Tips to have an Enjoyable Summertime Party

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The sun is hot which makes for a perfect time to gather the friends for a little get together. Weather it be for Independence Day, a special occasion, or just because. Here are some great tips to make it a fun time for all. Some of these links are associated with an affiliate link to me.

Bonfire:

One of the most popular get togethers in Iowa include a bonfire. The warm glow of the flames contrasts beautifully with the sunset creating a cozy and fun atmosphere. It is a perfect way to gather your friends and family while keeping the mess outdoors. It makes for unforgettable memories.

Tire Ring Fire Pit

Creating a fire pit using a semi tire ring is a popular and practical idea for those of us living in the country . You could also use an old tractor tire ring.

The metal ring provides a durable and heat-resistant barrier, ensuring safety and longevity.

To make one, simply place the semi tire ring in a desired spot, preferably on a non-flammable surface like gravel or sand. Surround the ring with stones or bricks for added stability and aesthetic appeal.

This setup not only offers a sturdy fire pit but also recycles old materials, making it an eco-friendly option for enjoying bonfires during summer nights.

Creating the Perfect Atmosphere:

Setting up for a bonfire gathering involves a few key elements to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable evening. Start with an elastic-fitted tablecloth on your outdoor table. This type of tablecloth stays securely in place, even on breezy nights, providing a stable surface for your snacks and essentials. This will be a great place for your s'mores ingredients, and guests to leave their snacks.

If don’t have the elastic-fitted tablecloths, you can also use a twin bed fitted sheet.

You can find the plastic fitted tablecloths at Dollar General, Hobby Lobby or on Amazon as well. Here is a link to my favorite ones.

Mosquito Repellent Lanterns

Place a couple of these mosquito repellent lanterns on the table to keep pesky bugs at bay, ensuring everyone can relax and enjoy the evening without constant interruptions.

Shop lantern

Keeping It Simple with Food:

My biggest tip here is to keep it simple. Simple for you and for those eating it. Sometimes, having too many choices can not only leave you with leftovers but also leave your guests feeling overwhelmed. For our recent get-together, I served chicken, potatoes, green beans, rolls, and salad. I asked guests to bring a snack to share with everyone.

Dessert:

Bake up your favorite dessert and bam you have your meal.

For the Chicken, I went to the local grocery store and got chicken halves. Using my pampered chef salad chopper and cut the chicken into slices. Then seasoned them with garlic, chicken seasoning, and some onion. Let soak for a couple hours or over night. Then grill them up.

Potatoes, I cut those up into little squares as well. Put them in foil with butter, bacon bits, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. Once you have them prepared put them onto the grill and let cook til they are soft.

Cook up your favorite veggie like corn or green beans. You can keep it even simpler and do baked beans.

Salad: Either use shredded lettuce or cut up a head of lettuce. Have cheese, bacon bits, crotons, and salad dressing. Allow the guests to create their own salad from there.

Don’t forget about your S’mores. All you need is Graham crackers, heresy bars, marshmallows, and sticks.

Drinks:

Smiley Drink Pouch

Again, keep this simple. I usually make up lemonade and ask guests to bring anything else they would like to drink. The drink pouches are a fun gift you can have for your guests. They are useful, cute and fairly good priced. These Smiley Face ones from Amazon with Butterfly Straws were a HUGE hit at the last gathering.

Shop Smiley Drink Pouch

Entertainment & Games:

No bonfire gathering is complete without some fun and games to keep everyone entertained. Set up classic outdoor games like cornhole, frisbee, croquet, horseshoes, ladder toss, and lawn darts. These games are easy to set up and provide hours of enjoyment for guests of all ages.

For a lively atmosphere, bring a Bluetooth speaker and create a playlist of your favorite tunes. Music adds to the festive vibe and can even inspire spontaneous dancing or sing-alongs around the fire.

By combining engaging games and great music, you’ll create an entertaining and memorable experience for everyone at your bonfire gathering.

Bugs, Sun Protection, & Sticky Fingers Station

For a truly thoughtful bonfire gathering, consider setting up a "Bugs, Sun Protection, and Sticky Fingers" station. This ensures your guests have everything they need to stay comfortable throughout the event. Use a basket or crate to keep all the essentials organized, and add a charming touch with a chalkboard sign to label the station.

