Party secrets revealed by July birthday couple!

How do you throw an outdoor summer party when it’s 90 degrees in the shade?  Dear readers, Lurko and I have this down after celebrating 54 and 53 birthdays respectively, most of those in Texas in July. Let us show you how it’s done, using our new house in Mexico as a backdrop.

The New House

Last July, we talked about having a birthday party in our new house — but we chickened out. “The house isn’t ready,” was our excuse. This year, we continued to feel like the house wasn’t ready for guests. We didn’t have a dining table, or extra chairs. We didn’t have a nice ceiling fan. The backsplash wasn’t done, for god’s sake! How could we possibly have a party?

We got over it. We realized that we would be isolated hermits forever if we didn’t start inviting people to our house. So we borrowed some chairs from my parents, threw a fancy tablecloth over our folding tables, invited a few friends and had a dinner party.

How to Beat the Heat

Here’s how we didn’t kill our guests with the heat, and how you too can have a successful outdoor summer party:

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1. Avoid midafternoon parties when the heat is the worst– unless you’re having a pool party. At our house, it starts cooling off around 6pm, after the sun dips below the tree line. We started our dinner party at 7pm, just before sunset, and no one complained about the heat at all.
2. Shade, shade, and more shade. Add your seating in shaded areas, and then turn them to face away from the sun. (If you followed Rule #1, this won’t even be an issue.) I am still glad that we insisted on adding a roof over our outdoor kitchen. Without shade, being outside in the blazing sun in this part of Mexico is almost intolerable.
3. Decorate with container plants instead of cut flowers. Cut flowers might not survive through the end of your party. Potted plants can provide shade, interest, and oxygen to your guests. They will stay alive if you water them. And if you are lucky, your night-blooming cactus will choose your party night to bloom. (Ours did not. But it had a lovely bloom the following night.)
4. Use seat cushions made from breathable fabric. Choose linen, or good old cotton. Plastic and vinyl stick to sweaty legs and are not pleasant to peel off when you stand up.
5. Liberal use of fans. If you can’t spend the pesos on a giant overhead fan (we will have one someday), at least have a stand fan near every table. In Mexico, I’ve seen hosts give out personal hand fans as party favors, which is a great idea. They look so fancy and they keep you cool.
6. Offer hand-held spray bottles of water to act as portable misters. Add a few drops of mint or eucalyptus essential oil, which will make the water feel and smell extra cool.
7. Offer chilled hand towels. Store them in a basket filled with ice or keep them in a cooler until guests arrive. They’re great to have for finger foods, or if you just want to press a cold towel to your neck.
8. Offer ice/ cold drinks. Make them ahead of time and serve in pitchers. Keep a cooler of ice on hand just for drinks. In Mexico we make a lot of aguas frescas, which is water flavored with something cool and refreshing, like fruit or tea. A favorite of ours is water with cucumber and lime, preferably without sugar.
9. Offer cold foods like salads, salsas, oysters, or ceviche. Light food like grilled meat and veggies also works. Think crudites, not charcuterie. For our dinner we offered homemade pickles, mango salsa, and cold shrimp with cocktail sauce. For dessert: keto key lime cheesecake and two flavors of popsicles.

Don’t forget the insects

You know what else you have to consider with outdoor summer parties? BUGS. Flies, mosquitoes, no-see-ums and more can really put a damper on your festivities. Here’s how Lurko and I mitigate those uninvited guests:

1. Fumigate before the party. We have a guy who sprays once a month, and when you live in the jungle that bug guy is worth every peso. We do have dogs, so he’s careful to use pesticides that won’t harm them.
2. Encourage your resident geckos, spiders, bats, and anything else in your area that eats insects. You don’t necessarily want to see them at the party, but if you provide an environment that they like and you don’t chase them away, they’ll be working for you behind the scenes and chomping down on those pesky bugs. Outside our house, we peacefully co-exist with this clouded anole. Live and let live!
3. Again, liberal use of fans. Mosquitoes and no-see-ums don’t like the wind.
4. Use citronella candles or other bug repellant. Or make your own lanterns with glass jars, wicks, and tiki torch oil. Here’s a site with instructions on how to DIY a mosquito lantern. I promise I’ve made these and not blown anything up. Just don’t place them anywhere they can be knocked over by dogs or toddlers.
5. Offer bug spray to your guests. Have it by the front door/ gate as they walk in.
6. Keep a few fly swatters handy and within sight of guests. I like this one with the telescoping handle.
7. For outdoor lighting, try yellow or amber LED light bulbs. With a color temperature between 2000K and 2500K, yellow light has been scientifically proven to attract fewer insects. We used these bulbs and they seemed to do the job.
8. Keep your food covered. We recently discovered stainless steel mesh strainers work great for this. Just flip it upside down, and instant bug screen. I use my colander for this more than I do for making pasta!

The Final Report

Lurko and I are happy to report that our birthday party this year was a success, No one complained about the heat or the bugs, and everyone, including us, stayed comfortable. We followed most of the above advice, and while we did have the cold hand towels, fly swatters, and bug spray available, no one seemed to need them. I never once lit a citronella candle. The fans and yellow lights seemed to keep most of the bugs at bay. I’m sure our resident geckos, spiders, and bats did their part. Having cold drinks, cold food, and cold desserts was also a good call. Having the party in the evening was the best call, as far as minimizing the heat. Though it’s hot in Mexico this time of year, we’ll never let the heat stop us from throwing our traditional summer shindig. Outdoor summer parties can be done!

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Here’s what you can look forward to in the next few posts:

7/23: I Tried Mel’s Keto Sourdough Starter
7/27: Book Review: The Zero-Waste Chef

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