Alright!
Father’s Day is on the horizon and since it is in June, what better way to celebrate the macho equivalent of Mother’s Day – minus the cards and flowers – than with something sizzling on a grill?
Father’s Day is on the horizon and since it is in June, what better way to celebrate the macho equivalent of Mother’s Day – minus the cards and flowers – than with something sizzling on a grill?
Carnivores are out to play!
|
You know what that means.
Father’s Day is the perfect time of year to let your inner carnivore out to play. We’re talking the scent of searing, dripping in BBQ sauce, smoking and burning slabs of meat triggering the drooling signal of all red-blooded, red meat-eating males within a three block radius. But how exactly do you pull off a Father’s Day BBQ of epic proportions without tipping off Dad and pissing off the neighbors not on the invite list? Well, here are some tips to get you in tight with Dad and the local fire department. |
FOLLOW THE KISS RULE
|
We are not talking about fire-breathing and blood-spitting demons here. We are talking about that age-old rule of thumb that dictates a good time of any significance is one that falls under the keep-it-simple-stupid (and short) category.
We know what you are thinking but you can still organize an epic event that registers on the Richter Scale if you keep it simple. In other words, don’t complicate the process. |
|
For example, if you overdo anything, make sure the excess comes from food and beverages. Too many decorations – like balloons and party hats – will drop the whole affair into something that could end up being called dorky rather than awesome. However, excessive fireworks could push an otherwise dull BBQ into the Event of the Century.
CAREFULLY SELECT THE MENU
Menu full of tasty meat!
We’ve already indicated that this event is going to involve sizzling meat. But before you go nuts at the butcher shop, plan out what all you intend to have available for food. Think SuperBowl Party on steroids. You have to have more than just burgers, steaks and smokies. Add salads, chips, drinks, buns, condiments, desserts…you get the idea. Should Dad’s favorite BBQ item happen to be a particularly special cut of meat, make sure there are a couple or more in the inventory just for him. Whatever you do, don’t toss in a curve ball and have just veggie burgers or some low-cost frozen bag of meat byproducts because you didn’t budget properly.
STOCK THE BAR
|
Assuming your guest list is fairly wide open with room to permit casual drop-ins and the odd party crasher from work, you need to be sure to have your liquids in order. We’re talking about a lot more than just booze, although BBQs and beer are a natural pairing. Be sure to cover all your bases with favorite beer brands, wine for later in the evening, water, soft drinks and even some sports drinks to keep the heavy eaters from dehydrating.
|
Once you gather up all the beverages you can’t just leave them sitting in the garage until needed. You have to make sure the drinks are chilled just right. One way to save yourself a bit of that science is by using a drink dispenser. There are several on the market designed with parties like yours in mind.
Three we like are:
Three we like are:
|
Our Bluewave beverage dispenser is a major player in any situation that demands high volume liquid consumption.
Made of porcelain, this unit can hold 2.2+ gallons of whatever you need it to hold. Plus, for those special events with a few extra bodies milling about you can add an additional water bottle at the top giving you another two to five gallons of chilled beverage to serve. This should provide enough drinks to serve your whole football team! While this dispenser doesn’t chill, it will keep your liquids cool for a period of time and has a plastic faucet value for quick serving. |
|
Don't forget to prepare some water for your furry friends at the BBQ.
Our 3 Gallon Refrigerator Bottle is essentially a giant sized drinking, dispensing bottle.
Well, that’s sort of what it reminds us of. It holds 3 gallons of cold drinking material and has an extra large mouth for easy pouring and even easier cleaning. The dispenser has a faucet valve and 100mm cap and just to be a bit on the funky side there’s a built-in air plug. What that does is equalizes the air pressure on the inside of the bottle for easy flow of liquid pleasure. Sorry, maybe we should have warned you about the scientific spoiler there.
Well, that’s sort of what it reminds us of. It holds 3 gallons of cold drinking material and has an extra large mouth for easy pouring and even easier cleaning. The dispenser has a faucet valve and 100mm cap and just to be a bit on the funky side there’s a built-in air plug. What that does is equalizes the air pressure on the inside of the bottle for easy flow of liquid pleasure. Sorry, maybe we should have warned you about the scientific spoiler there.
|
-And if the 3 Gallon is not enough, we also have the larger version - 5 Gallon Dispenser Bottle.
Same functions as our refrigerator bottle but comes in big boy volume. It comes with the standard dispensing faucet and air plug. It comes with a larger 120mm cap - so you can dump all the ice you want, into the bottle, to keep it cool all day. With these three options, you got all your drinking needs covered! |
THE PLAYLIST
What’s an amazin’ BBQ without tunes blaring?
Besides, if the smells don’t make your neighbors jealous, the right selection of music probably will. The basic playlist rules are to include as many of Dad’s favorite tunes as you can identify. Filling an hour with music that was popular during the year he was born is taboo. That’ll get you a burnt veggie burger and no bun for your efforts. Stick to his faves and fill out the rest with tunes that’ll make the backyard party hop, skip and jump. Avoid disco, rap and anything that resembles cover versions of big hits.
Besides, if the smells don’t make your neighbors jealous, the right selection of music probably will. The basic playlist rules are to include as many of Dad’s favorite tunes as you can identify. Filling an hour with music that was popular during the year he was born is taboo. That’ll get you a burnt veggie burger and no bun for your efforts. Stick to his faves and fill out the rest with tunes that’ll make the backyard party hop, skip and jump. Avoid disco, rap and anything that resembles cover versions of big hits.
Mix up the playlist with popular music from ALL decades
THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
When you promote your Father’s Day BBQ as being loaded with fun ‘n’ games you need to deliver on the games part. Unless there is a backyard pool nearby, you may find yourself doing some improvisation. That’s okay because we’ve got you covered.
|
If Dad is into sports, that makes it easy. Gloves, balls, a football, basketball and any other sporting gear that gets others involved will go quite nicely.
For those less sports-inclined you can always set up the yard for friendly games of horseshoes, bocce or lawn darts. Have some board games for the quieter ones sitting way over there? Chess, checkers and decks of cards will keep many entertained. |
|
A FEW FINAL WORD
As much fun as it will be to blow the roof off of the garage and patio deck with this massive Father’s Day celebration you are planning, remember to play safely. That means having alternatives available for rides home and someone keeping an eye on things to make sure no one gets hurt in a checkers-related incident or other potential injuries. The safer your BBQ is, the more likely you’ll be able to host more for reasons other than just Father’s Day.
Have fun and remember, we like our steak medium-rare.
Have fun and remember, we like our steak medium-rare.