The station should contain:

• Bug spray

• Sunscreen

• Aloe vera gel for sunburn relief

• Spray Water bottle to quicky wash your hands

• Baby wipes

• Paper towels

• Hand sanitizer

The Ultimate Bonfire Gathering Experience

By following these tips, you'll create a seamless and enjoyable bonfire experience for all your guests. From the simplicity of your food choices to the thoughtful setup of your fire pit and the convenience of the bug and sun protection station, every detail contributes to a memorable evening. With engaging games and lively music, your bonfire gathering will be the highlight of the summer, bringing everyone together for a night of fun and relaxation. For more tips on event planning and to stay updated with our latest ideas, sign up for our newsletter today!

Winter Skin Care

The temperature is getting colder. One day it's sunny, the next day rainy, and even later it's snowing. The wood stoves and fireplaces are running. The humidifiers are gett8ng turned on. And our skin is getting dry.  Instead of letting it look red and dried out this season. Let's use these tips so our skin can look replenished, refreshed, and rejuvenated all season long.

Change it up

When the weather changes, most of the time, that also means our skin care will need to change as well. It may be the cleanser. It could be the moisturizer or it could be both. With the winter season here it is the perfect time to change up that skin care routine so you can stay on top of the game before your skin takes the beating. If you are unsure if you should change your skin care routine or even not sure what skin type you have, take this short skin care quiz. It will tell you what type of skin you have and what products are best for you to use.

Scrub a dub dub dub

I enjoy using a facial masque. This one is Masque of Zen from LimeLife by Alcone. It helps with my breakouts.

Just like the trees lose the leaves, we need to shed our dead skin. This will also ensure that we have healthy glowing smooth skin. Exfoliating not only gets rid of dead skin but can help to remove layers of dirt and oils that have built up on your skin. Once they are removed your moisturizers and makeup products can absorb better and you'll find you're using less amount of the products. I suggest exfoliating at least once a week especially in the winter months when our skin is dryer.  The best way to exfoliate is with a body scrub, facial mask, and a lip scrub/mask. 

Use a good body scrub all over your legs, feet, hands, belly, chest. You will want a body scrub as it's more aggressive. The skin isn't as delicate as the face so it can be exfoliated with sugars and salts. They are able to give you a deeper exfoliation to leave your skin soft and smooth. I suggest Bamboo Renew from LimeLife by Alcone. 

Depending on your skin type, you will use a facial mask to shed the dead facial skin. Exfoliating your facial skin can also unclog pores, even out the skin tone and smooth the texture of your skin. There are multiple different facial masks out there. But be sure to use one that is right for YOUR skin. I suggest you refer back to your skin quiz above to know which facial mask is best for you. 

You don't want to forget about those lips. They take a big beating in the winter time. Think about it, we breathe out our nose right down to our lips. Or when we have a cold, our mouths are open so we can breathe and our lips take all that air.  Do you use more chapstick or lip balm in the colder months? That's because your skin is dryer and so we pile on the moisture. But before we add the moisture which just builds up, they need a good exfoliation to get rid of the dead skin and built up product. A good lip mask or scrub can also stimulate the blood flow which will in turn give you plumper lips. 

In order to have fresh looking skin all season long use a body scrub, facial mask, and lip scrub at least once a week. If your skin is feeling a little bit dryer or you are starting to see flair up like your itching, or just feel dry.  Bump the exfoliating up to a couple times a week and be sure to hydrate the skin and your body right afterwards.

Seems Like a lot, but here is my:

Body Scrub,

Facial Mask,

Body Oil,

Lip Scrub

Hydrate hydrate hydrate

Even if you think you are getting enough hydration, you more than likely are not. Are you drinking enough water? That's the first thing you might need to check into; Your daily routine of water Intake. When we are not getting enough water, our skin will show it. Your skin might look dry, ashy, and just loss of elasticity.   

