Memorial Day holiday signifies the start of summer. It’s a time to remember those who have fought for our country and celebrate the people in our lives with a fun, festive gathering. Everyone wants to start the warm season off with a great party, but what you don’t want to do is start the summer off with a blown budget. Check out these tips for a budget-friendly Memorial Day bash to kick off the season with an event to remember.
Saving on Memorial Day decorations
Fueled by patriotic pride, Memorial Day is always all about the red, white and blue. You can still have a classy, on theme party without splashing every surface with these colors though, just pick and choose the décor that works for your setting. Fewer decorations can actually make a bigger impact when done right. Balloons are a beautiful, inexpensive way to add the pops of color you want for your décor. Tie a few small bunches to your table or around some of the trees in your backyard for a big impact at little cost. A trick for extra affordability, have other aspects of your party double as your decorations, like the examples below:
If you’re partying outdoors (which we hope you are!) have your garden double as decorations with some red, white, or blue flowers.
Serve festive finger foods that will decorate your table in the perfect colors. Pitchers of red sangria with blueberries, dessert kebabs with white sponge cake and red strawberries, desserts decorated with red, white and blue icing. The options are endless and this is a fun way to create delicious decorations!
Give your budget and your clean up crew a break by choosing inexpensive disposable cutlery, plates and cups. It’s easy to get festive plates, napkins, cups and flatware at low cost that double as decorations and can be disposed of on the day so there are way fewer dishes to worry about after all that partying.
Creating a low-cost Memorial Day menu
This game is fun. Have each guest bring a side dish to the cookout, but assign them a festive color (red, white, blue) first. This will challenge them to get creative with whatever dish they normally bring to a party and you’ll have a great variety of Memorial day colored foods for your party table.
Make it a B-Y-O. There are lots of ways you can do this with your Memorial Day bash. First, you could ask everyone to bring their favorite American beer. Try for some craft brews so everyone gets to try something new and talk about how they discovered their favorite ale. Second, you could ask guests to brings their favorite American-themed dish, think apple pie, Coca-Cola infused anything, hot dogs, etc. You can still provide a main dish and some sides but everyone gets to be in on the fun menu. Or you can go the straightforward route with BYO meat, they bring it and you grill it!
Easy Entertainment
Gather your friends and family and head to your local Memorial Day parade together. This is a great way to host a memorable party since everyone will have a different favorite part of the parade. Free entertainment plus fresh air will create a fantastic day.
Have everyone come dressed as their favorite iconic American, from Mickey Mantle to the Statue of Liberty. This adds a little flair to the party as well as awesome conversation starters and will definitely be a party to remember.
For inexpensive entertainment that will bring all the laughs, a bit of competitive spirit, and memories to last, try hosting a bracket-style tournament of any backyard game, from flag football to Frisbee. Set up your bracket with your different guests March Madness style and have them battle it out on the cornhole or Frisbee pitch to see who is the ultimate winner!