Patriotic Fun for a Memorial Day BBQ

Memorial Day is the kick off of summer and a perfect reason to party! This year Memorial Day is May 26th. Celebrate with your friends and family with a Memorial Day barbeque with a patriotic flair.

Invite guests to the party with the festive invitations from the BBQ Party Tableware Ensemble. It features a cow dressed up as a BBQ chef and space for you to write in your own party details. Plus, it matches the plates, cups and two sizes of napkins included in the ensemble, perfect for serving all your Memorial Day grilling.

Welcome guests to your party with a personalized BBQ Memories Custom Banner or a Festive Flag Custom Banner. These banners can be personalized with your own wording and are made of heavy-duty, weather-resistant vinyl with or without metal grommets and come in seven different sizes to fit you decorating needs.

Decorate for your party with festive patriotic decorations—streamers, garland, cutouts, and flags! (Check out our Patriotic Party TipZ for tons of ideas). Create a fantastic focal point with a Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam standees. Large USA Patriotic Letters are also a fun way to spruce up your party room. For tons of fun, set up an Americana Photo Op Stand In. Guests can put their faces in the cutouts and take their picture like the famous American Gothic painting. It makes for fantastic keepsakes from the party.

Party wearables are a great way to brighten up the party and get guests in the fun-loving mood. For the patriotic, try American flag funtoos temporary tattoos, patriotic buttons and red white and blue star beads. Guests will crack up if you greet them at the door in a hamburger hat or giant chef hat.

Wearables make great favors but there’s other favors you can send guests home with so they’ll remember the fun of Memorial Day long after your party is over. For the BBQ theme, we suggest Beer Mug Candles or make-your-own aprons. For a more patriotic bent, try a jewel flag dog tag neckelace craft kit, patriotic bubbles, flag pins or patriotic votive candles.

Check out our Patriotic Party TipZ or BBQ Party TipZ for tons of ideas and have a Happy Memorial Day!

Gather Friends with BBQ Invitations

Hosting a BBQ party is a fun summer tradition. The first step for your backyard barbeque is setting a budget, creating a guest list and sending out invitations.

Be sure to send out invites 3-4 weeks in advance and expect about a quarter to come back as regrets.

A BBQ Party Ensemble has a fun pig-shaped invitation great for your BBQ party theme. Simply fill the invites out and send them through the mail. Add a pinch of confetti for a fun touch.

Hand deliver invitations attached to a hamburger mylar balloon for a personal touch your guests will really appreciate.

Remember, if you want guests to bring dishes to the barbeque, now is the time to ask!

Accent the Great Outdoors with BBQ Decorations

Sunshine and a green backyard are the best decorations for your BBQ party, but there are tons of other decorations for your backyard barbeque.

Welcome guests with a customized barbeque banner. Our banners are printed on heavy-duty, weather-resistant vinyl and are available in seven different sizes for your decorating needs. Hang one at the entrance or over the grill!

A jointed Italian chef decoration is a great item to set up next to the grill. He accents your BBQ theme décor with a fun touch.

For a big touch, set up a barnyard decorating kit. It’s great for commemorative photos or for a play area the kids will love!

Accent all your decorations with BBQ balloons. A hamburger mylar balloon looks great tied to your chairs or attached to centerpieces.

Tabletops are perfect places for decorating at your barbeque party. BBQ Party Tableware is a great ensemble for tying all your decorations together. Set it on top of gingham or red tablecovers. Accent your tableware with Etch It Party Cups to keep your waste down.

Check out our other BBQ party tips and tell us about your barbeque party ideas!

Activities for BBQ Party Fun

Food and conversation make great activities for your BBQ party, but here are some other games perfect for the backyard. 

Balloon Popping Contest

Divide guests into two equal groups. About 25 yards away, place two bags of inflated balloons in colors to match your theme colors. These balloons should be overinflated to make popping easier. At the sound of a ringing bell or whistle, the first two relay contestants, one from each team, run to the bag and remove one balloon. Each must sit on it until it pops. Once the balloon pops, the player runs back to the starting line, and tags the next player in line. The first team to complete the course wins. Not a quiet game…but a guaranteed favorite! This one may sound like it is just for kids, but your party will live on in your guests’ memories forever if you play this game!
 
Limbo

The young and the young at heart always enjoy the classic beach game of “limbo.” Try using a string of twinkle lights, a strand of sparkly garland, a bamboo pole, a flashlight (lights out), or any item to match your theme for your limbo stick. For a fun variation on the game, make it a little more challenging by adding a “Super Stomach” to guests as they take their turn. Have a couple of oversized shirts, and some fluffy pillows on hand. Get ready for some howling laughter!

Hula Hoopla

Hula hooping isn’t just for kids or 50’s Sock Hops…but it will make grown-ups feel young again! Purchase or borrow a couple of hula-hoops. They are available at discount chains for about $3.99 each. Let guests know that at a specified time there will be a “hula” contest, and encourage them to practice during the party if the mood strikes.

Name Game

Provide each guest with 5 small pieces of paper, and a pencil. Ask them to write down the names of 5 famous people…leaders, movie stars, authors, sports figures, politicians, artists, inventors, scientists, etc. Fold the papers, and put them into a hat. Seat guests in a large circle. Each round is limited to 30 seconds, so have a watch with a second hand available. The first player pulls out a name, and tries to get the person beside them to guess the name. After the name is guessed, the clue giver can continue pulling names out of the hat for the full 30 seconds. Here are the rules: They can talk, but can’t point to items. They can’t spell out the name, but can say the letter the name starts with. They can reference just about anything, but the person’s name. As an example, if the name is “Sammy Sosa”, the clue giver might say…”The guy who had almost as many homeruns as Mark McGuire in the 1998 baseball season.” “He plays for the Chicago Cubs”, etc. Both the clue “giver” and the clue “guesser” get points for as many names as they guess in the 30-second time frame. Have each participant track his/her own points. The turn then passes to the guesser, who now becomes the clue giver, and his/her neighbor becomes the new guesser. This game is a blast to play, and really is not as difficult as these instructions would make it seem! Give it a try!

Other ideas include watermelon seed spitting, decorating chef’s hats or waterballoons! Tell us about your BBQ party ideas.