As we reach the end of summer, it’s time to say ‘good bye’ to days at the beach, and ‘hello’ to sweater weather. But before the last of the summer heat fades away, it’s time to throw a Summer Send-Off Party! There are several party themes, food and drink options, and even a few rental items, that will work great for your end of summer event.
To kick off the planning, you will want to select a theme for the party. Building from a theme can make the party planning much easier. The theme can help direct the menu, any activities or games, and of course, the décor! A few popular ideas for themes are Backyard BBQ, Tropical/Beach, S’mores, and Movie Night. You can also try something a bit different for your theme, such as a Light Up The Night, or Welcome Fall theme. Once the theme has been decided, it’s time to get creative! Keep in mind, you don’t necessarily need a theme, but it does make it quite a bit easier to plan the details.
For each theme, there are options for décor items, linen colors, and rental items that will work great to suite the specific chosen style. Check out some theme options below, with some recommendations for items to rent, linen options to match the theme, and fun décor choices.
Backyard BBQ parties: Try incorporating the rustic look with some rental items! A rustic three-tier stand for serving fruit, a metal trough for serving bottles or cans, or even mason jars for serving drinks, are all fun ways to incorporate a rustic flair into your BBQ. Using red and white checked linens, and burlap table runners, give your BBQ a truly down-home feel. Having a wine barrel bar to serve drinks, dessert, or even used as a buffet, is a great way to create the perfect focal point for the Backyard BBQ! Food options for this theme are pretty endless, as you can barbeque almost anything. Don’t have a grill but want to have a BBQ party? Or, is your grill just not large enough to accommodate cooking for a party? Renting a grill can be a great way to be able to host a fun Backyard BBQ party, without spending hundreds of dollars on buying a brand new grill!
Tropical Beach parties: This is your time to get wild with color! Bright summery colors, such as Flamingo Pink, Lime, Lemon, Turquoise, or Ocean Blue, will help create a fun color pallet for your party. A glass beverage dispenser can be a great way to show off some delicious tropical punch. Or, consider renting a frozen drink machine! Frozen drink machines are a great way to add some excitement to both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. Hurricane and margarita glasses are a nice touch for the adults at the party to enjoy some ‘adult beverages’. Don’t forget the drink umbrellas! For the kids at the party, and the adults who don’t mind a bit of water, try renting the refreshing balloon burst. Bring the water right to your backyard, with this fun game for all ages! Sit in the chair and test the aim of friends and family, to see if you will get a burst of water on your head to help cool you down from the last of the summer heat.
S’mores parties: This kind of party is a huge crowd pleaser! Renting a few banquet tables can provide the perfect space to lay out all the s’more topping options. When using sticky and melty toppings, such as chocolate and marshmallows, consider disposable Kwik Covers for the tables. This will provide a nice table covering to protect the tables, and will avoid any extra cleaning fees from stains or big messes on regular linens. Be sure to rent plenty of serving trays to hold all of those toppings! The classic Hershey bar, Reece’s Cups, Twix bars, and various other chocolate bars will give your S’mores some fun variety. With adult supervision, sterno fuels can be used to toast marshmallows on skewers. For guests who are not the biggest fans of graham crackers, consider having a chocolate fountain to dip marshmallows!
Movie Night parties: Get out the popcorn and blankets, and snuggle up for some movie watching. Renting a popcorn machine will ensure you have plenty of popcorn for all of your guests for the entire duration of the party. Front Range Event Rental has popcorn machines, as well as popcorn and bags! Don’t worry about getting too much popcorn, as unused, and unopened, concession items can be returned without you being charged. It’s better to have too much popcorn than not enough! To add a real ‘movie theatre’ feel, consider renting an LCD projector, and screen, to use for watching movies. LCD projectors can hook up to most computers or various DVD playing machines. Just be sure to let your event coordinator know the type of connection you will need, to ensure you are sent the proper hook ups!
Light Up The Night parties: This can be a great theme option for evening and night time events. Using light poles, and string lights, you can create a magical atmosphere for your guests. Lanterns can also be used to create beautiful night time lighting. Consider Navy blue linens, to tie in the color of the night sky. Table runners in Champagne gold can be a great accent to represent the stars. Another option, is to use white linens, with twinkle lights wrapped around table legs, to create lighting under your tables. Use pipe cleaners to help hold the strand of lights in place, without leaving marks on the table. Decorate with stars and moons, planets, constellations, or even UFOs! Pass out star charts as a party favor for guests, and take turns using a telescope to take a closer look at the night sky. You may want to consider turning off excess lighting for any sky viewing, but be sure to have some sort of safety lighting available so no one gets hurt.
Hello Fall parties: Are you ready for summer to be over? Have you been dreaming of leaves turning colors? Do you live for the release of everything pumpkin flavor? If so, a Hello Fall party may just be the party for you! Incorporating reds, oranges, and yellows into linen colors, decorations, and even food, are all great ways to say ‘hello’ to fall. Of course pumpkins and pumpkin flavored foods are also great ways to make your party feel like fall has arrived. Caramel apples, apple cider, hot chocolate, and sweet potatoes, are all perfect fall foods to serve for this party theme. Using a Farm table to serve all your autumn themed goodies can be a great way to add a bit of a rustic feel to your party.
By choosing one of these themes, or creating one of your own, you are certain to send off the summer in style! Need help getting your party rental items in order? Contact Front Range Event Rental for all of your rental needs. Our Event Coordinators can work with any theme to help bring your end of summer party to life! Call 970-221-3159 today, or stop in to the showroom to check out all of our rental options. Thanks for reading, and happy party planning!
