50+ BBQ Party Ideas for an Unforgettable Summer Cookout
Make your next barbecue absolutely legendary.
Country Living editors select each product featured. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Why Trust Us?
The center of every barbecue is the food, of course, and we have everything you need to make any cookout incredibly delicious. Our favorite grilling recipes, barbecue sauces, barbecue side dishes, summer desserts, and summer drinks are all featured in this roundup, so you'll have plenty of options to prepare for your meal. We also have fun, fresh DIY decor to give your outdoor dinner table a little boost. For holiday barbecues, try setting the scene with Fourth of July party decorations or whipping up a few Fourth of July desserts to show your patriotic spirit. After scrolling through this list of tips and ideas, you'll want to plan a barbecue for every single weekend of the summer.
Set Up a Pimento Cheese Bar
This easy appetizer will keep everyone grazing without heating up the kitchen. Don't worry about picky eaters! Everyone can choose their own toppings.
Gift Country Survival Kits
This fun gift will be put to use during the party. Top bandana-wrapped bundles of country essentials (sunscreen, bug spray) with fly swatters.
Craft Flower Crowns
Set up a crafts station with fresh blooms, embroidery hoops, wire, twine, and scissors so they can make their own flower crowns.
Put On Some Tunes
An essential part of any good party, you need the right mix of tunes. And for an outdoor backyard or beach barbecue, that means adding in at least a few essential summer hits to ensure your playlist really slaps.
Keep reading: 30 Best Summer Songs.
Turn a Gardening Bench into a Drinks Bar
Sweep aside the soil but leave the potted herbs and plants! Add a tall pitcher of something delicious and a selection of beer or other canned and bottled drinks and you now have the perfect outdoor bar.
Read more: Best Summer Drink Recipes.
Get Your Game On
Make sure to give the guests something to do besides mingling and sipping on drinks, while you grill everything up. Lawn games like cornhole are a great go-to. If you need a set, let us shamelessly point you to some gorgeous designs we developed with game company Slick Woody's.
Or Make Your Own Games
You don't have to buy lawn games, however. You can DIY your own!
Read more: Best Outdoor Games to Make This Summer.
Set out a Grazing Board
Let guests serve themselves! While you can add anything to your grazing board, we like to include cured meats, at least one cheese, good crackers, pickled and fresh vegetables, olives, soft boiled eggs, and loads of fresh fruit.
Enlist Helping Hands
Put the little ones to work by enlisting them to serve watermelon slices or other treats to party goers.
Party Patriotically
When the parade rolls through town be sure you are there celebrating the nation with your friends and family. Hang a flag from the window, step outside, and get your cheer on.
Read more: How to Properly Display the American Flag.
Set out a Berry Dessert Spread
Celebrate the season's fruit by putting together an all-berry dessert spread. Guests can choose from Blueberry Whoopie Pies, a Blackberry Coconut Tart, or Raspberry and Pistachio Semifreddo. Trust us, everyone will go home happy.
Serve S'mores in a New Format
S'mores in a cake form! Swirled chocolate and vanilla cake batter get baked in a Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Heritage Bundt Pan then topped with chocolate syrup and toasted mini marshmallows. Your guests won't believe their eyes!
Get More Bang for Your Buck
Melamine plates such as the ones pictured offer the look of pretty porcelain in a much more durable form. And a simple arrangement of dahlias, gerbera daisies, and fireworks-esque spider mums create an eye-catching centerpiece.
Serve a Berry Spritzer
Tis the season for all thing berries! The season's freshest gets mixed up with a little orange juice, sugar, lemon, and fresh basil for a super refreshing drink guests can sip all day long. A DIY garland, made from dyed wooden craft beads, adds extra cheer.
Set Up a Soda Float Buffet
Setting up an outdoor soda float station allows guests to serve themselves. Fill balloons with water and freeze for a festive way to keep the ice cream cold. Make a garland from paper straws and oversize pinwheels from red, white, and blue fabric to decorate the scene. And serve Parmesan tots with dipping sauce so no one crashes from a sugar high!
Grill Up a Pizza
No need to heat up the house by heating up a hot oven. Instead, fire up the grill and cook your pizza outside! Serve these cherry, prosciutto, and goat cheese pizzas as an appetizer or main dish.
Design a Starry Setting
For your Memorial Day cookout or 4th of July barbecue, red, white, and blue decorations will get everyone in the patriotic spirit. If you plan on celebrating with fireworks, hang a DIY star bunting made from bandanas to get everyone's eyes toward the sky.
Read more: 4th of July Crafts.
Set up a Food Station With the Works
Allow party guests to dress up grilled Italian sausages with an assortment of homemade toppings. We suggest offering Grilled Horseradish Slaw, White Bean and Peppadew Salad, Grilled Lemon Broccolini, and Marinated Peppers and Onions.
Serve a Sparkly Beverage
Stir up a bubbly blend of sparkling rosé and smashed raspberries for a libation that'll be so refreshing on a hot summer day. To make your own festive glasses, simply take plain glassware and draw on fireworks with fine-tipped, oil-based paint markers.
Offer Something on the Lighter Side
With all the indulgent grilled meats and sweet treats, just about everyone will want something green on their plate. This tossed salad is filled with veggies and a homemade dressing loaded with fresh herbs.
Get the recipe for Tossed Salad with Green Goddess Dressing.
9 Best Feeders to Attract Hummingbirds This Spring
65 Best Memorial Day Recipes for the Cookout
A Party-Ready Outdoor Kitchen from Home Town Stars
80 Best Summer Side Dish Recipe Ideas
