Cute hacks to make your summer party really stand out

People can often be overwhelmed when throwing a party at home. As well as all the food shopping and prepping, they also feel they need to make their gathering Pinterest-perfect.

But making your party special doesn’t have to mean extra stress for you – try a few of these simple hacks to really make your party pop!

1. Hollow out a watermelon and use it to serve your delicious homemade punch.

2. Freeze ice cubes with chopped fruit or berries inside to add flavour to your drinks. These go perfectly with refreshing summery drinks, like Amstel Radler’s refreshing mix of beer and cloudy lemon.

3. Frozen grapes make great ice cubes for wine.

4. Want to cool down a guest’s wine in a hurry? Pop your bottles into a bucket, along with ice, enough water to cover the cubes and 2-3 handfuls of salt. Your wine should be chilled within 20 minutes.

5. If you have a lot of plants in your garden, why not harvest some big leaves to use as drinks coasters. Perfect touch for an outdoor gathering.

6. If you’re looking for a quick way to decorate your garden, open some colourful umbrellas or parasols and hang them from the trees. Pretty and provides shade.

7. Flies can be a pain at a sunny garden gathering, but make sure they stay out of drinks by using cupcake cases. Feed a straw through their centre and then fit them over the top of your drink.

8. Cupcake cases aren’t just a great hack for your drink – they can also be put at the end of an ice pop stick to stop drips.

9. If you’re having a sit-down dinner outdoors, use lemon boats as place cards. Attach the name card to a cocktail stick and insert it into a lemon halve that you can then place on the table.

10. When barbequing skewered meat and veggies, use two skewers per kebab to stop the pieces from rotating as you flip them on the grill.

11. Make a colourful DIY flower vase by fitting a pretty Chinese paper lantern over a clean jar or drinking glass. Great way to add bright summer colours to your party.

12. If you’re serving ice-cream, pre-scoop and store the portions in cupcake cases in your freezer. When you’re ready to serve, you can very easily add them to individual cones or bowls.

13. Giant cubes of ice will melt slower in a punch bowl meaning your drink will cool down without being watered down. You can create these by using a large zip-lock log or Tupperware container.

14. No ice cube trays? Freeze slices of lemon and lime and add these to drinks. Not only will they cool the liquid, but they’ll also add a nice hint of flavour.

15. Sometimes the smell of burning charcoal can be unpleasant, however, adding a few springs of rosemary will have your grill smelling great and will also add flavour to the meat.

16. Use hollowed out bell peppers to serve dips. Colourful and creative!

17. No room in the fridge? Then use your beer box as a cooler. Remove all the bottles, line the box with a plastic bag, replace the bottles and cover in ice.

For more tips on creating the perfect summer party, visit The Ultimate Summer Party Guide.