tends to gather in the kitchen as we finish whatever we are serving, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun to chat as you make food.

You can do this. Promise. Enjoy yourself!

When you’re hosting a backyard dinner party, obviously, you’re outside, but the same line of thinking still applies. And if your guests offer a hand, let them help.

More party ideas and inspiration:

• Backyard BBQ
• Cookie Swap Party
• Tailgate Party
• Wine and Chocolate Pairing Party