Another way to hydrate would be body lotion, facial creme, or oil. Again, you really want to have 2 different types of products here. One for your body and one for your face. Our face is more delicate so we shouldn't be using the same thing on our body as we do our face. If you're really dry you can even use a body and facial oil. For your face, be sure it is what's good for your skin type. You might need to have an oil during the colder months to give you hydration. I for one am someone that changed my moisturizer in the winter months. My body needs more moisture so I use a facial oil or creme for dry skin versus normal skin. If you are unsure what to use, I'd love to chat with you about your skin conditions or you can take the skin quiz listed above.

Winter Skin Analysis

If you are unsure of what to use and would love to have a skin analysis, just drop me a message. I offer one on one consultations or group sessions. Not only will we find the best products for you to use based on your skin needs, but you will get to experience them before you purchase them.

Don't get caught having dry skin this winter. Let's all have healthy radiantly glowing skin.

Harvest Celebrations

The leaves are changing all around you to beautiful gold, orange and green colors. You're drinking hot chocolate or homemade apple juice. You are wearing your favorite sweater or sweatshirt, as you cozy up next to an outside fire with your loved ones. You can hear the combines in the fields with the trackers runnin’. It's a beautiful day or evening for a nice fall harvest event. Whether you're celebrating a birthday, an anniversary, a bridal shower, or maybe you want to treat all the farmers and workers for working so hard with a farm to table celebration. Maybe you're just getting together to celebrate that all the crops are out of the field.

Step 1: Where to Host your Harvest Event

Let’s start with where to have one of these fun fall events. These types of events would be perfect for your backyard, your garage, the field, or even if you can find a really cool barn. For in your backyard or field, you could rent a tent with some beautiful lights. Then the only thing else you would need is tables, chairs, simple table decor and don’t forget  a photo op area, because everybody loves to capture those memories on camera. Oh and of course you need a couple whiskey barrels. They are perfect for your dessert table, or a guest book sign in.

Step 2: Ideas for Table decor and centerpieces

What could you do for the table decor? Start with a nice black tablecloth so it wont show any of the dirt. Then place a rounded wood piece in the center of the table. These rounded wood pieces can come in all sizes. If you want to save on money and have the time, you can cut them out of tree logs. If you want to save on time, there are many different places you can rent or buy them.  Next place a small lantern that you can light up and they can even keep the bugs away if you're outside. Another idea is to use a mason jar with a battery operated light inside of it. To add another beautiful fall touch, you could take some leaves from outside and put them around on the wood rounds or underneath the jars.

Step 3: Create a Photo Opportunity Area

 Most everybody loves taking pictures, and it's great to get these special moments on camera. You'll always want to remember these memories for years to come. You will need a photo backdrop. One option for the backdrop would be some old doors, they make a simple yet beautiful backdrop for a rustic fall harvest event. You can get 2 that are hinged together and stand on their own. Another option for your backdrop would be to get a photo stand and a canvas cloth photo backdrop. There are multiple different ones you can get especially if you search on Amazon. You could even take a sheet or blanket and use. But my favorite for a fall harvest event is one that looks like a barn door and has some glistening lights with it. It's perfect for all occasions and you can add your own DIY banner. You might want to grab some  photo props for your guest to use in the photos. Easiest way is to grab some chalkboards and chalk, that way they can write their own fun sayings for their photos. Depending on your event, you could have some fun sayings on poster boards or chalkboards ready for your guest to pick and use. If this is an End of Harvest Celebration or Farm to Table Dinner, some farm photo props would be really fun. You could get straw hats, handkerchiefs, pitchforks, cornstalks, and farm animal sayings.

Where to rent your items at

You might be wondering where you can get some of these items. Well if you're in Eastern Iowa, don't you worry I got you! You can also check your local boutiques, and craft stores. You can easily throw this event together, and you won't have to break the bank to do so. Your friends will have a great time. And everybody will be talking about it for years to come. If you're looking for some of these rental items be sure to go over to www.iowabarnyard.com. Hit the contact me tab and shoot me a message. Let me know what items you're looking for and what your date is. Want some help putting the event together? I can help you with that as well. Just add event planning into that message. 

I hope you have a beautiful successful Harvest.

❤️Christina O.