Summer is finally here! Now it’s time for me to plan my annual summer party. With up to 50 guests attending, I will need to buy plenty of food and drinks. I always send the invitations out about a month in advance, so I have to hope that the sun is out and it falls on a nice day. Normally towards the end of July I never have to worry about it being too cold or overcast. I like to add a Penless sticker to all the invitations because it makes each one more personal. Whether I attach a video from the last summer party or a picture of my pool to the Penless sticker, people seem to really like the idea!

I sent out all the invitations and already got quite a few people responding that they can make it. I love planning parties and events, so I am already making a list of things to buy and where to buy them. My first stop is party city. I am going to buy beach balls, streamers, and an assortment of beachy decorations. I will also need to buy a lot of festive plates, napkins, eating utensils, cups, etc. From the grocery store I like to buy a few different flavors of chips, salsa, guacamole, fruit, vegetables, drinks and ingredients to make my special dessert- homemade cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Every year I have someone come over for a few hours to make tacos for people who want them! Everyone always loves it.

I have had this tradition for the past many years- ever since I moved into a house with a pool. It started out small, for the first year or two, with basically just my street coming over as sort of a summer block party. But after I met more people in the area, I made a lot more friends, so I decided to reach out to them as well. They all showed up and ended up really liking it. Each year I always do something new with the theme so it’s never the same as the previous year. This year the theme is Hawaii vacation. It’s always a tropical theme to make it really feel like summer!

At my summer parties, I like to plan a game or two and the winners get prizes. Sometimes they are team games and other times they are individual. This year, it is individual because it is limbo. I thought it will go well with the theme! We will have the top three people get prizes. For the prizes we will have a $10 gift card for third place, a $20 gift card for second, and a $30 gift card for first place! Hopefully this year we have a lot of participants for the game. In the past, many of my guests would join in which definitely makes it more fun. I am looking forward to planning a great summer party!