A couple of months ago a friend and I started to plan an outdoor Baby Shower for a crowd of 60 – 70 people (families, not women only). She had the large Yard for lots of seating, trees for shade, a beach and wonderful view of the Lake. To save on some of the work we asked everyone attending to bring lawn chairs for their families and a plate of munchies to share. We supplied lots to drink, lovely decorated cakes and all the trimmings. What could go wrong? We labored over all the details, borrowed a couple of canopies, one especially for the expectant mom and dad for shade as they opened gifts, we had tables, extra chairs, food all in control. We had door prizes in place, so fun could be had by all and we rented a port-a-potty to take the pressure off the indoor plumbing – that turned out to be a great idea! Off and on we worried about the weather – it had been raining a bit every day for what seemed like forever – some nasty thunderstorms had blown through – so the weather channel became our daily companion. The week before the party my friend decided to do a last minute battle with some weeds so she could have the perfect yard… but somehow the product that the yard man used was not contained on the weeds but was dribbled here, there and everywhere. It was a heart-break – the perfect yard was not to be! She was devastated. If they had only thought earlier and used some Amaizeingly Green they wouldn’t have had the problem. Our back-up? Well – some patches of fake green turf had to be used to cover the worst of it – and they did, phew! (I thought it all still looked lovely and so did the guests – but it was a last minute back-up remedy)

The day of the Shower was a beautiful, warm, sunny July day – but oh so windy! Our canopies and tablecloths took on a life of their own! In future – our back-up will be ropes and tent stakes to hold the canopies firmly in place – who knew they would nearly turn into hang gliders? ? Clips for the table cloths will also be a good investment (much more attractive than the duct tape we ended up using to keep them in place.?) None of this spoiled the fun for all attending – but it helped me realize that there are always unexpected twists and turns – and an ability to think of all possibilities is a great asset indeed! Fortunately, in the daylight we had no need for lighting but if this had happened in the evening it would have nixed most candle holders, even lanterns would have been dancing sideways.

By the end of the party everyone left happy, the various little mishaps had us thinking “on our feet”, and fortunately the rain stayed away that day, or our back-up, the inside of the house, would have been a pretty tight squeeze! So, as you plan your outdoor fun maybe my story will help you to consider all possible angles and be as prepared as you can possibly be – but always be ready to have a chuckle at mishaps as long as no one gets hurt! Life at best still presents the unpredictable, and that’s a good thing.

Continually developing “ideas for outdoor living”

1. Import from China Says:
   July 27th, 2008 at 8:54 am

   I came across this blog the other day and you got some great info here – thanks.

2. jack Says:
   January 8th, 2009 at 7:47 pm

   Planning a party is always fun and a challenge. planning one for outdoors is even more. Thanks for the great thoughts.

3. Public Speaking Says:
   February 23rd, 2009 at 12:56 am

   Hey I just did find your blog. Good Stuff! Don?t have time now to read trough all the topics but I will come back later to read more.

4. Seqas Says:
   May 4th, 2009 at 4:22 pm

   I love entertaining outdoors in the summer. good ideas

5. Mauricio Says:
   April 3rd, 2010 at 4:49 am

   Thanks for taking the time to discuss this,would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.