Garden Dinner Party

I recently hosted a Garden Dinner Party in my backyard and it was a dream come true. The setting was beautiful, the food was absolutely delicious with a menu full of fresh, flavorful recipes that were easy to prepare and it was overall the best dinner party I’ve ever thrown! I created new recipes as well as selected existing ones from my blog in order to create an easy, healthy and memorable menu that was right on theme.

This dinner party theme would be perfect for a night with friends, a bachelorette party, a bridal shower, a birthday, a baby shower, or really whatever you’d like! You can go all out or simplify things to make the evening fir your needs (and time!).

To keep things organized, I created my (first ever!) recipe and hosting eBook: Kayla’s Kitch and Fix’s Guide to a Beautiful, Fun & Delicious Garden Dinner Party!

In the eBook, you’ll find:

• A detailed preparation and hosting timeline checklist
• The full menu I used as well as all of the recipes
• My menu design Canva templates and PDFs to print
• Guidance on what can be made in advance
• Links to all my decor and kitchen staples
• A complete grocery list as well as a customizable grocery list
• A list of items to thrift
• Dinner party activities and favor suggestions
• Easy yet impactful DIY ideas
• 4 NEW RECIPES!

CLICK HERE to check it out!

THE TABLE SETTING

Click here for the links to everything I used (or similar items) to create this table setting!

THE TIMELINE

Dinner parties can seem intimidating or stressful, but I make sure to plan for them in a way that creates the most low stress hosting experience possible so I can actually enjoy the night alongside my guests. Here is a rough outline of how I prepare in the days leading up to my dinner parties!

Month-Week Prior:

• Draft a menu and grocery list, inclusive of dietary needs and taste preferences of your guests
• Take inventory of plates, linens & serve ware to ensure you’re covered based on the amount of guests and types of dishes/drinks
• Order any supplies or ingredients that need to be purchased online

Week Of:

• Main grocery shop of everything that can be purchased in advance
• Make menus as a fun (and completely optional) touch!

Day Before:

• Gather and organize all serve ware so it’s ready to be set out
• Prep and recipes that can be made in advance, such as the dessert, in this case!

Morning Of:

• Secondary grocery shop as soon as the store opens to get any final needs and so you have as much time as possible
• As soon as you get home, measure and prep all ingredients that can be prepared in advance and set aside into stations based on each dish
• Arrange florals

1-2 Hours Before:

• Finish any dishes that need cooked
• Set the table while the dishes finish cooking

During:

• Enjoy!

Bonus Tips:

• Have food made in advance that you can eat while prepping because you probably won’t want to be cooking when prepping multiple dishes for your party, plus it saves time!
• Run and empty your dishwasher before the party so you can load everything instead of hand washing and taking up counter space. The easier the cleanup the better!

I’ve included a super detailed timeline specific to this Garden Dinner Party in my eBook! It is complete with a checklist to keep organized and on track. Click here to check it out!

THE MENU

Having a custom menus is totally optional but adds such a nice touch! I have included the printable files as well as the customizable templates to the menus I designed in my eBook! Click here to grab one as well as get access to the files for yourself!

Below is everything that I included on the menu. All of the recipes are customizable and in turn dietary inclusive, all while being so delicious that even those without allergies will love them. They are also super easy to prepare, so you won’t be stressed putting these together!

TO SIP:

All of the below recipes can be made to be alcohol free using your favorite alcohol alternatives!

Sparkling Peach Sangria – click here for the recipe!

Butterfly Pea Tea Spritz – find the recipe in my eBook!

Elderflower Lemonade – find the recipe in my eBook!

TO START:

Heirloom Tomato & Whipped Ricotta Crostini – click here for the recipe!

Honey Lemon Goat Cheese Dip – find the recipe in my eBook!

Veggie Cups with Homemade Ranch – click here for the recipe!

Pesto Hummus & Crudités – click here for the recipe!

Green Goddess Pasta Salad – click here for the recipe!

TO SERVE:

Chicken Milanese – click here for the recipe!

Naturally Sweetened Orange Tofu – click here for the recipe!

TO SAVOR:

Vanilla Prosecco Berry Cake – click here for the recipe!

Blooming Chocolate Avocado Mousse Pots – find the recipe in my eBook!

A NOTE ON CALORIE COUNT, NUTRITIONAL INFO AND SERVING SIZES

Due to my past experiences, I do not include most of the above information within my recipes as it is unsafe for me to do so personally. While I try to share a rough estimate when it comes to the serving size, please note that it is very subjective as we all have different hunger levels both from person to person and even from meal to meal.

If any of the above information is important to you, I understand! We are all different and have various goals and needs. If you’d like, you are welcome to calculate the information needed based on the ingredients you use when making one of my recipes.

I hope you understand! This comes from a place of love and protection both for myself and others like me. If you ever have any questions, send me an Instagram message for the quickest response time! Thank you for being here!

FOLLOW ALONG

Be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok to see all of the behind the scenes of recipe creation as well as how to videos to watch them come to life! You can also head over to my Pinterest to save all of my recipes in one spot that you plan whip up in the future.

PS – If you make this recipe or any of my other recipes, I would be so grateful if you left a review so I can hear what you think! I also am happy to answer any questions you may have on here, but if you want a quicker response, be sure to shoot me a message on Instagram. Thank you so much and talk soon!