Since my birthday is coming soon I thought about organizing a small barbecue birthday party – some pork ribs, some good old-style beef and of course the all-natural charcoal barbecue. Did I leave something out? (Photos from the party, but they are coming soon!:D)
Planning such a BBQ birthday party is actually not as easy as it seems, and it will take some time to buy everything for the barbecue and to make sure that everyone is happy. With some planning and the tips I’ll give you, your party will rock and your friend will have a great time. But let’s make a list of what we need for a killer party.
Main chapters:
- What do I need for a BBQ birthday party?
- Where should I make the party?
- Important stuff you don’t want to forget for the party
- Round-up
What do I need for a BBQ birthday party?
When I started planning for this week’s birthday party I made a must-buy list with the important things at the top of the list and the less important ones at the bottom. It’s no problem if you forget to buy some paper wipes or some pepper, but the meat can’t miss from a good barbecue, can it?!
Shopping list:
- Meat, two or three types – people get bored if they have only hamburgers at the party;
- Vegetables for salad – a salad goes well with the meat;
- Juice, beer and enough water for everyone;
- Some BBQ condiments and a salad dressing;
- Charcoal – you don’t want to run out of it in the middle of the barbecue;
- Plastic forks, knives, glasses and plates – you can use the ones you have around the house if you want to;
- Barbecue
And that’s about all you need to buy for the party. Really, that’s it!
I’ve noticed that people get a little bored if they don’t have two or three types of meat because they can’t diversify, so make sure to combine burgers with some ribs, sausages, pigs in blanket or gourmet kebabs. It’s a little more engaging for 
people to combine more food types at a barbecue, especially if you want to entertain them for more than 3 hours.
I always prepare a good ol’ salad with tomatoes, peppers, onions and a bit of vinegar with oil and salt. Just cut everything and mix them in a boul. This is the simplest salad you can make. Of course, you can do more complicated ones if you have the time and the talent for it. Let’s just say that I’m better at making gifts than I am at making salads.
If you have more complicated BBQ birthday party ideas in mind, you will probably have to get more food types and make everything a little more formal. For your average BBQ party I’d say that the above will cut it. Simple, good-tasting and darn fun! That’s the feedback you’ll get after your barbecue birthday party!
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Where should I make the party?
There are a lot of places where you can host your barbecue birthday party. You can make a party at home or have it somewhere in nature, outdoors. It’s true that the party near a river may seem much more entertaining, but you have two major drawbacks to it:
- How will people get to my party?
- What if it rains?
Getting people to your party is not a big deal if they all have cars or if you can bring them with your own car, but the rain part is a bit of an uncontrollable element. Try to always have a back-up plan – if it rains (I know, I know, the forecast said it wouldn’t!), bring them to your house or to a friend’s house.
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Important stuff you don’t want to forget for the party
Double checking everything before the party is a must. I always forget a few things around the house and remember them when double checking my lists. As an extra, here are some things you want to double check:
- Do you have enough food and drinks for everybody?
- Do you have a good barbecue? If not, find one!
- Do you have a back-up plan in case it rains?
- Have you invited your neighbors? If there’s food for everybody, and you will have a lot of left-over’s, why not?!
That about raps it up for the BBQ birthday, and I promise to get back to you with some photos after the party. Maybe only with some photos of the food to tease you a bit – kidding. Make sure to drop a comment and maybe come back to brag with how good your food was after your party!
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